At dawn they stopped for a brief rest at a
plantation.
Richardson’s and Love’s combined force
charged into Summit at 3 AMon May 1,
only to find that once again the Yankees
had cleared out. Although he missed Gri-
erson, Richardson did learn from the
townspeople that the Yankees were headed
for Osyka. Richardson rode out of Summit
intending to get ahead of the raiders and
set up an ambush. By 9 AM, his scouts
informed him that Grierson was heading
west. Richardson had no choice but to rest
his worn-out men and horses for three
hours before pushing on to Osyka, which
he believed Grierson still intended to
attack.
Meanwhile, the Federals continued their
ride toward Baton Rouge. Ahead lay Wall’s
Bridge over the Tickfaw River. Surby and
his scouts were out front and discovered
fresh tracks of enemy cavalry headed from
Liberty to Osyka. The tracks belonged to
three companies of the 9th Louisiana Par-
tisan Rangers under De Baun, who had
stopped around 11:30 AMto rest and eat at
Wall’s Bridge. A small rear guard half a
mile to the rear was soon encountered by
Surby’s scouts. Although the scouts cap-
tured a few of the pickets, a couple of shots
rang out as troopers from the 7th Illinois
encountered more pickets. A Confederate
officer and his orderly, going to investigate,
were nabbed by the scouts.
Blackburn arrived on the scene after
hearing the shooting and ordered Surby
and his scouts to follow him. Believing the
Rebels knew of their presence, Blackburn
rashly charged across the bridge. “It
seemed as though a flame of fire burst forth
from every tree,” Surby later recorded.
Blackburn and his horse went down, while
Surby took a bullet in his thigh. A platoon
from G Company of the 7th Illinois under
Lieutenant William Styles followed across
the bridge and was met by a hail of lead
that thudded into three men and seven
horses. Five raiders were captured, while
four others managed to escape.
When Grierson and Prince arrived, they
quickly had two companies from the 7th
dismount and form into skirmish lines oneither side of the bridge. A Woodruff gun
was positioned on the road and began
hammering the Rebels in the trees across
the bridge. A second gun was brought into
action. Soon a battalion of the 6th Illinois
was ordered to charge across the bridge,
while two other battalions forded the river
to flank the Confederates and send them
fleeing in the direction of Osyka.
With the short fight over, the wounded
were moved to a nearby plantation.
Included among them was Surby, who put
his own blue uniform back on for safety in
case he was captured, and the mortally
wounded Blackburn. Volunteering to stay
behind with the wounded were surgeon
Erastus Yule and two other men. Surby was
right to be cautious—he and the others
would be taken prisoner by Adams, who
along with Richardson would soon give up
the chase after being ordered to return to
Port Gibson to fight Grant’s army, which
had finally crossed the Mississippi.
The Federals, meanwhile, pushed on
toward Baton Rouge. Samuel Nelson was
put in charge of Surby’s scouts, who again
led the way. Ahead of the raiders lay
Williams Bridge over the Amite River. The
raiders encountered and drove off more
Confederate cavalry, but not before word
was sent to Gardner at Port Hudson that
the Yankees were heading to WilliamsBridge. A sizable Confederate force was
dispatched from Port Hudson to secure the
bridge, but they were too late. Pushing
through the darkness, Grierson reached the
bridge at midnight and continued to ride
on through the night for the last river, the
Comite, which lay between the Federal cav-
alry and Baton Rouge.
Grierson easily forded the river and over-
ran a Rebel camp, capturing most of the
troops there. The dead-tired Federals,
many of them asleep in the saddle, pushed
on for another four miles before stopping
at a plantation to grab some rest. One of
Grierson’s orderlies, sound asleep, contin-
ued on toward Baton Rouge, where he was
awakened by Union pickets. He had quite
a story to tell, and soon a patrol was sent
out to make contact with Grierson.
A parade was held in Baton Rouge later
in the afternoon for the worn-out troopers
in honor of their raid. In 16 days they had
ridden 600 miles through enemy territory,
destroying more than 50 miles of railroad
tracks, capturing and paroling 500 prison-
ers, seizing 1,000 horses and mules, and
tying up precious Confederate reserves who
were needed at Vicksburg. With the parade
over, Grierson and his tired command
finally eased out of their saddles and got
some well-deserved rest. All in all, it had
been quite a trip.The Union camp in Baton Rouge at the close of Grierson’s campaign. Note the brush arbors erected
around the officers’ tents to provide extra cover from the elements.Both: Library of CongressCWQ-EW16 Griersons Raid_Layout 1 10/23/15 12:51 PM Page 89