that an additional 10 men be sent up to
reinforce the Butternut Guerrillas. When
Surby saw the help coming, he led his
scouts forward, revolvers blazing, and
stampeded the Rebels. The town was
quickly in Federal hands.
The muddy blue column of cavalry con-
tinued to push south. After a brief rest, Gri-
erson had his men riding through the night.
He sent Blackburn and 200 men of the 7th
Illinois ahead with orders to capture
Decatur and scout the ultimate target of the
raid, Newton Station. Blackburn easily
secured Decatur and halted six miles out-
side Newton Station. Grierson then
ordered Surby and two scouts to ride into
town to reconnoiter. Riding to within half
a mile of town, Surby halted on an elevated
position to have a better look at Newton
Station. No enemy camp or pickets were
visible, and Surby could only see a few peo-
ple moving around a large building that he
took to be a military hospital. Pushing
closer to town, Surby and his two scouts
stopped at a house on the edge of town,
where he learned that two trains were due
to arrive shortly.
Not wasting any time, Surby sent one of
his scouts back to inform Blackburn and
then hurried into town with his other scout
to capture the telegraph station, which he
found closed. Convalescents soon began to
pour out of the hospital upon seeing thetwo scouts. Surby pulled his revolver and
told them to remain inside.
Blackburn and his men thundered into
town none too soon as a freight train puff-
ing black smoke approached a mile east of
town. Most of the blue raiders dismounted,
hid their horses, and took cover; pickets
moved to secure the different approaches to
town. The locomotive, pulling 25 freight
cars loaded with ordnance and commissary
supplies for Vicksburg, rolled into the sta-
tion. Blackburn gave a signal, and troopers
came out from hiding and seized the train,
then quickly hid again as a second train
neared town.
The combined freight and passenger
train soon slowed down by the depot.
Surby climbed aboard the locomotive and
pointed his revolver at the engineer, telling
him that if he reversed the engine Surby
would put a ball through him. The troop-
ers rushed from their hiding place and
seized the train’s 13 cars. Four of the cars
carried ammunition and arms, while six
had commissary stores on them and the
remaining two contained personal belong-
ings of people leaving Vicksburg.
Since both trains carried explosives andloaded shells aboard them, Blackburn had
them moved away from the hospital after
the civilians’ goods were removed from the
two boxcars. They were then set on fire,
and the shells and ammunition began to
explode. Grierson, who was nearing town,
heard the ammunition exploding and
charged into Newton with his men, believ-
ing Blackburn was under attack. Grierson
was relieved to learn the true state of events.
Now serious destruction got underway.
The Federal cavalry commander ordered
Starr to take two battalions of the 6th Illi-
nois east of town to torch bridges and tres-
tles, cut down telegraph poles, and destroy
the lines. Captain Joseph Herring was
ordered west of town with a battalion of
the 7th Illinois to do the same thing. More
destruction took place in town, where a
warehouse containing 500 arms and a large
number of uniforms was set on fire. Rail-
road rails were pulled up and thrown on
fires of burning crossties and then twisted.
The two locomotives exploded.
By 2 PM, the destruction was complete,
and Grierson headed south again, know-
ing the Confederates were looking for him
to the north. Before leaving the burning
and smoking destruction at Newton Sta-
tion, Grierson and his officers asked some
of the paroled Confederate officers taken
at the hospital about various roads to the
east, hoping to confuse pursuers.Grierson’s Butternut Guerrillas, scouts from the
7th Illinois disguised as Confederate irregulars,
charge across the Pearl River bridge east of
Vicksburg just before the bridge could be
destroyed by locals.Harper’s WeeklyCWQ-EW16 Griersons Raid_Layout 1 10/23/15 12:48 PM Page 86