On July 5, Major-General Andrew J. Smith led a Federal army of 14,200 infantry and cavalry south from La Grange, Tennessee. They had orders from Major-General William T. Sherman to march into northern Mississippi and destroy the Confederate command of Major-General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest had been wreaking havoc on Sherman’s supply line running from Nashville into Georgia, and Smith was to “go out and follow Forrest to the death, if it costs 10,000 lives and breaks the Treasury.”
Sherman directed Smith to “pursue Forrest on foot, devastating the land over which he passed or may pass, and make him and the people of Tennessee and Mississippi realize that, although a bold, daring, and successful leader, he will bring ruin and misery on any country where he may pause or tarry. If we do not punish Forrest and the people now, the whole effect of our past conquests will be lost.”
Smith’s Federals entered Mississippi and, after driving off a small Confederate force, burned the town of Ripley. They continued their advance on the 9th, destroying everything in their path as they crossed the Tallahatchie River and swept through New Albany. Two days later, the Federals met increased resistance as they cleared out Pontotoc.
Meanwhile, Forrest began uniting his 6,000 Confederates near Okolona, south of Pontotoc, ready to intercept Smith’s advance. Forrest’s superior, Lieutenant-General Stephen D. Lee, ordered Forrest not to confront Smith until he was reinforced. Lee was on his way to join Forrest with 2,000 men after receiving word that the Federals were about to attack Mobile, Alabama. Lee planned to unite his forces in Mississippi, defeat Smith, and then turn to face the threat to Mobile.
Lee arrived to reinforce Forrest on the 13th. That same day, Smith sensed an ambush and, instead of moving south toward Okolona, turned east toward Tupelo, a town on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Lee and Forrest soon learned of this, and Lee directed Forrest to pursue the Federals. Smith held off intermittent attacks on his flanks and rear before stopping for the night at Harrisonburg, two miles west of Tupelo.
Forrest reported to Lee and proposed launching nonstop attacks on Smith’s flanks and rear until the Federals were forced to retreat: “One thing is certain, the enemy cannot remain long where he is. He must come out, and when he does, all I ask or wish is to be turned loose with my command. I will be on all sides of him, attacking day and night. He shall not cook a meal or have a night’s sleep, and I will wear his army to a frazzle before he gets out of the country.”
But Lee instead preferred one mass assault that would destroy Smith’s force and enable Lee to quickly send reinforcements to Mobile. Forrest objected, arguing that “The enemy have a strong position, have thrown up defensive works and are vastly our superior in numbers and it will not do for us to attack them under such conditions.” But this changed when a Confederate scout reported that the Federals were in retreat. Lee issued orders for a general attack.
On the morning of July 14, Lee assembled his Confederates in line of battle, with Forrest commanding the right wing and Lee himself commanding the left. One of Forrest’s brigades advanced prematurely and was devastated by Federal artillery; it soon became apparent that the Federals were not retreating after all. Forrest led two brigades forward but they were ultimately beaten back. On the left, Lee committed his men piecemeal and they were repulsed as well.
Lee resented Forrest for not committing his entire force on the right, but Forrest saw that any further attacks were hopeless and begged off. Fighting continued into the night when Forrest finally launched one final attack. The Confederates were repulsed once more, and the battle was over. The Federals suffered 674 casualties (77 killed, 559 wounded, and 38 missing) out of about 14,000 effectives, while the Confederates lost 1,347 from roughly 9,500.
Despite scoring a rare victory over Forrest, A.J. Smith decided to call off his expedition and go back to Memphis. Had Smith followed up his success with a counterattack, he might have destroyed the entire combined force of Lee and Forrest. But he was informed that his men had only one day’s rations left because most of their food had spoiled in the heat, and his reserve ammunition was also running low. Smith ordered a withdrawal on the morning of the 15th.
Smith’s withdrawal put Forrest back in the familiar position of pursuing a retreating enemy. The Confederates chased Smith’s Federals but could not provoke a major battle. The Federals returned to La Grange on 21st, where they boarded trains to Memphis. Smith reported to Major-General C.C. Washburn at Memphis, “I bring back everything in good order, nothing lost.”
Smith had done extensive damage to the Confederates in Mississippi and temporarily kept Forrest from harassing Sherman’s supply lines. But Sherman was disappointed that Smith did not completely destroy Forrest’s ability to operate in Mississippi and Tennessee. As Smith returned to Memphis on the 23rd, he received word from Sherman to “pursue and continue to follow Forrest. He must keep after him till recalled… It is of vital importance that Forrest does not go to Tennessee.” Smith immediately began preparing for another campaign.
Bibliography
- Castel, Albert (Patricia L. Faust ed.), Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.
- Catton, Bruce, The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., 1960.
- Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Kindle Edition), 2011.
- Long, E.B. with Long, Barbara, The Civil War Day by Day. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971.
- McPherson, James M., Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford History of the United States Book 6, Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition), 1988.
- Schultz, Fred L. (Patricia L. Faust ed.), Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.