After a three-hour rest five miles south of
Newton Station, the raiders pushed on to
Garlandville around dusk. Grierson would
later write, “We found the citizens, many of
them venerable with age, armed with shot-
guns and organized to resist our
approach.” A cavalry charge scattered
them, but not before they got off a volley
that severely wounded a trooper. The mili-
tia was disarmed and released. Grierson
reported that the militiamen were apolo-
getic, “acknowledging their mistake, and
declared that they had been grossly
deceived as to our real character. One vol-
unteered his services as a guide and upon
leaving us declared that hereafter his
prayers should be for the Union Army.”
The Federal column pushed southwest
again, the exhausted men slumping in the
saddles. Some actually fell asleep as they
rode, having not slept more than five hours
in the last 72. Finally, they stopped for the
night around midnight at a plantation
belonging to a Doctor Mackadora, 50
miles from Newton and a couple of miles
west of Montrose.
By 8 AMon April 25, the troopers were
back in the saddle again, riding west. To
get his men safely out of Rebel territory,
Grierson intended to head for Grand Gulf
along the Mississippi, where he knew
Grant was intending to land his army. By
this time, hearing of the strike on Newton
Station, Pemberton tardily grew concerned
over the rail line to Vicksburg and mobi-
lized more units, including Adams’ cavalry.
After making only five miles, the Fed-
eral column held up at a plantation, rest-
ing until 2 PM, while parties were sent out
to find fresh horses hidden in the swamps
and woods. They continued on, stopping
at another plantation for the night. Gri-
erson ordered one of Surby’s scouts, Sam
Nelson, to create a diversion by riding
north to Forest Station on the Southern
Railroad and cutting the telegraph line. If
possible, Nelson was to torch bridges and
trestles as well.
Nelson, however, would not complete his
mission; he ran into a Confederate cavalry
detachment under Captain R.C. Love. The
quick-thinking Nelson told Love that hewas a paroled Confederate and claimed the
Yankees numbered 1,800 men and were
headed east toward the Mobile & Ohio
Railroad. Satisfied with his answers, Love
let Nelson go. The raider raced back to
warn Grierson, knowing that once the
Rebel cavalry reached the main road and
saw the Federal cavalry column’s tracks,
they would determine their true direction.
Forbes’ Company B, meanwhile, reached
Newton Station, where they learned from
prisoners of the Federals intention to head
east. It was rumored that that Federals
were at the town of Enterprise, where
Forbes was now determined to go. Some-
time around 1 PMhe neared the town only
to find it strongly held by the Confederates.
In a bold move, Forbes approached the
town under a flag of truce and met with
Colonel Edwin Goodwin, commander ofthe 35th Alabama Infantry, demanding the
surrender of the town on behalf of Grier-
son. Goodwin asked for an hour to con-
sider the surrender offer, to which Forbes
agreed. Forbes did not wait around to hear
Goodwin’s answer, galloping west as soon
as his back was turned.
Grierson was asleep when Nelson arrived
in the early morning of April 26 with news
of encountering the Rebel cavalry. The
camp was soon a bustle of activity as the
Federals prepared to pull out; by 6 AMthey
were riding west, burning bridges behind
them. By nightfall they passed through
Westville and stopped to rest two miles to
the west at a plantation. With them they
had the Smith County sheriff, who had
been captured by Surby’s scouts.
The raiders made 40 miles with 60 more
to go before reaching Grand Gulf. Two
major rivers lay in their way, and Grierson
wanted crossings over them seized and held.
He directed the 7th Illinois to seize a bridge
over the Strong River, leaving a detachment
to hold it. Two other battalions, under
Prince, rode on to capture a ferry over the
Pearl River that was vital to the Yankees’
escape. By the early morning of the 27th,
Prince had reached the river’s edge only to
find the ferry on other side of it.
The ferry came back across the river, its
handlers mistaking the Federals for Con-
federate cavalry. Twenty-four mud-
splashed troopers and their mounts
boarded the ferry and were taken across
the river. Prince had ordered them to cap-
ture the Confederate guards on the far side
only they discovered there were none. Gri-
erson soon arrived, but it would take eight
hours to get his whole command across the
river. Meanwhile, Prince and the two bat-
talions under his command, with the But-
ternut Guerrillas in the advance, headed
toward Hazlehurst, where the New
Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Rail-
road passed through town. Prince sent in
two of the Butternut Guerrillas to send a
telegram to Pemberton telling him that the
Yankees had reached the Pearl River but
found the ferry destroyed and were head-
ing northeast.
The message was duly sent by the tele-A well-turned-out Mississippi cavalryman, with
a tasseled hat and an unsheathed saber, poses
for a formal shot in a photographer’s studio.
Campaigning in the field was far less formal.Library of CongressCWQ-EW16 Griersons Raid_Layout 1 10/23/15 12:49 PM Page 87