The Battle of Jackson was fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the Vicksburg campaign during the American Civil War. After entering the state of Mississippi in late April 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army moved his force inland to strike at the strategic Mississippi River town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Battle of Raymond, which was fought on May 12, convinced Grant that General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate army was too strong to be safely bypassed, so he sent two corps, under Major Generals James B. McPherson and William T. Sherman, to capture Johnston's position at Jackson. Johnston did not believe the city was defensible and began withdrawing. Brigadier General John Gregg was tasked with commanding the Confederate rear guard, which fought Sherman's and McPherson's men at Jackson on May 14 before withdrawing. After taking the city, Union troops destroyed economic and military infrastructure and also plundered civilians' homes. Grant then moved against Vicksburg, which he placed under siege on May 18 and captured on July 4. Despite being reinforced, Johnston made only a weak effort to save the Vicksburg garrison, and was driven out of Jackson a second time in mid-July.
Prelude
In early 1863, during the American Civil War, Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army was planning operations against the strategic Confederate-held Mississippi River city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. After early efforts failed, Grant decided to move south of the city on the opposite side of the river, and then cross the Mississippi to move against the town and its garrison. In late April, 24,000 Union soldiers were landed at Bruinsburg, Mississippi as part of that plan. Grant's men fought their way inland and then moved east with the intention of later turning to the west and attacking Vicksburg from that direction. The movement was conducted in three columns. Meanwhile, Confederate troops from across the country were dispatched to reinforce the defenders of Vicksburg. The reinforcements gathered at Jackson, Mississippi, and on May 10, General Joseph E. Johnston was sent to command the growing force. Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, the commander of the Vicksburg garrison, ordered one of the units at Jackson, Brigadier General John Gregg's brigade, to move to the town of Raymond.
On May 12, one of the Union columns, under the command of Major General James B. McPherson, encountered Gregg's Confederates near Raymond. The ensuing Battle of Raymond was a Union victory, although McPherson's poor handling of the battle allowed the badly-outnumbered Confederates to prolong the battle. The fighting at Raymond changed Grant's approach to the campaign. Realizing that the Confederate force in Jackson was stronger than he had believed, Grant was unwilling to leave the enemy force in his rear and decided to send his men against the Jackson position. Unsure if McPherson's XVII Corps was strong enough to take the city, Grant ordered McPherson to attack Jackson from the northwest, while Major General William T. Sherman's XV Corps struck from the southwest.
Johnston, who had a reputation for defeatism, arrived in Jackson on May 13. About 6,000 Confederate troops held the city, including Gregg's recently defeated men, although additional reinforcements were expected. During his journey to Jackson, Johnston had learned that Grant's army had moved into Mississippi, while Pemberton's force was holding a defensive position along the Big Black River. The Union force was between the Confederate positions. Johnston decided that Jackson could not be held in what the historians William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel described as "unseemly haste", sent a telegram to his commanding officers in Richmond, Virginia stating "I am too late", and ordered the evacuation of the city. While Johnston and his staff made the retreat to Canton by rail, the rest of his army made the retreat on foot. Gregg's men were tasked with serving as a rear guard at Jackson. While retreating, Johnston sent Pemberton a misleading message suggesting that Johnston's men would support Pemberton in an offensive movement when he had no intention of doing so. The historian Donald L. Miller believes that this was designed to present the appearance in the official records that he was not abandoning Vicksburg.