Airliewood

Airliewood. Stop 3 Van Dorn Raid:. , This Gothic villa, probably designed by the firm of the distinguished architect Samuel Sloan, was built in 1858 for a reported $40,000 by wealthy planter William Henry Coxe on a fifteen-acre tract purchased in 1857. The massive cast iron gates and fence, manufactured in Boston, are identical to those at the United States Military Academy. At the invitation of Coxe, Major General Ulysses S. Grant used this mansion as his residence and headquarters upon his return to Holly Springs on December 23, 1862, after the Van Dorn Raid. Here the Grant family and members of Grant's staff had Christmas dinner in 1862. Grant occupied the mansion until January 9, 1863, when he moved his headquarters to Memphis., At dawn on December 20, Major General Earl Van Dorn's Confederate cavalry column galloped into Holly Springs from the east to destroy Grant's forward supply depot. Six Federal companies of the 2nd Illinois Cavalry were encamped almost one-half mile north on West Street in the open area of the old Marshall County Fairgrounds. Van Dorn's column divided into three attacking parties, and the 1st Mississippi Cavalry of McCulloch's Brigade raced toward this point and turned right towards the fairgrounds. Since garden fences had been consumed in Union campfires, Van Dorn's troopers were able to charge across lawns and angle around corners. At the fairgrounds, Federal Lieutenant Colonel Quincy McNeil rallied his troopers and formed a battle line with sabers drawn. Colonel Robert Pinson's Mississippians fired into the Federal line with their revolvers and encircled the Illinois cavalry. McNeil was captured with 100 of his men. while Major John Mudd and 70 Federal troopers cut their way out and escaped to Memphis. Mudd listed eight men killed and 39 wounded., Donated to the People of the United States by Mr. and Mrs. Joe Overstreet of Mississippi., Photo captions: , Top left: Union cavalry men under attack , Bottom left: Downtown Holly Springs [map] , Top right: Airliewood