CHAMPION'S HILL, Battle of. On 30 April 1864, General Grant crossed to the east side of the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg, 32 miles in a direct line below Vicksburg. On 1 May he marched to Port Gibson, defeating a Confederate force under Gen. J. S. Bowen. This turned the position at Grand Gulf, and on the 3d Grant reached Hankinson's Ferry; then, after bringing up supplies, marched north east to interpose between the Confederates, under Gen. J. C. Pemberton, in and near Vicks burg, and those at Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, 40 miles east of Vicksburg. The battle of Raymond was fought and won on the 12th, and on the 14th Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was attacked, defeated and driven north from Jackson, Grant occupying the place. Learning from an intercepted dispatch, one of three sent by Johnston to Pemberton, on the 13th, that Pemberton had been advised to march with all his available force on Clinton, 10 miles west of Jackson, and attack Grant's rear, while John ston operated on his front or flank, Grant, leaving Sherman with two divisions at Jackson to destroy all public property and manufactur ing establishments, turned the rest of his army from Clinton, Raymond and Auburn, on Bolton and Edwards' Station, on the Vicksburg and Jackson Railroad, the nearest points where Johnston could unite forces with Pemberton, and at night of the 13th the various divisions were near their designated positions. Pem berton, with the three divisions of C. L. Steven son, J. S. Bowen and W. W. Loring, was near Big Black River on the 14th when he received one of the triplicate dispatches sent by John ston on the 13th. Anxious to hold Vicksburg and the line of the Big Black, 13 miles east. he questioned the wisdom of acting upon John ston's suggestion and called a council of his leading officers, a majority of whom agreed with Johnston; but he adopted the suggestion of Loring and Stevenson, to move on Grant's rear in the direction of Raymond and ad vanced on the 15th for that purpose, Loring's division halting at night on the Raymond road at Elliston's, eight miles east of Edwards' Sta tion, the other divisions farther north on roads coming into the Raymond road. Early next morning the march was resumed, but the head of column had scarcely left camp when Pem berton received a dispatch from Johnston that he had been driven north from Jackson, and advising that he move directly on Clinton, and inform him of the movement, that he also might move to that point with 6,000 men. Pemberton concluded to make the movement. He immediately turned back his trains to Ed wards' Station to get the road leading to Brownsville on the north, and had scarcely done so, when Osterhaus' and Smith's divisions of Grant's army made their appearance on the Raymond road and attacked his skirmishers, upon which he suspended his movement to join Johnston. Continuing the reversal of his trains to the rear, he formed for battle on the general line of a cross-road, connecting the Raymond and Clinton roads Loring on the Champion's Hill, about 60 to 70 feet above the general level of the country, covering the Clin ton road and the intersection of the cross-road. Stevenson formed line while heavy skirmishing was going on to his right. Pemberton had about 17,500 men. The position of Grant's army on the night of the 15th was as follows: Hovey's division was at Bolton on the Clinton road; Logan's and Crocker's were on the same road a few miles in Hovey's rear; Osterhaus' was on a cross-road, half-way from Raymond to right, covering the Raymond road, Bowen in the centre and Stevenson on the left on the northern point of a narrow ridge, known as Bolton; Carr's a short distance in his rear; and the divisions of A. J. Smith and Blair were west of Raymond on the Edwards' Station road. These seven divisions numbered about 32,000 men, on the three roads converging on Ed wards' Station, and known as the Raymond road on the south, the middle road and the Clinton road on the north. Early on the morn ing of the 16th, Grant, who vas at Clinton, heard that Pemberton was marching to attack him, upon which he sent orders for MacPher son, with the divisions of Logan and Crocker, to close up rapidly on Hovey, and for the four divisions under McClernand on the Raymond and middle roads to move forward cautiously and establish communications with each other.
He then hastened by the Clinton road to the front. A. J. Smith, advancing on the Ray mond road, attacked and drove in Loring's skirmishers about 8 o'clock, and Osterhaus on the middle road engaged those in his front, artillery was brought up and opened fire, but McClernand, who was in command of the four divisions, more than half the army on this part of the field, doubtful if Grant wanted him to bring on a general engagement, deferred at tack until 2 P.M., when he received Grant's order to attack, upon which he ordered Smith and Osterhaus to attack vigorously and ((press for victory," but the attack was not a vigorous one, and meanwhile the battle was being fought out and decided on the right, on Champion's Hill. Hovey, advancing on the Clinton road, began skirmishing with Stevenson about 10 o'clock and began to form line for a general attack, but was directed by Grant to wait until McClernand could be heard from. Logan came up at 11 o'cleck; nothing had been heard from McClernand and line was formed for a general attack, Hovey south of the Clinton road and Logan on his right. It was about noon when Hovey advanced with great spirit, climbed Champion's Hill and attacked; finally, after a hard contest with varying success, driving back the right of Stevenson and cap turing 11 guns, soon after which Logan, who had worked around on Stevenson's left, on the north side of the hill, attacked and drove back Stevenson's left and captured seven guns. The positions thus gained were held until 2 o'clock. Meanwhile Stevenson, who had been compelled to take ground to the left to meet Lo 's flank movement and cover the road to Baker's Creek and Edwards' Station, had induced Pem berton to draw Bowen to the left and close the interval between the two divisions and Loring was ordered to close in on Bowen. It was after 2 o'clock when Bowen closed in on Ste venson and his two leading brigades, F. M. Cockrell's and Green's, attacked Hovey furi ously and drove him back down the hill, Hovey contesting every foot, hut forced to abandon nine of the captured guns. As Hovey fell back two brigades of Crocker's division came to his support, and the Confederates were checked: Artillery was now massed and poured such an effective enfilading fire upon Steven son's line that it was much shaken, and Hovey and Crocker again charged up the hill, driving Stevenson and Bowen, after a desperate resist ance, before them; and Pemberton, seeing his left entirely broken, at 3 o'clock gave the order for a general retreat, which he ordered Loring to cover. Before this, Loring, leaving Gen. Lloyd Tilghman's brigade on the Raymond road to oppose Smith and Blair, had already with two brigades nearly closed up on Bowen, and when the retreat began was forming his men between the Clinton and Raymond roads, when he was attacked by Osterhaus, and soon gave way, falling back to the Raymond road.
Meanwhile A. J. Smith had advanced on the Raymond road, defeated and killed Tilghman. Loring reunited his command and retreated on the Raymond road, but when he came to the ford of Baker's Creek he found it in Union possession, upon which, after vain effort to find a crossing lower down, and realizing that he had been cut off from Pemberton's army, he moved off to the south, abandoning his artil lery, and on the 19th joined Johnston, who meanwhile had reoccupied Jackson. Steven son's and Bowen's men retreated to the Big Black, Grant following as far as Edwards' Sta tion, where darkness ended the pursuit. Grant says he fought the battle with about 15,000 men actually engaged in four hours of hard fighting, preceded by two or three hours of skirmishes, some of which rose almost to the dig nity of battle. The Union loss was 410 killed, 1,844 wounded and 187 missing. The Confederate loss was 380 killed, 1,018 wounded, 2,441 miss ing and 24 guns taken. Grant pursued next day, the 17th, defeated Pemberton at the Big Black and on the 19th invested Vicksburg. Consult 'Official Records' (Vol. XXIV); Green,