Overview
The Battle of Champion Hill was fought on May 16, 1863, during Ulysses S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign. After Union victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in 1862, Union leaders focused on controlling the Mississippi River. Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans in May 1862, and Union forces captured Memphis the following month. However, Confederate defenses at Vicksburg continued to block complete Union control of the river.
Grant made several unsuccessful attempts to capture Vicksburg before adopting a new strategy in the spring of 1863. His army crossed the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg and established a base at Port Gibson. Grant then marched east and defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Jackson (May 14, 1863). After destroying facilities in Jackson that could support the Confederate war effort, Grant turned west toward Vicksburg.
Confederate General Joseph Johnston ordered General John C. Pemberton to leave Vicksburg and move east to stop Grant. Pemberton initially ignored the order and marched south to attack Grant’s supply lines. After Johnston repeated his instructions, Pemberton reversed direction and moved north.
Shortly after sunrise on May 16, Pemberton’s army encountered Grant’s forces near Champion Hill. Pemberton formed a defensive line along a ridge, while General Stephen D. Lee positioned troops on Champion Hill. Grant arrived around 10:00 a.m. and ordered an attack. James B. McPherson’s corps moved forward and captured the hill. Confederate troops counterattacked and temporarily regained the position, but Grant sent reinforcements into the battle, forcing the outnumbered Confederates to retreat across Bakers Creek.
Union troops captured the Bakers Creek Bridge and continued toward Edward’s Station. Pemberton withdrew to the Big Black River, leaving Grant closer to Vicksburg and setting up the Battle of Big Black River the following day.
Essential Facts
- Date: May 16, 1863.
- Location: East of Vicksburg, in Hinds County, Mississippi.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, James Birdseye McPherson.
- USA Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant.
- CSA Commanders: John C. Pemberton.
- Who Won: The United States won the Battle of Champion Hill.
- Campaign: Vicksburg Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, January–June, 1863.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 2,457 casualties, including 410 killed, 1,844 wounded, and 187 missing/captured.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 32,000.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: 3,840 casualties, including 381 killed, 1,018 wounded, and 2,441 missing/captured.
- Forces Engaged: Army of Mississippi.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 22,000.
Significance
The Battle of Champion Hill is important to American History because the outcome moved Ulysses S. Grant one step closer to capturing Vicksburg, Mississippi. Joseph Johnston’s attempt to use John C. Pemberton’s Army of Mississippi to stop Grant before he reached Vicksburg failed. After defeating Pemberton at Champion Hill, Grant continued toward the city. Confederate forces made one final stand at the Battle of the Big Black River Bridge.
History
At the onset of the American Civil War, the State of Tennessee comprised most of the northern border of the Confederate States of America in the West. Defending that border was difficult for the Confederacy because three major rivers (the Mississippi, which flows south to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, which flow north to the Ohio River) provided relatively easy access to the South.
By late 1861, President Abraham Lincoln was pressuring Union commanders in the West to invade the South. In February 1862, Major General Ulysses S. Grant responded by capturing Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, both in northwestern Tennessee. With two of the three main rivers connecting the North and South under Union control, the Federals turned their attention to the Mississippi River. If the Union could gain control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy would lose easy access to supplies from the Gulf of Mexico and territories in the American West.
Farragut Captures New Orleans
Admiral David Farragut captured the port city of New Orleans on May 18, 1862, closing down Confederate access to the Gulf. In June, the Union tightened its grip on the Mississippi when Federal forces captured the river city of Memphis, Tennessee. Still, the South controlled traffic on much of the river because of its strong fortifications at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Federals Move Against Vicksburg
In July 1862, President Abraham Lincoln summoned Major General Henry W. Halleck to Washington to serve as chief of all Union armies. Halleck’s departure left Major General Ulysses S. Grant in charge of operations in the Western Theater.
In December 1862, Grant launched the first of several unsuccessful attempts to capture Vicksburg. When spring arrived, he tried a new, more complicated plan. On March 29, 1863, Grant put part of his army to work constructing bridges, draining bayous, and building a road past Vicksburg on the west side of the Mississippi. By May 1, his army had recrossed the river at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, and established a base of operations at Port Gibson.
Federals Capture Jackson, Mississippi
Before assaulting Vicksburg, Grant turned his attention to an army that General Joseph Johnston was assembling in Jackson, Mississippi, forty miles to the east of Vicksburg. By May 14, 1863, Union soldiers overpowered Johnston’s rearguard as he evacuated Jackson in the face of Grant’s larger army at the Battle of Jackson. After ordering the destruction of anything in the city that could support the Southern war effort, Grant marched his army back toward Vicksburg.
Grant Marches on Vicksburg
With Johnston out of the way, Grant returned his attention to Vicksburg. On May 15, the Union army began leaving Jackson in three columns headed west. The left, southernmost column was Major General John A. McClernand’s 13th Corps. The middle column was Major General James B. McPherson’s 17th Corps. The right, northernmost column was Major General William T. Sherman’s 15th Corps, which departed on May 16 after destroying everything of military value in the city.
Pemberton Attempts to Stop Grant
As Grant’s forces headed west, Johnston ordered Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, commander of the Confederate Army of Mississippi, to leave his defensive positions near Vicksburg on May 15 and move east to stop Grant’s advance. Pemberton felt conflicted because he was also under orders from Confederate President Jefferson Davis to defend Vicksburg at all costs.
After calling a council of war, he ignored Johnston’s order, believing that a direct confrontation with Grant’s army would be overly risky. Instead, Pemberton marched south on May 15, hoping to sever Grant’s supply lines back to the Mississippi River. After starting his march south, Pemberton received another order from Johnston repeating his former directive. This time Pemberton complied and reversed his course back north.
Collision at Champion Hill
Just after sunrise on the morning of May 16, Pemberton’s army, marching north, encountered Grant’s army, marching west, near Champion Hill, 20 miles east of Vicksburg. Pemberton quickly drew up into a defensive line along the crest of a ridge overlooking Jackson Creek. He also posted Brigadier General Stephen D. Lee’s men atop Champion Hill to watch for Union troop movements. Both armies soon discovered each other’s positions.
Grant arrived at Champion Hill at about 10 a.m. and ordered an attack. McPherson’s corps did most of the fighting, and by 1 p.m. they captured the hill. A fierce Confederate counterattack recaptured the hill late in the afternoon. Undaunted, Grant launched his own counterattack using reinforcements who had recently arrived from Clinton. Outnumbered, the Confederates fell back across Bakers Creek. By late afternoon, the Federals seized the Bakers Creek Bridge, enabling them to cross the stream and advance as far as Edward’s Station by midnight. The battle ended when Pemberton established a new defensive line along the Big Black River, just east of Vicksburg, that night, and awaited Grant’s next move.
Aftermath of the Battle
The Federals suffered 2,457 casualties (410 killed, 1,844 wounded, and 187 missing) compared to 3,840 Confederate casualties (381 killed, 1,018 wounded, and 2,441 missing/captured) during the Battle of Champion Hill. Although the disparity in casualties was not great, the battle was a decisive Union victory. Johnston’s attempt to use Pemberton’s army to halt Grant’s advance before reaching Vicksburg failed. The Confederates made one last stand the next day at the Battle of the Big Black River Bridge before losing their last escape route and being driven back into Vicksburg, where they endured a six-week siege of Vicksburg before surrendering Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.
Timeline
- 1862, July — President Abraham Lincoln called Henry Halleck to Washington, leaving Ulysses S. Grant in charge of operations in the Western Theater.
- 1862, December — Grant divided the Army of the Tennessee and launched his first attempt to capture Vicksburg.
- 1862, May 18 — Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans, cutting off a major Confederate connection to the Gulf of Mexico.
- 1862, June — Union forces captured Memphis, Tennessee, strengthening Federal control of the Mississippi River.
- 1862, December 26–29 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.
- 1963, January 9–11 — Union forces won the Battle of Arkansas Post.
- 1863, March 11–18 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Fort Pemberton.
- 1863, March 29 — Grant ordered his troops to construct bridges and roads and drain bayous along the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River.
- 1863, April — Grant’s men completed a route through Louisiana that allowed the Army of the Tennessee to move south of Vicksburg.
- 1863, April 16 — David Dixon Porter led seven gunboats and three supply vessels past the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg.
- 1863, April 22 — Six additional Union vessels passed Vicksburg.
- 1863, April 29 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Grand Gulf.
- 1863, April 30 — Roughly 23,000 Union soldiers crossed the Mississippi River and landed at Bruinsburg.
- 1863, May 1 — Union forces won the Battle of Port Gibson.
- 1863, May 7 — Grant’s army of roughly 45,000 soldiers moved northeast toward Jackson in three columns..
- 1863, May 9 — Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon ordered Joseph E. Johnston to travel to Mississippi and take command.
- 1863, May 10 — John C. Pemberton ordered John Gregg to move his brigade from Jackson to Raymond.
- 1863, May 11 — Gregg’s brigade arrived at Raymond and prepared for battle.
- 1863, May 12 — Union forces won the Battle of Raymond.
- 1863, May 13 — Johnston arrived in Jackson and ordered Confederate forces to evacuate the city.
- 1863, May 14 — Union forces won the Battle of Jackson.
- 1863, May 15
- Grant’s army started moving west from Jackson toward Vicksburg in three columns.
- Joseph Johnston ordered John C. Pemberton to leave his positions near Vicksburg and move east to stop Grant.
- Pemberton marched south to attack Grant’s supply lines before reversing direction after receiving another order from Johnston.
- 1863, May 16
- Pemberton’s army encountered Grant’s forces near Champion Hill.
- Grant ordered an attack, and James B. McPherson’s corps captured Champion Hill.
- Confederate forces counterattacked and temporarily recaptured the hill before Union reinforcements forced them to retreat.
- Union troops captured the Bakers Creek Bridge and advanced toward Edward’s Station.
- Pemberton established a new defensive line along the Big Black River.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Champion Hill (1863) — The Battle of Champion Hill was a decisive Union victory fought east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 16, 1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign. John C. Pemberton moved his Confederate army north after receiving orders from Joseph Johnston to stop Ulysses S. Grant. Grant ordered an attack after the armies met near Champion Hill. Union forces captured the hill, defeated a Confederate counterattack with reinforcements, and forced Pemberton to retreat across Bakers Creek toward the Big Black River.
Alignment
The Battle of Champion Hill is part of the following AP US History sections:
