On the 30th of April, the
thirteenth corps under [Union Gen. John A.] McClernand (in which were the Eleventh,
Twenty-third, and Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Regiments, and the Sixth and Twelfth
Batteries) crossed the Mississippi, followed by the seventeenth, under
[Mag. Gen. James B.] McPherson, (in which were the Fourteenth, Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Wisconsin Infantry).
All landed safely at Bruinsburg, the enemy making no resistance. McClernand
immediately moved toward Port Gibson in the interior. Advancing eight miles,
he met the rebels about one o'clock at night, when an artillery duel occurred
for two hours, ceasing only as the moon disappeared, and then the rebels took the
opportunity to retire. This was the battle of Anderson's Hill, and in it the
Eleventh Wisconsin and the First Battery took part.
The next morning, May 1st, we
met the enemy, under General Bowen, strongly posted at an angle made by two roads
leading to Port Gibson, and four miles from that town. Much depended on the
issues of that battle, and it was fought with great determination. On the right
we were successful all day; but on the left [General P.J.] Osterhaus was baffled
until [McPherson's Brig. Gen. John A.] Logan came up, when the rebels were
driven with the bayonet, and then subjected to fire of our artillery.
Their loss at our left alone was one hundred and fifty killed, three hundred wounded,
and six hundred prisoners. The next day the enemy were pursued toward Vicksburg,
across the Big Black River.
The Eleventh Wisconsin took an
important part in this engagement, remaining in the front until the victory was
gained. The brigade commander, Colonel Stone, complimented the regiment and
Lieutenant Colonel Wood, who had command that day; also Colonel Harris, who was
on the ground, but too unwell to take part, and Captain Whittlesey, who was his
assistant adjutant general, and Lieutenant R. E. Jackson.
The Twenty-third Wisconsin
marched most of the previous night; reached the field at eight o'clock in the
morning; under orders, joined the reserve; in the afternoon supported a battery
for an hour; then advanced, skirmishing through the cane breaks, and capturing
twenty prisoners.
The Twenty-ninth Wisconsin
contributed largely to the success of the day. They were sent, at one time,
to check a flank movement of the enemy, and were obliged to fight severely or suffer
defeat. "They were assailed," says Colonel Gill, "by a heavy fire from the enemy
on the top of a ridge, across the ravine, and also from woods on the right. They
were forced to halt in this position. * * * Here they kept up an incessant fire
for over an hour, subject to a heavy fire from the enemy on the opposite ridge,
who seemed intent on driving them from their position, and securing the battery,
which fired over their heads, in the rear." General McGinnis, their brigade
commander, made special mention of them for their gallantry in this their first
battle, and declared that they fought like veterans. They lost eleven killed on
the field, ten who died of wounds, and fifty wounded, but not mortally.