Snyder's Bluff
Snyder's Mill
Civil War Mississippi

American Civil War
April 29-May 1, 1863

To insure that troops were not withdrawn to Grand Gulf to assist Confederates there, a combined Union Army Navy force feigned an attack on Snyder's Bluff, Mississippi. After noon, on April 29th, Lieutenant Cdr. K. Randolph Breese, with his eight gunboats and ten transports carrying Major General Francis Blair's division, inched up the Yazoo River to the mouth of Chickasaw Bayou where they spent the night.

At 9:00 am, the next morning, the force, minus one gunboat, continued upriver to Drumgould's Bluff and engaged the enemy batteries. During the fighting, Choctaw suffered more than fifty hits, but no casualties occurred. Around 6:00 pm, the troops disembarked and marched along Blake's Levee toward the guns. As they neared Drumgould's Bluff, a battery opened on them, creating havoc and casualties. The Union advance halted and, after dark, the men reembarked on the transports.

The next morning, transports disembarked other troops. The swampy terrain and enemy heavy artillery fire forced them to retire. The gunboats opened fire again, about 3:00 pm on the 1st, causing some damage. Later, the boats' fire slackened and stopped altogether after dark.

General Sherman had received orders to land his troops at Milliken's Bend, so the gunboats returned to their anchorages at the mouth of the Yazoo.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Warren County

Campaign: Grant's Operations against Vicksburg (1863) next battle in campaign   previous battle in campaign

Date(s): April 29-May 1, 1863

Principal Commanders: Major General William T. Sherman [US]; Brigadier General Louis Hébert [CS]

Forces Engaged: XV Army Corps, Department of the Tennessee [US]; Hébert's Brigade [CS]

Estimated Casualties: Unknown


Sherman's Mississippi Campaign
Sherman set out from Vicksburg on February 3, 1864, with an army of some 25,000 infantry and a battalion of cavalry. An opportunity to observe how this large-scale raid presaged Shermans Atlanta and Carolina campaigns, revealing the transformation of Shermans strategic thinking

Reliving the Civil War:
A Reenactor's Handbook
Excellent information on the reenacting hobby



Uniforms of the Civil War: An Illustrated Guide for Historians, Collectors, and Reenactors
Photographs and paintings illustrate this definitive guide to the uniforms worn by both sides 		Vicksburg Mississippi Campaign
Vicksburg Battle Map
Mississippi State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
Kids Zone Causes of the Civil War
General Stonewall Jackson
Civil War Submarine
Civil War Store
72 Piece Civil War Army Men
Play Set 52mm Union and Confederate Figures, Bridge, Horses, Canon
  • 48 Union and Confederate Soldiers up to 2-1/8 inches tall
  • 4 Horses, 4 Sandbag Bunkers, 6 Fence Sections, 3 Cannon, 3 Limber Wagons (Ammo Carts)
  • Bridge, Small Barracks, 2 Cardboard buildings
  • Scale: About 1/35th
American Civil War Book Titles

Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi
Confederate troops surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 a crucial port and rail depot for the South was lost
Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg
The Battle of Champion Hill was the decisive land engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign. The May 16, 1863, fighting took place just 20 miles east of the river city, where the advance of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Federal army attacked Gen. John C. Pemberton's hastily gathered Confederates
The Beleaguered City: The Vicksburg Campaign, December 1862-July 1863
Shelby Foote explains all engagements in and around Vicksburg. Every event is descriptively written covering naval strategies along the Mississippi, Yazoo and other rivers which were of importance to naval affairs of each opposing side
The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth
The strategic implications of the battles of Iuka and Corinth, exploring their impact on the fate of the Northern Mississippi Campaign, the fall of Vicksburg and by extension, the fate of the Confederacy.

The Free State of Jones: Mississippi's Longest Civil War
The southeastern Mississippi county that was home to a Unionist stronghold during the Civil War and home to a large and complex mixed-race community in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Campaign for Corinth: Blood in Mississippi
In 1862 Corinth, was transformed into one of the South's most strategic strongholds. At Corinth, the Mobile and Ohio Railroad crossed the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, creating a crucial nexus for the transport of supplies, material, and men throughout the western Confederacy
The 16th Mississippi Infantry: Civil War Letters and Reminiscences
Who better to tell an infrantry man's story then themselves. The hardships of Marches, Poor food and bitter fighting.
A Hard Trip: A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, CSA
The reality of the moment in 1860-61 Mississippi. The thoughts of the men who formed the 15th Mississippi are front and center with good background about the communities the men came from and the reasons they joined the army.

Guide to the Vicksburg Campaign U.S. Army War College Guides to Civil War Battles
Army War College Examines an entire campaign, looking at many interlinked battles and joint Army-Navy operations as they played out over seven months and thousands of square miles


Ninety-Eight Days: A Geographer's View of the Vicksburg Campaign
The geology of the Mississippi river, and how the landcape along the river determined the course of events and logistical realities that the armies had to contend with, such as the pounds per square inch of a cassion wheel as it contacts the earth


Vicksburg Expedition Guide
Annimated movie that details Grants Mississippi campaign which concluded with the seige of Vicksburg. A great background on the importance of this site in the entire war, as well as battles leading up to the Vicksburgh seige.
Vicksburg: 47 Days of Siege
First-hand accounts of life during the 47 days Vicksburg was under siege. Ranging from housewives to soliders on both sides, a good idea of what life was like, from ways to pass the time to what to eat, in and around Vicksburg. A large photo album and a glossary



Grant Wins the War : Decision at Vicksburg
Grant Wins the War
by James R. Arnold
Decision at Vicksburg

American History Editor's Recommended Book

Decision At Vicksburg
As the Civil War accelerated, Abraham Lincoln recognized that the army holding Vicksburg, a town located at a strategic bend in the Mississippi River, essentially controlled passage on the entire river. In the spring of 1863 General Ulysses S. Grant was given the task of capturing the town, thereby effectively cutting the Confederacy in half. His campaign, while often overlooked by the general public, is considered by some historians to be brilliant. In this highly readable treatment of the Vicksburg campaign, historian James R. Arnold, , makes the case that Grant's adroit military maneuvers were the equal of Napoleonic campaigns. The story of this critical turning point in U.S. history is told in a lively manner, and character studies of men such as Jefferson Davis, Admiral David Farragut, Confederate general John Pemberton, and Grant himself enliven the text.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

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