VICKSBURG Chapter Four

The sun reluctantly rose that Saturday morning, 20 December, 1862, into a clear and cold sky at just about 7:00am. The temperature was struggling to climb above freezing as 42 year old Sargent William Shelby Bolerjack of the 29th Illinois infantry, quickly pulled his blouse and laced up his boots. He was rushing only to stay warm. With the roof of the County Court House (above, right) over their heads the forty men of Company "G" -  including four of William's younger brothers - expected another day of monotony policing the local civilians. Companies "H" and "F" were billeted warm and secure in commercial building around the central square. But as the heat of his first coffee touched William's lips he heard not to distant gunfire. The Sargent rushed to awaken the company drummer boys, ordering them to beat reveille. Holly Springs was under attack.

The man in charged with protecting the depot at Holly Springs was a 35 year old son of privilege, lawyer and diplomat Robert Creighton Murphy (above). Before the war he had been the U.S. Counsel to Shanghai, China for three years and then the man on the ground in northwestern Wisconsin guarding the investments for the powerful Democrat and wealthy Boston lawyer Caleb Cushing. You may have noticed no where in that brief resume was there any mention of military training or service. And yet his Democratic connections insured the “frat boy” went into the war as a colonel in the 8^th Wisconsin infantry.

Three months before that cold morning Robert Murphy had been in charge of another supply depot, this one in the little town of Iuka, Mississippi (above). Learning that a Rebel force was bearing down on  his position Murphy had evacuated the place so fast the entire depot of supplies to fell into Rebel hands. 

That gift had allowed the rebels to mount their assault on Cornith (above). Major General Rosecrans, who successfully defended Corinth, demanded Murphy be court-martialed. But Grant, who did like or trust Rosecrans, insured the trial found Murphy not guilty. And then, a few days ago, Grant had placed the privileged Murphy in command of the vital depot at Holly Springs.

Colonel Murphy had divided his 1,600 men between three locations – the court house and central square, the train station (above) and in houses at the edge of town. The positions were too scattered  to support each other, and no defensive positions were occupied.  And despite being warned about Rebel cavalry in the area, and despite his earlier experience at Iuka, Murphy did not  put his men on alert, nor even warn them about the report of rebel cavalry.  Thus, when Earl Van Dorn rode into town he captured Murphy in his night shirt.

And that is how the short but handsome, debonair and fecund ladies man - he would father 4 children with three white women that we know of, (and God only knows how many slave women he raped)   in addition to the 3 children he fathered with his own wife - 62 year old Major General Earl Van Dorn was given a second chance at glory and redeeming his reputation.

A year earlier General Van Dorn had been promoted to commander of Confederate troops  in the Trans-Mississippi, and assigned to retake St. Louis, Missouri. He boasted to his wife, "I must have St. Louis—then Huzza!" At the June 1862 battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas Van Dorn not only outnumbered the Federal troops, but his attack totally surprised them.  But he had also out run his own supplies, and in two days of vicious fighting, his hungry men won the battle but were then too exhausted to exploit their victory. And thus Missouri was lost forever.  Huzza!

Van Dorn was relieved and transferred to command of the Army of Tennessee. In October he led a chunk of that army in a bold attempt at retaking Corinth, Mississippi.  But Van Dorn lost another two day battle and this time was court martialed for again out running his supply lines, sending his men into battle without enough food or water, neglecting his wounded and even being drunk. The Court cleared Van Dorn of all charges but Confederate President Jefferson Davis stepped in and gave the  army to John C. Pemberton. And then came the plan for a cavalry raid to destroy the Federal supply depot at Holly Springs. Colonel Griffith of Texas had conceived of the raid, and planned it, but everyone knew there was only one man who could lead it - Major General Earl Van Dorn. Thus Van Dorn was first promoted to his level of incompetence and was then reduced to his level of competence, again

The timing could not have been better for the rebels. Van Dorn left Grenada, Mississippi on Thursday, 18 December, leading 3,500 horsemen om a march around the Federal right flank.  One day later they appeared briefly along the Central Mississippi railroad, tearing up some track, burning some box cars and cutting the telegraph lines. And then on Saturday, 20 December, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman' sailed from the Memphis Docks, putting his three divisions beyond supporting distance for Grant. And on that same day, as if from nowhere, the competent Van Dorn led three columns of rebel horsemen galloping into the middle of Holly Springs.

It was a brilliant attack, perfectly executed. Wrote one Confederate officer, " “The first...column was to dash into and capture the infantry camped in front of us; the second...was to sweep...straight into the town...then wheel to the right and charge the cavalry camp..." They caught the 2nd Illinois Cavalry regiment lined up for morning inspection, without their carbines. Still, armed only with sabers, the Yankees managed to fend off the charge by the First Mississippi horsemen. Thrown back the rebels quickly came on again. Only a hundred Yankees managed to mount their horses and escape. All the rest became captives.  

Meanwhile a third rebel column had dashed through the town, "...disregarding everything until it struck the infantry occupying the public square.” That infantry were three companies of the 29th Illinois.  Hearing the first shots from the outskirts of town, Captain Solomon Scott Brill - who was still recovering from a head wound suffered back in February at Fort Donaldson - led "F" company on a quick march to the nearest high ground, where they were joined by companies "G" and "H"

Most of the Yankees had no time even get organized. By 8:00am it was all over

Outnumbered two to one before the battle began, never able to form into a cohesive force because of the incompetence of their commander, even those soldiers and officers who wanted to resist found themselves facing overwhelming odds. Choosing  to save lives they surrendered; all 1,500 men.  Van Dorn quickly paroled the entire garrison, taking them out of the war until they could be matched with paroled Confederate prisoners from other battlefields.  A lot of the 29th Illinois soldiers, like Sargent Bolerjack, were so disgusted with their experience they did not reenlist when their two year commitment ran out. However, most, such as Captain Brill, stuck it out. The brave Captain would die of his wounds three years after the war ended. 

Over the next 7 hours Van Dorn's cavalry proceeded to steal what they could carry away on horse back; food, weapons, ammunition, medicine, uniforms, and, of course, horses. What they could not steal they burned, including an entire hospital, intended to care for Yankee sick and wounded. They tore up the rail yards, and the telegraph lines, poles and wires for miles in both directions.  That evening, when they they retreated, Van Dorn wisely headed north, to confuse the Yankees.  Three days later his unit was back in Confederate lines, stronger and better equipped than when they started out. Grant admitted to losing $1.5 million in supplies. Other estimates ran as high as 4 to $5 million.  

The instant he heard of destruction Grant ordered his 42,000 men on half rations.  With the telegraph lines cut he was beyond help until he repaired those lines. Instead he chose to admit the failure of the overland advance, and, four days later, evacuated Oxford, He fell back all the way to the line of LaGrange, Tennessee to  Corinth, Mississippi. An entire month and a half of effort was abandoned. He also admitted failure with Colonel  Robert Murphy. But this time, instead of Court-Martial, Grant ordered him dismissed from the service entirely.

Being a connected politician, Murphy did not slink away in shame with his tail between his legs. Instead he wrote to President Lincoln, demanding "justice".  And eventually the "frat boy" won.  He was reinstated to his rank, but transferred to the War Department, where General-in-Chief Halleck and Secretary of War Stanton could prevent him from surrendering Washington, D.C.   

More immediately, the Holly Springs raid meant Lieutenant General Pemberton could concentrate on Sherman's right hook when it finally appeared out of the Yazoo river bottom lands behind Vicksburg.  It was a most inauspicious beginning to the most auspicious military campaign in American history.

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