Naval Battle During Grant’s Campaign

Naval Battle During Grant’s Campaign. Grand Gulf Historic Tour. War returned in March, 1863. Fearful that Major General Grant’s army might bypass Vicksburg, Lieutenant General J. C. Pemberton ordered Brigadier General John Bowen to move his troops to Grand Gulf. During the next several weeks, Bowen’s troops built fortifications and mounted big guns. Rebuffed in his efforts to capture Vicksburg, Grant marched southward through Louisiana from Milliken’s Bend. He planned to cross the Mississippi and take Grand Gulf, which would give the Federals a base for operations against Vicksburg to the south. To support the attack, Rear Admiral D.D. Porter ran several ironclads past the Vicksburg batteries on the night of April 16. On April 29 the Federals were ready to strike. Porter’s ironclads opened fire on Forts Cobun and Wade. Porter’s squadron consisted of the “Pittsburgh”, “Louisville”, “Carondelet”, “Mound City”, “Tuscumbia”, Lafayette”, and the flagship “Benton”. The bombardment lasted for five hours. The “Tuscumbia” was disabled and the guns in Fort Wade silenced. The big guns in Fort Cobun still roared defiance. Defeated in efforts to drive the Confederates back, Porter called off the attack. Under cover of darkness, the Federals bypassed Grand Gulf and crossed the Mississippi at Bruinsburg the next morning.