Artillery Duel

Artillery Duel. . On the morning of May 16, 1863, Confederate cannon positioned on this ridge engaged Union artillery located nearly a mile east on the Raymond-Edwards Road (to your right). By late afternoon, Confederate positions north of this location were forced to yield ground following repeated Union assaults, placing the Rebel army in danger of being cut off and trapped. , Confederate brigadier general Lloyd Tilghman, ordered to defend the Confederate line of retreat, ordered the Confederate cannon to relocate westward on the ridge in front of you. Union gunners soon took up this position, dropped trails, and the artillery duel continued. The fate of the retreating Confederate army rested upon Tilghman's decision to move his guns and buy time. General Tilghman was killed by a Union shell, however this delaying action enabled the majority of the Confederate army to retreat. , [Captions] , . Captain James Cowen, Company G, 1st Mississippi Light Artillery. Company G occupied this position for most of the battle before displacing to the west to cover the Confederate retreat. The unit went on to fight during the Siege of Vicksburg. , . Captain Patrick H. White, Chicago Mercantile Battery. The battery was one of two Union artillery units in the Coker House yard during the latter half of the battle. The battery was an elite unit sponsored by Chicago businessmen and most of the members were well-educated from Hard and Yale. , . (Background) “We learned from these prisoners that the last shot we had fired had killed General Tilghman, the ball passing entirely through him, and killing his horse behind him.” – Corporal Charles R. Haseltine, Chicago Mercantile Artillery