The Battle of Big Black River Bridge

May 17^th, �1863

Map by [HWK]bud

Ulysses S. Grant was determined to take Vicksburg, the last main bastion of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. Confederate General Pemberton was trying to stop him, and after a couple major engagements, had to fall back. He ordered a holding action at the bridges across Big Black River long enough for a retreat. Federal troops appeared early in the morning and prepared to storm the defenses and quickly deployed astride the road. Artillery opened on the Confederate fortifications with solid shot and shell.

The Confederate line was naturally strong and formed an arc with its left flank resting on Big Black River. A bayou of waist-deep water fronted a portion of the line and cannon were placed to sweep the flat open ground to the east. As both sides prepared for battle, Union troops took advantage of terrain features and Brigadier General Mike Lawler, on the Federal right, deployed his men in a meander scar not far from the Confederate line of defense.

Believing that his men could cover the intervening ground quickly and with little loss, Lawler boldly ordered his troops to fix bayonets and charge. With a mighty cheer the Federals swept across the open ground, through the bayou, and over the parapets. From beginning to end, the charge lasted three minutes.

Overwhelmed by the charge, Confederate soldiers threw down their rifle-muskets and ran toward the bridges across the river. In the panic and confusion of defeat, many Confederate soldiers attempted to swim across the river and drowned. Luckily, Pemberton's chief engineer, Major Sam Lockett, set the bridges on fire effectively cutting off pursuit by the victorious Union army. Badly shaken, the Confederates staggered back into the Vicksburg defenses and prepared to resist the Union onslaught.

Edited text taken from https://www.cr.nps.gov/

The Map

This is a mission map, the railway bridge across the river being the objective (circled in yellow). The Confederate forces (red) are arrayed in a wide arc, with strong defensive earthworks to resist the attack. The Union forces (blue) have just 45 minutes of game time to break through and secure the bridge area. Once all rebel forces are cleared from the bridge area, the Union player wins and all rebel forces still to the west of the river are considered captured. If the bridge is still not captured after 45 minutes, the Confederate holding action is considered a success, and all their forces are considered safely retreated. Losing players should surrender immediately once objectives have been met for map play.� ��