The Kanawha Expedition 16th OVI Home Page Battle of Arkansas Post
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
December 26-29, 1862
near Vicksburg, Mississippi
See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key. ... Let us get Vicksburg and all that country is ours. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket. Abraham Lincoln, October, 1862
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Item Description
Descriptions, Articles and Various Accounts
The Yankees Are Coming! short story of the urgent announcement at a southern Christmas Eve ball of the Union troops coming down the Mississippi River toward Vicksburg
Description #1 - The Vicksburg Campaign - Bearss - 1985 transcription of excerpts from Edwin Cole Bearss' historical work
Description #2 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou-DeCourcey description of the battle by Col. John F. DeCourcey, given as official daily reports
Description #3 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou-Wolbach description of the battle by Cpl. Theodore D. Wolbach, Company E, 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Description #4 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou-Mason description of the battle, over several days, by Pvt. Frank Mason, Company A, 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, sent by him as a letter to and published by The Cleveland Herald and re-published by The Ashland Union in late January, 1863, just weeks after the battle
Description #5 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou-Mason description of the battle (December 29) by Pvt. Frank Mason, Company A, 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as published in 1876 in his book The Forty-Second Ohio Infantry: A History of the Organization and Services of That Regiment In the War of the Rebellion,
Description #6 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou-Leasure letter to The National Tribune by Sgt. Jesse E. Leasure, Company G, 16th OVI, describing the battle and providing some rebuttal of Pvt. Frank Mason's assertions (above)
Description #7 - Naugatuck Daily News - January 14, 1913 image of newspaper article "The War Fifty Years Ago" by Capt. Geo. L. Kilmer describes battle
Description #8 - Letter from Lt. Benjamin F. Heckert - December 21, 1904 transcription of private letter from Lt. Heckert (ret) to Mrs. Maj. Milton Mills describing the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou in response to her inquiries while seeking a soldier's pension from her late husband
Description #9 - Confederate Letter Regarding Prisoners - March 14, 1863 text of letter from Brig. Gen. John Adams to Maj. R. W. Memminger informing him of the U.S. prisoners he sent to Richmond, including a number of 16th OVI officers who were captured at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
Description #10 - Recollections at the Eight Reunion - August 1, 1883 a description of the battle and wounding and death of Capt. George Harn
Description #11 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou - Morgan a description of the battle by Gen. George W. Morgan, commanding 3rd Division, including Col. John F. DeCourcey's brigade and the 16th Ohio
Description #12 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou - Harper's a description of the battle from the perspective of the 6th Missouri Infantry appearing in Harper's Weekly, January 31, 1863
Description #13 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou - Harper's a commentary on the Chickasaw Bayou battle appearing in Harper's Weekly, March 7, 1863
Description #14 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou - Sherman an account of the battle from its primary commander, Gen. William T. Sherman, in an excerpt from his memoirs
Description #15 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou - Linn an account of the battle in a letter to the Holmes County Farmer newspaper by Pvt. Thomas Buchanan Linn, Company B
Maps
Map #1 - Battlefield Map - larger view hand drawn map of the battlefield - wide perspective includes Vicksburg and Yazoo River
Map #2 - Battlefield Maps by E.A. Munn two hand drawn maps of the battlefield
Maps #3, #4, #5 - Battlefield Maps by Maj. Gray M. Gildner three hand-drawn maps by U. S. Army Major Gray M. Gildner, submitted with his thesis on The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou in 1978
Map #6 - Battlefield Map by Michel Lèvy hand drawn map of battlefield area in color
Map #7 - Battlefield Map - Small small hand drawn map of the battlefield
Map #8 - Battlefield Map - Current Day Aerial View Google aerial map with web author's mark-ups on 16th OVI movements Dec 26-29, 1862
Map #9 - Battlefield Map - Current Day Aerial View - Detailed Google aerial map with web author's mark-ups on 16th OVI movements Dec 29, 1862
Map #10 - Battlefield Map - Current Day Street View - Detailed Google street map with web author's mark-ups on 16th OVI movements Dec 29, 1862
Map #11 - Battlefield Map - from Pvt. Frank Mason's book Best Map! This is the best map yet found showing the specific routes of Col. Decourcey's 3rd Brigade, specifically the 16th Ohio and 42nd Ohio, as they crossed Chickasaw Bayou and assaulted the Rebel works.
Photographs, Sketches and Images
Blood-stained Guidon image of blood-stained, battle-torn guidon banner carried into battle
Image #1 - Lithograph of Battlefield beautiful lithograph from bluffs looking over battlefield
Image #1b - 22nd Kentucky Battle Flags soldier holding the regimental flags of the 22nd Kentucky just after the battle
Image #2 - Chickasaw Bayou battlefield soldier sitting on bank of Chickasaw Bayou - by William Redish Pywell
Image #3 - Chickasaw Bayou battlefield wagon and possibly body in bottom of Chickasaw Bayou or McNutt Lake - by William Redish Pywell 1863/1864
Image #3b - Chickasaw Bayou battlefield view of Chickasaw Bluffs or Walnut Hills looking from Chickasaw Bayou bottom land - by William Redish Pywell - 1863/1864
Images #4 thru #21- Current Day Chickasaw Bayou battlefield 18 modern day images of the Chickasaw Bayou battlefield and approaches contributed by Bruce Schulze, author of the website CivilWarAlbum.com
Images #22- Harper's Weekly sketch of battle a sketch of the battle from the 6th Missouri Infantry perspective near the Indian Mound published in Harper's Weekly, January 31, 1863
Images #23- Harper's Weekly sketch of battle a sketch of the battle published in Harper's Weekly, March 7, 1863
The Leaders Images of the Union and Confederate officers commanding the forces at Chickasaw Bayou and the defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in late December, 1862
The Kanawha Expedition 16th OVI Home Page Battle of Arkansas Post