Steele's Bayou Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Steele's Bayou Expedition was a joint operation of Major General Ulysses S. Grant
's Army of the Tennessee
and Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi River Squadron
, conducted as a part of the Vicksburg Campaign
of the American Civil War. Its aim was to move Union forces from the Mississippi River to a point on the Yazoo River upstream of Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton
's defenses of Vicksburg
. To avoid enemy artillery in place on the bluffs to the east of the city, the expedition would leave the Yazoo and proceed indirectly on a route through a series of waterways in the flood plain to the east of the Mississippi.
The army and navy contingents of the expedition moved separately, although their movements were coordinated. The naval flotilla moved into Steele's Bayou on March 14, 1863. Two army transports followed them on the opening leg; others were to come later if the route were to prove satisfactory. Traversing Steele's Bayou was not particularly difficult, but the second leg, along Deer Creek, proved impossible. The waterway, narrow and with frequent turns, forced the vessels to move at snail's pace. Exploiting this, the Rebels further impeded progress by felling trees across the stream, and brought the Union force to a halt within one and a half miles (2.4 km) of the Rolling Fork. The flotilla would have retreated, but Confederate troops got in their rear on Deer Creek and began felling trees there also.
With his vessels effectively trapped, Porter sent an urgent appeal for help to the Army, and then issued orders to his captains to prepare to destroy their ships rather than let them fall into enemy hands. The soldiers, with the personal prodding of Major General William T. Sherman, made a forced march that got to the flotilla on March 22. They easily drove off the Confederate patrols that were blocking the retreat, so Porter and his vessels were able to move back into Steele's Bayou. By March 27, the entire expedition was back on the Mississippi, having accomplished nothing.
The Steele's Bayou Expedition was Grant's last attempt to attack Pemberton's right flank. Following its failure, he turned his attention to the enemy left flank, and soon began the movement that led to the capture of Vicksburg.
had put into motion several operations aiming at flanking Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton
's fixed defenses. Grant wanted to keep his troops busy until he could begin active campaigning later in the spring, so he ordered them to undertake several moves that would give the appearance of activity but would not bring on a major battle. Writing in his memoirs long after the event, he stated that he did not have great confidence that any of them would prove successful, although he was prepared to take advantage of them if they did. Not only had the operations failed to produce any good results, but the last, the joint Army–Navy operation known as the Yazoo Pass Expedition
, was in danger of being captured or destroyed before it could extricate itself from enemy territory. Grant and Acting Rear Admiral David D. Porter therefore set one more operation in motion. Like the others, it was an effort to get on the enemy flank; it had the additional purpose of relieving some of the pressure on the earlier expedition. To avoid the lethargy in command that had hampered the Yazoo Pass operation, Porter himself went with the gunboats, and the Army was under the personal direction of Major General William T. Sherman.
Grant's orders to Sherman lay out the course of the expedition. They also show that he was not completely sure of its success. "You will proceed as early as practicable up Steele's Bayou and through Black Bayou to Deer Creek, and thence with the gunboats now there, by any route they may take, to get into the Yazoo River for the purpose of determining the feasibility of getting an army through that route to the east bank of that river, and at a point at which they can act advantageously against Vicksburg."
, the flood plain of the river occupying most of northwestern Mississippi. The land is quite low and is in fact lower in many places than the river. The region is characterized by numerous marshes, brakes, sloughs, bayous, lakes, creeks, and rivers that in the geologic past were parts of the river bed. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, overflow from the Mississippi continued to pass into these waters, and they could be used as alternatives to the main river for water transportation. When railroads provided more convenient commerce, however, levees to contain the flow had been built, and the land was partially drained. Then, when the war came, the levee was breached for the Yazoo Pass expedition, and the land was again flooded. Minor waterways swelled to the size of small rivers, raising the possibility that Union gunboats could travel on them. Porter believed that he could send his gunboats and army transports up Steele's Bayou (present-day Steele Bayou) to Black Bayou, into Deer Creek, then Rolling Fork, and finally into the (Big) Sunflower River. The last met the Yazoo River a short distance upstream from the bluffs where a major Union attack
had been repulsed in late 1862.
Porter had to rely on imperfect maps and the advice of local citizens who did not understand the difficulties of moving heavy warships in a narrow channel with numerous bends. He was therefore unprepared for the problems presented by Deer Creek. There the straight-line distance between the entry point at Black Bayou and the exit at Rolling Fork, 13 miles (21 km), was only half the distance along the creek, 26 miles (42 km). He was also unaware of the impedance to mobility imposed by the overhanging trees that grew down to the water's edge and by the submerged vegetation that seized the hulls of his vessels. When encountered, these problems limited progress of the gunboats to as little as one mile (1.6 km) every two hours.
, , , , , and . Four tugs pulling mortar rafts added to the firepower. In addition, soldiers in two Army transports followed the flotilla. General Sherman himself was with the troops. The gunboats got through Steele's Bayou and Black Bayou by the end of the second day, and there Sherman overtook them. He saw that the overgrowth would be a serious obstacle; while the armored gunboats could push aside the limbs in their path, the smokestacks and upper works of the flimsier transports would be severely battered. Nevertheless, Porter decided to push on, and Sherman returned to bring up the rest of his soldiers.
Meanwhile, the Confederate Army was not idle. Major General Carter L. Stevenson
, who commanded the Confederate district, was aware of the growing threat to Vicksburg almost as soon as the expedition cleared Steele's Bayou. He had his division commander Major General Dabney H. Maury
order Brigadier General Winfield S. Featherston
to take his brigade to the Rolling Fork–Deer Creek juncture. The order was intercepted by Brigadier General Stephen D. Lee, who decided on his own to reinforce Featherston's brigade with one of his own regiments.
By March 20 Confederate troops began to arrive at the Rolling Fork and the upper end of Deer Creek. The earliest Rebel troops to arrive were those of Lee, a battalion of infantry, six field pieces of artillery, and 40 to 50 cavalry, all led by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel W. Ferguson
. They had been at Fort Pemberton, the most serious impediment to the Yazoo Pass Expedition
. The removal of Ferguson's men gave the Federal commander there, Brigadier General Isaac F. Quinby, a good chance to take the fort, but Quinby remained unaware of his advantage. The opportunity to satisfy that part of Grant's strategy was missed.
The Rebel soldiers began by felling trees across Deer Creek, further impeding the progress of the flotilla. Porter sent some 300 of his sailors ashore under Lieutenant Commander John M. Murphy with orders to clear away the opposition. They occupied a small Indian mound that dominated the field and were for a time able to drive the enemy away, and the gunboats managed to crawl forward to within a half-mile (approx. 800 m) of the Rolling Fork. There they skirmished with Ferguson's force until the light failed, and the Union shore party retired to the protection of the armor of their vessels.
Ferguson renewed the attack the next day, March 21. Ferguson put his soldiers again to work obstructing the stream. Porter realized that he was blocked, so he began to reverse his course back down Deer Creek. About the time the ships began to move, however, a plantation slave brought word that some of the Confederate troops had slipped around the flotilla and were felling trees in their rear. The report was confirmed by (Union) Colonel Giles Smith of the 8th Missouri Infantry, who had come up Deer Creek and had counted more than forty large trees lying across the stream. Smith's regiment was welcome protection, but they were not strong enough to drive the enemy off.
The remaining Union soldiers were still at the head of Black Bayou, not yet having entered Deer Creek. They had encountered unexpected difficulties in moving from the Mississippi across Steele's Bayou, and consequently they were still more than 20 miles (32 km) by land from the flotilla. When Sherman heard the noise of battle, he put his troops into motion. After a forced march of a day and a half, they arrived just as the Confederates were mounting an attack on the 8th Missouri. Taken in the rear, the Rebels withdrew, and the sailors greeted their savior enthusiastically. Porter now had adequate Army support to be completely out of danger, so the retreat continued. Aside from minor rear guard action, the expedition was over. By March 27, the flotilla was back in the Mississippi, where they awaited the next move that Porter and Grant had in store for them.
Porter's easy acquiescence in the plans of the commanding general is an indication of his military maturity. In the view of his biographer Chester Hearn, the failure of the Steele's Bayou expedition at an earlier time in his career would likely have resulted in recriminations against his subordinates, superiors, and colleagues. As it happened, however, he recognized that all the others had given their best. He also saw that success was most likely to be achieved if the Army and Navy were to collaborate fully.
Seen in this light, the expedition is more than simply a failed operation; it was a necessary prelude to final victory.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
's Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
and Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi River Squadron
Mississippi River Squadron
The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was then known as the Western Gunboat Flotilla and sometimes as the...
, conducted as a part of the Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
of the American Civil War. Its aim was to move Union forces from the Mississippi River to a point on the Yazoo River upstream of Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton
John C. Pemberton
John Clifford Pemberton , was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in...
's defenses of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
. To avoid enemy artillery in place on the bluffs to the east of the city, the expedition would leave the Yazoo and proceed indirectly on a route through a series of waterways in the flood plain to the east of the Mississippi.
The army and navy contingents of the expedition moved separately, although their movements were coordinated. The naval flotilla moved into Steele's Bayou on March 14, 1863. Two army transports followed them on the opening leg; others were to come later if the route were to prove satisfactory. Traversing Steele's Bayou was not particularly difficult, but the second leg, along Deer Creek, proved impossible. The waterway, narrow and with frequent turns, forced the vessels to move at snail's pace. Exploiting this, the Rebels further impeded progress by felling trees across the stream, and brought the Union force to a halt within one and a half miles (2.4 km) of the Rolling Fork. The flotilla would have retreated, but Confederate troops got in their rear on Deer Creek and began felling trees there also.
With his vessels effectively trapped, Porter sent an urgent appeal for help to the Army, and then issued orders to his captains to prepare to destroy their ships rather than let them fall into enemy hands. The soldiers, with the personal prodding of Major General William T. Sherman, made a forced march that got to the flotilla on March 22. They easily drove off the Confederate patrols that were blocking the retreat, so Porter and his vessels were able to move back into Steele's Bayou. By March 27, the entire expedition was back on the Mississippi, having accomplished nothing.
The Steele's Bayou Expedition was Grant's last attempt to attack Pemberton's right flank. Following its failure, he turned his attention to the enemy left flank, and soon began the movement that led to the capture of Vicksburg.
Background
The campaign to capture the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last major obstacle to Union control of the Mississippi River, had bogged down in the winter of 1862–1863. The Union's Major General Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
had put into motion several operations aiming at flanking Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton
John C. Pemberton
John Clifford Pemberton , was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in...
's fixed defenses. Grant wanted to keep his troops busy until he could begin active campaigning later in the spring, so he ordered them to undertake several moves that would give the appearance of activity but would not bring on a major battle. Writing in his memoirs long after the event, he stated that he did not have great confidence that any of them would prove successful, although he was prepared to take advantage of them if they did. Not only had the operations failed to produce any good results, but the last, the joint Army–Navy operation known as the Yazoo Pass Expedition
Yazoo Pass Expedition
The Yazoo Pass Expedition was a joint operation of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee and Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi River Squadron in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Grant's objective was to get his troops into a flanking position against the...
, was in danger of being captured or destroyed before it could extricate itself from enemy territory. Grant and Acting Rear Admiral David D. Porter therefore set one more operation in motion. Like the others, it was an effort to get on the enemy flank; it had the additional purpose of relieving some of the pressure on the earlier expedition. To avoid the lethargy in command that had hampered the Yazoo Pass operation, Porter himself went with the gunboats, and the Army was under the personal direction of Major General William T. Sherman.
Grant's orders to Sherman lay out the course of the expedition. They also show that he was not completely sure of its success. "You will proceed as early as practicable up Steele's Bayou and through Black Bayou to Deer Creek, and thence with the gunboats now there, by any route they may take, to get into the Yazoo River for the purpose of determining the feasibility of getting an army through that route to the east bank of that river, and at a point at which they can act advantageously against Vicksburg."
Geography
The expedition was very much limited by the geography of the Mississippi DeltaMississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
, the flood plain of the river occupying most of northwestern Mississippi. The land is quite low and is in fact lower in many places than the river. The region is characterized by numerous marshes, brakes, sloughs, bayous, lakes, creeks, and rivers that in the geologic past were parts of the river bed. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, overflow from the Mississippi continued to pass into these waters, and they could be used as alternatives to the main river for water transportation. When railroads provided more convenient commerce, however, levees to contain the flow had been built, and the land was partially drained. Then, when the war came, the levee was breached for the Yazoo Pass expedition, and the land was again flooded. Minor waterways swelled to the size of small rivers, raising the possibility that Union gunboats could travel on them. Porter believed that he could send his gunboats and army transports up Steele's Bayou (present-day Steele Bayou) to Black Bayou, into Deer Creek, then Rolling Fork, and finally into the (Big) Sunflower River. The last met the Yazoo River a short distance upstream from the bluffs where a major Union attack
Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T...
had been repulsed in late 1862.
Porter had to rely on imperfect maps and the advice of local citizens who did not understand the difficulties of moving heavy warships in a narrow channel with numerous bends. He was therefore unprepared for the problems presented by Deer Creek. There the straight-line distance between the entry point at Black Bayou and the exit at Rolling Fork, 13 miles (21 km), was only half the distance along the creek, 26 miles (42 km). He was also unaware of the impedance to mobility imposed by the overhanging trees that grew down to the water's edge and by the submerged vegetation that seized the hulls of his vessels. When encountered, these problems limited progress of the gunboats to as little as one mile (1.6 km) every two hours.
Start of the expedition and Confederate response
The expedition entered Steele's Bayou on March 14. The naval contingent was spearheaded by five Pook turtlesCity class ironclad
The Pook Turtles, or City class gunboats to use their semi-official name, were war vessels intended for service on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. They were also sometimes referred to as "Eads gunboats." The labels are applied to seven vessels of uniform design built from...
, , , , , and . Four tugs pulling mortar rafts added to the firepower. In addition, soldiers in two Army transports followed the flotilla. General Sherman himself was with the troops. The gunboats got through Steele's Bayou and Black Bayou by the end of the second day, and there Sherman overtook them. He saw that the overgrowth would be a serious obstacle; while the armored gunboats could push aside the limbs in their path, the smokestacks and upper works of the flimsier transports would be severely battered. Nevertheless, Porter decided to push on, and Sherman returned to bring up the rest of his soldiers.
Meanwhile, the Confederate Army was not idle. Major General Carter L. Stevenson
Carter L. Stevenson
Carter Littlepage Stevenson, Jr. was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army in several antebellum wars and then in the Confederate States Army as a general in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Early life and career:Stevenson was born to a prominent family in...
, who commanded the Confederate district, was aware of the growing threat to Vicksburg almost as soon as the expedition cleared Steele's Bayou. He had his division commander Major General Dabney H. Maury
Dabney H. Maury
Dabney Herndon Maury was an officer in the United States Army, instructor at West Point, author of military training books, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
order Brigadier General Winfield S. Featherston
Winfield S. Featherston
Winfield Scott Featherston "Old Swet" was an antebellum two-term U.S. Representative from Mississippi and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was later a state politician and a circuit court judge.-Early life and career:Winfield S...
to take his brigade to the Rolling Fork–Deer Creek juncture. The order was intercepted by Brigadier General Stephen D. Lee, who decided on his own to reinforce Featherston's brigade with one of his own regiments.
By March 20 Confederate troops began to arrive at the Rolling Fork and the upper end of Deer Creek. The earliest Rebel troops to arrive were those of Lee, a battalion of infantry, six field pieces of artillery, and 40 to 50 cavalry, all led by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel W. Ferguson
Samuel W. Ferguson
Samuel Wragg Ferguson was a career United States Army officer, a cavalryman, and a graduate of West Point. He is best known as being a Confederate brigadier general during the Civil War.-Early life and career:...
. They had been at Fort Pemberton, the most serious impediment to the Yazoo Pass Expedition
Yazoo Pass Expedition
The Yazoo Pass Expedition was a joint operation of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee and Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi River Squadron in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Grant's objective was to get his troops into a flanking position against the...
. The removal of Ferguson's men gave the Federal commander there, Brigadier General Isaac F. Quinby, a good chance to take the fort, but Quinby remained unaware of his advantage. The opportunity to satisfy that part of Grant's strategy was missed.
The Rebel soldiers began by felling trees across Deer Creek, further impeding the progress of the flotilla. Porter sent some 300 of his sailors ashore under Lieutenant Commander John M. Murphy with orders to clear away the opposition. They occupied a small Indian mound that dominated the field and were for a time able to drive the enemy away, and the gunboats managed to crawl forward to within a half-mile (approx. 800 m) of the Rolling Fork. There they skirmished with Ferguson's force until the light failed, and the Union shore party retired to the protection of the armor of their vessels.
Ferguson renewed the attack the next day, March 21. Ferguson put his soldiers again to work obstructing the stream. Porter realized that he was blocked, so he began to reverse his course back down Deer Creek. About the time the ships began to move, however, a plantation slave brought word that some of the Confederate troops had slipped around the flotilla and were felling trees in their rear. The report was confirmed by (Union) Colonel Giles Smith of the 8th Missouri Infantry, who had come up Deer Creek and had counted more than forty large trees lying across the stream. Smith's regiment was welcome protection, but they were not strong enough to drive the enemy off.
Sherman's army comes
Porter now had to consider the possibility that his vessels would be trapped. Although they were in no immediate danger, the Rebels could starve him out. He sent a message to Sherman outlining his predicament and urging him to hasten to the rescue. Meanwhile, preparing for the worst, he ordered his captains to be ready to destroy their ships rather than let them fall into enemy hands.The remaining Union soldiers were still at the head of Black Bayou, not yet having entered Deer Creek. They had encountered unexpected difficulties in moving from the Mississippi across Steele's Bayou, and consequently they were still more than 20 miles (32 km) by land from the flotilla. When Sherman heard the noise of battle, he put his troops into motion. After a forced march of a day and a half, they arrived just as the Confederates were mounting an attack on the 8th Missouri. Taken in the rear, the Rebels withdrew, and the sailors greeted their savior enthusiastically. Porter now had adequate Army support to be completely out of danger, so the retreat continued. Aside from minor rear guard action, the expedition was over. By March 27, the flotilla was back in the Mississippi, where they awaited the next move that Porter and Grant had in store for them.
Aftermath
With the collapse of the Steele's Bayou expedition, Grant had lost his last chance to attack the Confederate right flank. Porter, together with most others, thought that the Union forces should pull back to Memphis to regroup and consider what to do next. Grant, however, had no such inclination, and he turned to the prospect of attacking the Confederate left. Porter unhesitatingly accepted Grant's position, and he immediately began to advise the general how best to incorporate the Navy into his plans. The ensuing close working arrangement between the two men became an important part of the rest of the Vicksburg campaign.Porter's easy acquiescence in the plans of the commanding general is an indication of his military maturity. In the view of his biographer Chester Hearn, the failure of the Steele's Bayou expedition at an earlier time in his career would likely have resulted in recriminations against his subordinates, superiors, and colleagues. As it happened, however, he recognized that all the others had given their best. He also saw that success was most likely to be achieved if the Army and Navy were to collaborate fully.
Seen in this light, the expedition is more than simply a failed operation; it was a necessary prelude to final victory.
Site coordinates
- Entrance to Steele's Bayou32°26.9′N 90°53.5′W
- Deer Creek–Rolling Fork junction32°54.4′N 90°52.7′W