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In the spring of 1863, as Grant's forces marched south
through Louisiana and crossed the river into Mississippi, Young's Point
served as a vital supply depot for the Union army. On May 9, during
the Union offensive, General Pemberton telegraphed Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith
in command of the Trans-Mississippi Department, "You can contribute
materially to the defense of Vicksburg and the navigation of the
Mississippi River by a movement upon the line of communications of the
enemy on the western side of the river....To break this would render a
most important service." Pemberton's request, however, fell on deaf
ears. Smith, more concerned with developments in his own department,
hesitated to act upon the request. It was not until June 7, as the siege
lines around Vicksburg tightened, that Confederate forces in the
Trans-Mississippi Department launched an attack against Milliken's Bend
and Young's Point in an attempt to destroy Union supply enclaves in
Madison Parish and force Grant to loosen his grip on Vicksburg.
Directed by Smith to "do something" on behalf
of the beleaguered Vicksburg garrison, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor, in
command of the District of Western Louisiana, launched a three-prong
assault against the Union enclaves in Madison and East Carroll parishes--Milliken's
Bend, Young's Point, and at Lake Providence.
As the rugged veterans of Brig. Gen. Henry E.
McCulloch's Brigade battled the Federals at Milliken's Bend, their fellow
Texans of Brig. Gen. James M. Hawes' Brigade moved against Young's Point.
Provided with local guides and intelligence reports from Taylor, Hawes'
Brigade, 1,400-strong, left Richmond (south of Tallulah) at 7 p.m. on June
6. The brigadier later wrote, "I found these guides inefficient and
useless to me." Lack of reconnaissance led the brigade to consume
seventeen hours to march eleven miles because the men had to halt for four
and one-half hours at Walnut Bayou as a bridge was out and scouts had to
search for a suitable crossing point. Instead of arriving at dawn as was
planned, the brigade reached the vicinity of Young's Point at 10:30 a.m.
Hawes recalled, "After taking position in the woods, I found about
500 of my men rendered unfit for duty from exhaustion, occasioned by the
excessive heat. About 200 of these 500 had to be carried to the
rear."
Informed that his men could approach the Federal camp through woods,
Hawes was shocked as his command debouched onto a level plain that he
stated was "destitute of trees and brush, in full view of a large
camp of the enemy, situated below Young's Point, about 1 1/2 miles distant
from my lines." As the Texans advanced across the fields, they saw
Federal reinforcements arrive by transports supported by gunboats.
Realizing that the chances for success had disappeared, Hawes ordered his
troops to retire. And so Confederate efforts at Young's Point ended in
failure.
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