Battle of Fort Pemberton Facts

Also Known As

• Battle of Fort Greenwood

Date and Location

• March 11–18, 1863
• Leflore County, Mississippi

Campaign

• Vicksburg Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

• Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith (USN)
• General Leonard F. Ross (USA)

Principal Confederate Commanders

• Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton
• Major General William W. Loring

Union Forces Engaged:

• Naval flotilla (8 gunboats, 2 rams, 1 mortar raft)
• 13th Army Corps (partial)

Confederate Forces Engaged:

• Army of Vicksburg (Fort Pemberton garrison)

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 5,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 2,000

Estimated Union Casualties

• Roughly 20

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• Fewer than 20

Result

• Confederate victory

Significance

• The Battle of Fort Pemberton was the only significant engagement of the Yazoo Pass Expedition.
• Fort Pemberton was a hastily erected Confederate series of artillery batteries, protected by earthworks and cotton bales, which were connected by lines of rifle pits and entrenchments.
• Fort Pemberton was located at the junction of the Tallahatchie and Yazoo Rivers in Leflore County, Mississippi.
• Union officials referred to Fort Pemberton as Fort Greenwood, due to its proximity to Greenwood, Mississippi.
• The Battle of Fort Pemberton began when Confederate artillerists fired on the USS Chillicothe as it approached Fort Pemberton, on the Tallahatchie River, at about 10 a.m. on March 11, 1863.
• The fighting of the Battle of Fort Pemberton ended on March 16, when the USS Chillicothe and USS De Kalb made an unsuccessful assault on Fort Pemberton.
• On March 17, 1863, Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith reported himself unfit for duty due to illness and relinquished command of the Yazoo Pass Expedition to Lieutenant Commander James P. Foster, captain of the USS Chillicothe.
• On March 18, 1863, Lieutenant Commander James P. Foster ordered the U.S. naval flotilla to return to Helena, Arkansas, on the Mississippi, ending the Battle of Fort Pemberton.

Timeline of the Vicksburg Campaign

These are the main battles and events of the Vicksburg Campaign in order.

• December 26–29, 1862 — Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
• February 3–April 8, 1863 — Yazoo Pass Expedition
• March 11–18, 1863 — Battle of Fort Pemberton
• April 29, 1863 — Battle of Grand Gulf
• May 1, 1863 — Battle of Port Gibson
• May 12, 1863 — Battle of Raymond
• May 14, 1863 — Battle of Jackson
• May 16, 1863 — Battle of Champion Hill
• May 17, 1863 —  Battle of Big Black River Bridge
• May 25–July 4, 1863 — Siege of Vicksburg
• July 4, 1863 — Surrender at Vicksburg
• July 4, 1863  — Battle of Helena