Ed Bearss Speaks to the CWRTDC About “Grierson's Raid” - 12/12/2017 by CWRTDC

Ed Bearss Speaks to the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia about Grierson's Raid in 1863. on December 12, 2017, at the Fort McNair Officers' Club in Washington, D.C.

More information about the topic and the speaker is available at cwrtdc-audio.blogspot.com/p/bearss-audio6.html

A copy of a map to accompany his presentation is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bIrNhlRlAIZUb5uyKNf0BLECAM4T0nUa/view?usp=sharing

About the Topic:
Grierson’s Raid was arguably the most effective cavalry raid of the entire Civil War. While many of the most famous cavalry raids were launched by Confederate leaders, such as J.E.B Stuart or Nathan Bedford Forrest, this was a Union raid. It was commanded by Benjamin Grierson who, despite a pre-war dislike of horses, quickly proved himself to be a brilliant cavalry commander.

His raid was part of Grant's successful campaign against the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, on the Mississippi River. Grant’s infantry were marching down the west bank of the river, getting into a position from where they could cross over onto the east bank south of Vicksburg. Grierson was ordered to launch a raid through the heart of the state of Mississippi to distract Confederate attention from Grant’s move and force the Confederates to move troops away from the city.

Starting with three regiments (about 1,700 men) located near La Grange, Tennessee, Grierson’s aim was to reach the Southern Railroad of Mississippi and destroy as much of it as possible. From there he could either return to La Grange or head south to the Union position at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

One of the reasons for his success was his willingness to split his force. On April 20, 1863, Grierson sent 175 men (what he called the “least effective portion of the command”) to La Grange with orders to make it appear that the entire expedition had returned. He then headed south with his larger force, fighting a series of minor skirmishes (the Official Records list eleven) and avoiding the Confederates chasing him.

On April 24, Grierson reached the Southern Railroad and inflicted considerable damage. After learning more about the size of the Confederate forces behind him, he decided to continue south to Baton Rouge, reaching it safely on May 2.

In 16 days, Grierson’s men had marched 600 miles and fought multiple skirmishes, but with limited casualties: three dead, seven wounded, eight sick left behind, and nine missing. On the Confederate side, however, Grierson claimed in his report to have killed and wounded 100 Confederates, captured another 500, damaged between 50 and 60 miles of railroad, destroyed over 3,000 stand of arms, and commandeered 1,000 horses and mules.

At the end of the raid, Grierson learned that at least 5,000 men had been sent out to capture him, which included a considerable number of Pemberton’s cavalry, detached from Vicksburg at a crucial moment when they would have been better used to watch Grant on the Mississippi.
According to some, Grierson’s Raid was the most successful cavalry raid of the war for two reasons. First, it played a direct role in the success of Grant's main expedition against Vicksburg. Many of the Confederate raids arguably had no more than nuisance value (although Stuart’s ride around McClellan’s army on the Peninsula in the previous year could claim a similar significance as playing a part in the defeat of that army). Second, Grierson had successfully taken a large cavalry force through entirely hostile territory in the heart of the Confederacy. Stuart, on the other hand, had been operating in Virginia, and other Confederate cavalry raids were made in friendly parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Thus, Grierson’s raid was an early example of the Union’s ability to bring the war to the heart of the Confederacy, which was repeated on a broader scale by Sherman in Georgia and the Carolinas over the next two years.