Randal McGavock: Battlefield Casualty by Rebecca Blackwell Drake The morning of May 12, 1863, a tall redheaded Confederate soldier from Nashville, Tennessee, marched with his Irish regiment through the town of Raymond. His name was Lt. Colonel Randal McGavock and he was not just an ordinary soldier. McGavock was highly educated and from one of […]

Capt. John S. Foster, Fourth Independent Company Ohio Cavalry, commanding Cavalry Battalion (only the portion pertaining to the Battle of Raymond) Remaining in camp on the Big Black until the afternoon of May 7, moved to Rocky Springs; remained till the morning of the 9th, and took the advance of the army, reconnoitering the front […]

DILLON’S PLANTATION, MISS., May 12, 1863—9.15 p.m. Maj. Gen. JOHN A. MCCLERNAND, Comdg. Thirteenth Army Corps: General McPherson gained Raymond this afternoon, after a severe fight of several hours, in which we lost from 400 to 500 killed and wounded. The enemy was driven at all points, leaving most of his wounded and over 100 […]

Brig. Gen. John E. Smith, U.S. Army, commanding First Brigade, Third Division HDQRS. 1ST BRIGADE, 3D DIVISION, 17TH ARMY CORPS, Before Vicksburg, Miss., June 23, 1863. MAJOR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the First Brigade since the battle of Thompson’s Hill, near Port Gibson, Miss., on […]

VICKSBURG, May 9, 1863. General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON, Tullahoma One brigade, about 5,000 infantry, cavalry, and artillery, at Port Hudson. Two en route from there to this place. J. C. PEMBERTON. HDQRS. DEPT. MISS. AND E. LA., Vicksburg, May 9, 1863. Lieut. Gen. E. KIRBY SMITH, Shreveport, La.: GENERAL: The enemy having effected a landing […]

Lieut. Col. William P. Davis, Twenty-third Indiana Infantry IN REAR OF VICKSBURG, MISS., June 4, 1863. SIR I have the honor to submit the’ following report of the part taken by the Twenty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteers in the battles of Raymond, Champion’s Hill, Jackson, and Vicksburg, up to the present date: BATTLE OF RAYMOND. At […]

HEADQUARTERS GREGG’S BRIGADE, Near Mississippi Springs, May 13, 1863 . In the engagement yesterday near Raymond, my regiment (Forty-first Tennessee) being held in reserve, all the companies were not actively engaged until near its close; but in changing positions the regiment was several times under heavy fire. When moving from near the center of our […]

Brig. Gen. John Gregg, C. S. Army, commanding Confederate forces. AT CAMP IN MADISON COUNTY, MISS., May 20, 1863. MAJOR: While in camp 2 miles east of Jackson, Miss., at 3 a.m. on the 11th instant, I received a dispatch from the lieutenant-general commanding, directing me to move my brigade promptly to Raymond, and I […]

Col. John B. Sanborn, Fourth Minnesota Infantry, commanding First Brigade HDQRS. 1ST BRIGADE 7TH DIVISION, 17TH ARMY CORPS, Camp in Field before Vicksburg, Miss., May 25, 1863. COLONEL: I have the honor to report the marches made by my command and the part taken by it in the battles fought during the campaign from Milliken’s […]

The Search For Fannie Sims Granbury: Wife of Brigadier General Hiram B. Granbury By Rebecca Blackwell Drake Researched by Rebecca Drake, Mississippi Civil War historian, Mary Eddins Johnson, professional researcher from Mobile, Alabama, Eddie Lanham, Civil War researcher of Georgia, Jane Embrose, descendant of the Granberry family of Ohio, and James Drake, researcher, Mississippi. Brigadier […]

Randal McGavock: “Griffin, Take Care of Me!” Battlefield Casualty by Rebecca Blackwell Drake In 1905, forty-two years after the Battle of Raymond, Captain Pat Griffin recalled the death of his commander, Colonel Randal McGavock. The memories he shared with other Confederate veterans were vivid and tinged with sadness. “We had marched up on a rise […]

Col. Manning F. Force, Twentieth Ohio Infantry, Second Brigade. ——- ——, 1863. SIR: I have the honor to report that, on the morning of the 12th of May, the Twentieth Ohio marched as advance guard of the division, on the right side of the road to Raymond, with four companies (first, second, third, and fifth) […]

Brig. Gen. John D. Stevenson, U S. Army, commanding Third Brigade VICKSBURG, MISS., July 7, 1863. MAJOR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Third Brigade in the series of engagements with the enemy from the 4th of May until the final termination of the siege of […]

Lieut. Col. Franklin Campbell, Eighty-first Illinois Infantry HDQRS. EIGHTY-FIRST REGIMENT ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS, Vicksburg, Miss., July 9, 1863. SIR: In compliance with your order directed to me, dated July 7,1863, I have the honor to report that on May 12 we met the enemy in a ravine, about 1 mile south of Raymond. The Third Brigade […]