Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederate horsemen catch up to William Sooy Smith’s withdrawing Federals, and a running fight takes place near Okolona, Mississippi.
Tag: William Sooy Smith
Northern Mississippi: Smith’s Incursion
William Sooy Smith’s Federal cavalry faces challenges in trying to reach the main Federal army in Mississippi. These include strong opposition from Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates.
Meridian: Federals Continue Moving East
Federal cavalry finally starts riding out of Tennessee to support William T. Sherman’s Federal army moving east through central Mississippi. Leonidas Polk prepares his Confederates for a possible retreat into Alabama.
Meridian: Federals Move Out of Jackson
William T. Sherman’s Federal Army of the Tennessee begins marching out of war-torn Jackson, heading east toward the last Confederate-controlled railroad center in Mississippi. Meanwhile, Federal cavalry finally prepare to invade northern Mississippi, and a Federal naval squadron enters the Yazoo River in a diversionary probe.
They Cannot Be Silent or Neutral
William T. Sherman, commanding the Federal Army of the Tennessee, arrives at Memphis to develop a plan aimed at destroying the ability of Leonidas Polk’s Confederates to wage war in central Mississippi.