After Coffeeville

6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

After Coffeeville

By the 2nd of December, the Sixth was at Grenada, entrenched on the south side of the Yalobusha River. Morale was low and rations scarce. The ranks were thin because serveral had been captured at Water Valley and desertion. That was the way it way as the end of 1862.

In mid January of 1863, Rust's Brigade was ordered to Coffeeville for a few days, then went back to Grenada then down to Vaiden. At Vaiden, the army was, once again, reorganized. Major General William Wing Loring was given command of the First Division which consisted of the brigades of Albert Rust (including the Sixth), Lloyd Tilghman, and T. N. Waul's Texas Legion.

Rust's Brigade left Vaiden the first of February and rode the cars to Jackson. Nine days later, they departed Jackson and marched to the Big Black River, between Jackson and Vicksburg. By the end of February, they were on their way to Port Hudson, Louisiana.

The commander at Port Hudson was Major General Franklin Gardner. Things were quiet at the port until Union Admiral David Farragut's armada steamed past the port. In anticipation of a naval attack, General Gardner began fortifying the perimeter. On March 13th, the Sixth and a light artillery battery were ferried across the Mississippi River to Troth's Landing approximately one and a half miles down river from Port Hudson.

The next afternoon, Admiral Farragut shelled Port Hudson, doing little damage. Later that night, the admiral lashed his armada in pairs and began a run past Port Hudson. The Confederates at Troth's Landing sounded the alarm and began firing at the warships. The slow moving ships were easy targets for the artillery and received some damage. The ships returned fire, but there were no casualities at Troth's Landing.

The Sixth remained at the landing for several days. On the 17th, there was a skirmish with enemy cavalry and Privates A. H. Johnson, H. H. Neal and J. R. Randall were captured (they were exchanged a few weeks later). Soon after the skirmish, the Sixth and the battery were ferried back across the Mississippi River.

At the end of March, high command reorganized the army again. The 35th Alabama, 9th Arkansas, 1st Confederate Battalion, 12th Louisiana, 6th and 15th Mississippi Infantry Regiments, Hudson's Battery and Companies A and C of the Point Coupee Artillery comprised Rust's Brigade.

The first week of April, Rust's Brigade left Port Hudson, arriving in Jackson three days later. Soon after their arrival, there was another reorganization. General Rust was replaced by General Tilghman and the new brigade was made up of the 6th, 14th, 15th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 37th and 40th Mississippi Infantry Regiments.

This page was last updated on August 8, 2000.