Bledsoe's Battery

Bledsoe's Battery. . Anticipating that the enemy would approach Raymond from both of these roads, Confederate General Gregg positioned Capt. Hiram Bledsoe’s battery of three cannon and a battalion of infantry here to defend Raymond from either direction. However, on May 12 the center of action was along the Utica Road, near the bridge, toward which these cannon are aimed. In conjunction with the Confederate skirmishers along Fourteenmile Creek, these guns opened fire on the first Federal troops that approached the creek, almost a thousand yards south. , , After inconclusively dueling all day against a larger battery of twenty-two cannons nearly a mile to the south, one of the guns exploded. , , While changes in elevation from this point to Fourteenmile Creek bridge are subtle, Gregg could have used this high ground as his vantage point to watch the battle progress. The smoke and haze of that day, however, prevented him from being able to discern the size and strength of the Union forces. , , (Upper Sketches Caption) , Sketches of loading and firing artillery by Theo Davis, artist-journalist for the Harper’s Weekly newspaper who sketched at the Battle of Raymond and throughout the Vicksburg Campaign. , , (Lower Drawing Caption) , This battery consisted of two 12-pounder cannons (typical 12-pounders, below) and a rare breech-loading English-made Whitworth rifled cannon.