returned with news that the small force of
Federal cavalry had turned north, Barteau
ordered his men to follow the main force of
enemy raiders. At nightfall they camped a
mile and a half north of Houston to give
their worn-out horses and men a much-
needed rest.
By this time Grierson had passed Hous-
ton and was camped 12 miles south of the
town at another local plantation. That
night Grierson met with his regimental
commanders and other key officers to dis-
cuss decoying Rebel pursuit. He ordered
Hatch to take the 2nd Iowa and strike for
the Gulf & Ohio Railroad from West Point
as far south as Macon if possible. Then, if
practicable, they were to hit Columbus,
destroying the government works there and
striking the railroad south of Okolona
before returning to La Grange.
At 7 AMon the 21st, Grierson’s brigade
broke camp and headed southeast on
another rainy day. After the column of
bluejackets passed through Clear Springs,
Hatch halted his regiment. “This patrol,”
wrote Sergeant Lyman Pierce, “returned in
columns of fours, thus obliterating all the
outward bound tracks. The cannon was
turned in the road in four different places,
thus making their tracks correspond with
the four artillery pieces which Grierson had
with the expedition. The object of this was
to deceive the rebels, who were following
us, into the belief that the entire column
had taken the Columbus road.”The deception worked. Barteau’s scouts
found the tracks and assumed the main col-
umn of Union cavalry had doubled back
and was riding east for the Gulf & Ohio
Railroad at Columbus. Barteau sent his
men galloping eastward along the muddy
road after the enemy, which he soon over-
took at Pala Alto. Around noon, as the rain
started to lighten, Barteau made contact
with Hatch’s command, which was just
preparing to mount up after halting for
lunch. Shots rang out as Hatch’s rear guard
was overrun by the Confederates. Barteau’s
men then charged toward the main body
of Federals.
Hatch, hearing the gunshots, ordered his
men to continue into a hedged lane and dis-
mount. Taking cover along the brush and
trees that bordered the lane, the Iowans,
armed with sporting Colt revolving rifles,
opened up on the Rebels. Barteau, sensing
he had the Federals trapped, halted the
charge and sent four companies of Ten-
nesseans to take up positions at the far end
of the lane while he attacked the enemy
with the rest of his command.
Hatch’s men had good cover, and for two
hours they held off the Rebels. Then
Barteau shifted his men, putting his green
Mississippi state troops in Hatch’s front,
where they had the cover of a church and
some trees. There they were to hold their
fire until the Federals were “close enough
to make it destructive and deadly.” The
2nd Tennessee, meanwhile, formed toattack up the lane and hit the enemy rear.
Before the Confederates could attack,
Hatch struck first.
The lone Woodruff gun opened up on the
Mississippi troops while the Iowa cavalry-
men hit the Mississippians hard, causing
them to retreat in disorder. Hatch’s men
pushed the Confederates three miles
toward the Mobile & Ohio Railroad.
Barteau and his Tennesseans, meanwhile,
rode hard to place themselves in a position
between the Yankees and the railroad
tracks. They dug in for the night and
waited for reinforcements, intending to
continue the battle the next morning.
Hatch had other ideas. He led his men
northward through a large swamp, guided
by an African American scout. After cross-
ing a river with considerable difficulty dur-
ing the night, Hatch’s raiders struck
Okolona near sunset on the 22nd, finding
it abandoned and torching 30 barracks full
of cotton. Barteau, reinforced by Lt. Col.
James Cunningham and his 2nd Alabama
Cavalry, rode after Hatch.
Pushing north again on the 23rd
through more swamps, Hatch’s men
found horses and mules hidden by their
owners. Barteau continued to dog the
raiders, who were burning bridges as they
withdrew north. On April 24, nearing
Birmingham, Hatch divided his force,
sending six companies to the east while
the rest of his command, along with 31
prisoners and 200 escaped slaves who
were helping to drive the 600 captured
horses and mules, proceeded into town.
Making a forced march, Barteau finally
caught up with Hatch’s rear guard, which
put its Colt revolving rifles to good use
stopping three charges before being forced
back on the rest of Hatch’s command,
which repulsed the Confederate attack
and fell back across a bridge over Camp
Creek. The bridge was then torched, end-
ing the skirmish after it had cost the Con-
federates 30 men and exhausted their
ammunition. Hatch returned safely to La
Grange a couple of days later, having lost
only 10 men himself.
Grierson, meanwhile, was continuing to
push south. Ahead of the column of horse-Harperʼs WeeklyCWQ-EW16 Griersons Raid_Layout 1 10/22/15 3:03 PM Page 84