in Raymond

We then went into Raymond.  Here we found the local Confederate cemetery.  Dead from the battle as well as other locals who survived the war are buried here.

The Confederate monument at the county courthouse.

And a cool battle mural on the side of a building near main street.

Raymond

Going back a bit for me but in October 2013 I toured battlefields of the Vicksburg campaign with the Rocky Mountain Civil War Roundtable.  I had been to Vicksburg once before so I had a little bit of knowledge of the ground but this one would be much much more.  Unfortunately this was also when the federal government shut down so we were barred from visiting the national park.  On the plus side nearly all of the campaign sites are not NPS sites so we were able to do much touring, just not the siege lines.  One of the better non-NPS sites is the battlefield of Raymond.  It is well taken care of and well marked.  We used the Blue and Gray magazine for much of our touring. 

 

 These cannons are on the grounds of an old warehouse or factory.  We intially were looking at them through the fence when a local told us that the gate is always open and we could just drive back in there to view it.  Raymond is towards the left and these guns would be pointing south.

We then drove a short distance to the south where the main portion of the Raymond battlefield is preserved.  There is a great walking trail around the park that lays out the battle.

This bridge looks old but kinda doubt that it is of Civil War vintage just because if it was I would think there would be greater efforts to protect it.

The banks of Fourteen Mile creek.  Union lines would be in the field to the left while the Confederates defended the right bank.

A line of cannons can just be seen in the field of cotton.

A cannon just after crossing the creek.

Which then provides a better view of the cannons in the cotton field.

Now walking the line of cannons.  They were all marked with NPS style markers denoting the battery they belonged to and what they did in the battle.  Every gun was also sponsored by someone, showing the care this battlefield receives.

Traveling north towards Raymond we came across this Texas monument.

march to Raymond

Day one of the trip ended with us oin the Grand Gulf area.  The next morning instead of back tracking all the way down to Grand Gulf to follow the army to Raymond we took a more direct route and meet up with the army halfway there, near Old Auburn.  Then we followed the army on its march toward the battle of Raymond.  Its a nice drive with state historical markers peppered along the way.  Here are just a few.

 

From this spot a portion of the XIII Corps moved north along the road on the left and secured Whitaker's Ford, helping to secure Grant's left flank.

When Grant reached here on May 12 the bridge was burning.  Union cavalry then fought with Confederate cavalry under Wirt Adams and by 11 AM had secured a bridgehead over Fourteenmile Creek and could then move forward.

Not far from the bridge is the Dillon Farm.  Grant spent the evening of the 12th here and learned of the battle earlier that day at Raymond.  He changed his plans here and decided to go to Jackson instead of his earlier plan of a more march more to the north.

Nearby is the family cemetery.

And next to the cemetery is the Natchez Trace.  Although it feels remote the Dillon Farm was near the intersection of two pretty important roads.

NPS closure

As mentioned in the opening of this series we made our trip at the same time as the government shutdown. This meant we were kept away from our prime reason for the visit. If we had been going to otherbattlefields this would have been a huge deal. For vicksburg though this may have worked to our benefit. Most of the sites of the campaign are not national. So we were able to devote extra time to Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, Raymond, Champion Hill and Chickasaw Bayou. 

If there is one take away from the trip it is that Raymond is a real jewel. I'd never been there before and knew there was an active Friends of organization but I didn't know how much good they had done. We were all very impressed. I don't know what the next step is for that organization but I'm anxious to see what they do next