graph operator, but as the two scouts
headed out onto the muddy street they
were spotted by the Smith County sheriff,
who had escaped during the night. The
scouts jumped onto their horses and
spurred out of town, rejoining the other
scouts a mile to the east. Surby sent back
word to Prince about what had happened,
then charged back into Hazlehurst, finding
the streets deserted.
With rain beginning to pound down yet
again, the scouts learned that a train was
coming. The rest of Prince’s command soon
arrived and set up an ambush for the south-
bound train. Spotting the bluejackets as he
rolled into town, the engineer put the
engine in reverse and steamed back out of
Hazlehurst. Despite this setback, the
raiders tore up tracks and torched a good
number of boxcars full of commissary
stores, ammunition, and shells. An explo-
sion accidentally set some of the buildings
on fire, which the Federal troopers tried to
help extinguish.
The rest of the brigade soon joined
Prince, and they were heading west again
by 7 PM. At Gallatin after dispersing the
town’s defenders, Grierson turned south-
west to confuse any pursuit. A small wagon
train carrying a 64-pounder Parrot gun was
captured and spiked, and 1,400 pounds of
gunpowder were destroyed. The raidersstopped for the night at another plantation
to grab some much-needed sleep.
By 7 AMon April 28, the Federal raiders
were on the move again intending to push
toward Grand Gulf. Along the way Grier-
son dispatched a battalion of the 7th Illi-
nois under Captain George Trafton to
make a lightning strike against the New
Orleans & Jackson Railroad at Bahala, cre-
ating a diversion while the rest of the col-
umn headed to Union Church. At 2 PM,
about two miles northwest of their desti-
nation, Grierson’s men were resting when
a Rebel cavalry detachment fired on their
pickets. The Federals quickly scrambled
after them, pushing the Rebels back
through Union Church before halting for
the night.
At 3 AMon the 29th, they were joined by
Trafton, who brought disturbing news.
After creating havoc at Bahala and discov-
ering an empty Confederate camp nearby,
Surby and another scout learned that
Adams’ cavalry was in the area and prepar-
ing an ambush on the road between Union
Church and Fayette. Grierson, learning
that his pursuers were increasing, decided
to head back east to the New Orleans &
Jackson Railroad. To throw off pursuers,
he ordered a battalion of the 6th Illinois to
make a demonstration toward Fayette,
where Adams had set up his ambush. Therest of the brigade, soon to be joined by the
diversionary battalion, set out in the oppo-
site direction for Brookhaven, overtaking
along the way a wagon train hauling sev-
eral hogsheads of sugar.
At Brookhaven the troopers charged and
captured more than 200 Confederate sol-
diers, whom they immediately paroled.
They set on fire a section of trestlework, a
small bridge, railroad cars, and the train
station itself. By this time Adams had dis-
covered the Yankees weren’t coming, but
help was on the way. Pemberton had dis-
patched Colonel Robert Richardson to
take command of the 20th Mississippi
Infantry, which was now acting as mounted
infantry, and chase down Grierson.
Despite some delays, Richardson’s force
rolled into Hazelhurst around noon and set
out for Union Church. After reaching there
at 9 PMand learning the Yankees had left
that morning, Richardson rested his men
and horses for a couple of hours before set-
ting off for Brookhaven. Two other Con-
federate forces, under Colonel W.R. Miles
and Major James De Baun, were dis-
patched by Gardner from Port Hudson to
aid in trapping the Federals.
After breaking camp eight miles from
Brookhaven early on the morning of April
30, Grierson’s raiders pushed south along
the railroad, burning bridges, trestles, rail-
road cars, and depots at Bogue Chitto and
Summit (although the depot in the latter
village was not torched since it was too
close to private houses). Behind the raiders
came Richardson, who linked up with
Love’s command and hoped with Adams’
help to overtake and defeat Grierson.
At Summit, Grierson was informed erro-
neously that the Rebels had a strong force
at Osyka—a rumor spread by the Confed-
erate commander there. Grierson would
later write, “Hearing nothing more of our
forces at Grand Gulf and not being able to
ascertain anything definite as to General
Grant’s movements or whereabouts, I con-
cluded to make for Baton Rouge.” At sun-
set the Federals rode south out of Summit,
following the railroad toward Osyka. Once
well clear of the citizens’ eyes, Grierson
turned his brigade west for Baton Rouge.Benjamin Grierson leads his men into Baton Rouge on May 2, having covered more than 600 miles in 16
days and destroyed more than 50 miles of railroad and seized 1,000 horses and mulesHarper’s WeeklyCWQ-EW16 Griersons Raid_Layout 1 10/23/15 12:50 PM Page 88