The Van Dorn Raid

The Van Dorn Raid. Stop 2 Van Dorn Raid:. Grant's long and vulnerable railroad supply line to Holly Springs originated in Columbus, Kentucky, and ran outh along the Mobile and Ohio and Mississippi Central railroads. On December 19, 1862, Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest's Confederate cavalry struck the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Jackson, Tennessee, a junction at the head of the Mississippi Central Railroad. Forrest then rode northwrd, destroying the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at numerous points., Meanwhile, General Pemberton planned to disrupt Grant's supply line by striking the supply depot on the Mississippi Central Railroad at Holly Springs. On December 15, Pemberton secretly placed Major General Earl Van Dorn in command a newly organized cavalry division, which consisted of three brigades: Lieutenant Colonel John S. Griffith's 1,500 Texans; Colonel William H. Jackson's 1,200 Tennesseans; and Colonel Robert McCulloch's 800 Missourians and Mississippians., On a cold and wet December 16, Van Dorn's troopers rode eastward from Grenanda. After passing Cherry Hill they turned north toward Pontotoc. Near Ripley the column turned west toward Holly Springs. At dawn on December 20, the tired troopers charged into Holly Springs and surprised, captured, and paroled 1,500 Federals and their commander, Colonel Robert C. Murphy. They emptied a huge quantity of rations, clothing, arms, and munitions from the buildings surrounding the Town Square and burned them in the streets. But time was critical, so Van Dorn, who knew that Grant would quickly pursue his raiders, ordered many buildings, all of which were crammed to capacity with supplies, burned. In a few hours, Grant's forward supply depot and much of the town were reduced to ashes., With his supply lines in shambles, Grant abandoned his march south. Sherman's amphibious attack down the Mississippi went unsupported, and he lost 1,776 men in defeat at Chickasaw Bayou on December 27-29. Pemberton had thwarted Grant's first attempt at Vicksburg., Donated to the People of the United States by Mr. Paul Calame, Jr., of Tennessee, in memory of his forebears, who lived in Holly Springs during the War Between the States., (captions) , Marshall County Courthouse (Harper's Weekly, January 10, 1863) , Van Dorn's Route of March