Tag: Big Black River MS

Wikipedia says: Big Black River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi and a tributary of the Mississippi River. Its origin (region:US-MS&title=Big+Black+River+source 33°41′40″N 89°07′59″W) is in Webster County near the town of Eupora in the north central part of the state. From there it flows 330 miles (530 km) in a generally southwest direction until it merges with the Mississippi River 25 miles (40 km) south of the city of Vicksburg. It is the major contributor to the Big Black River Basin. It forms part of the northern border of Choctaw County, passes through Montgomery County, and forms the eastern border of Holmes County and the northern border of Claiborne County.

The Big Black River and most of its tributaries are silt-filled. The rivers carry large amounts of suspended sediment, resulting mostly from agricultural runoff. These tributaries are slow-flowing muddy streams. However, some are swift-flowing with sandy bottoms.

The Battle of Big Black River Bridge was fought on May 17, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. After a Union army commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton’s Confederate army at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, Pemberton ordered Brigadier General John S. Bowen to hold a rear guard at the crossing of the Big Black River to buy time for the Confederate army to regroup. Union troops commanded by Major General John McClernand pursued the Confederates, and encountered Bowen’s rear guard. A Union charge quickly broke the Confederate position, and during the retreat and river crossing, a rout ensued.

Many Confederate soldiers were captured, and 18 Confederate cannons were taken by the Union troops. The retreating Confederates burned both the railroad bridge over the Big Black River, as well as a steamboat that had been serving as a bridge. The surviving Confederate soldiers entered the fortifications at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the siege of Vicksburg began the next day.