Battle of Coffeeville

Battle of Coffeeville
	Part of the American Civil War
	; Battle of Coffeeville Monument, Mobile National Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama
Date	December 5, 1862
Location	Near Coffeeville, Yalobusha County, Mississippi.
Result	Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
T. Lyle Dickey	Mansfield Lovell[1]; Lloyd Tilghman[2]
Units involved
Cavalry, Army of the Tennessee	1st Corps, Army of West Tennessee
Strength
1,500[1]-3,500[2]; 2 artillery pieces	1,300[2]-2,500[1]; 6 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
10[1]-34[2] killed; 54[3]-234[2] wounded; 43 captured[1]	7 killed; 43 wounded; 10 missing[2]

The Battle of Coffeeville, fought December 5, 1862, was a military engagement of the American Civil War fought near Coffeeville, Mississippi.

Background

Operations against Vicksburg and Grant's Bayou Operations.

Confederate

Union

By November 1862, Northern Mississippi was securely in the hands of the Union army after key, yet costly, wins at Shiloh, Iuka, and Corinth. General Ulysses S. Grant began the Mississippi Central Railroad Campaign, an overland push (following the main rail line through the heart of Mississippi, capturing the towns and rail along the way) into Mississippi with the goal of capturing Vicksburg in conjunction with General William Tecumseh Sherman, who would follow the river route South.

After being defeated at the Battle of Corinth, Major General Earl Van Dorn's Confederate Army of West Tennessee was on the retreat. At the battle of Hatchie's Bridge, Van Dorn successfully evaded the army's capture by the Union. The Confederate army kept falling back through Oxford and then Coffeeville, constantly skirmishing with pursuing Union cavalry, who were ahead of Grant's column.

Order of battle

Abbreviations used

MG = Major General
BG = Brigadier General
Col = Colonel
Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel
Maj = Major
Cpt = Captain

Union

Cavalry, Army of the Tennessee – Col Theophilus Lyle Dickey

Brigade	Regiments and Others
Cavalry	4th Illinois Cavalry: Col Theophilus Lyle Dickey 6th Illinois Cavalry: Col Benjamin Grierson 2nd Iowa Cavalry: Col Edward Hatch 7th Kansas Cavalry: BG Albert Lindley Lee 3rd Michigan Cavalry: Col John Kemp Mizner 5th Ohio Cavalry: Maj Elbridge G. Ricker
Artillery	Battery G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery

Confederate

1st Corps, Army of West Tennessee – MG Mansfield Lovell

Division	Brigade	Regiments and Others
1st Division BG Lloyd Tilghman	1st Brigade BG William Edwin Baldwin	8th Kentucky Infantry: Col Hylan B. Lyon 14th Mississippi Infantry: Maj Washington L. Doss 23rd Mississippi Infantry: Ltc Moses McCarley 26th Mississippi Infantry: Maj Tully F. Parker
	Cavalry Col William Hicks Jackson	7th Tennessee Cavalry
	Artillery Cpt Culbertson	Cumberland Light Artillery, Kentucky (one section): Cpt W. H. Hedden
2nd Division BG Albert Rust	2nd Brigade Col Albert P. Thompson	9th Arkansas Infantry: Col Isaac L. Dunlop 3rd Kentucky Infantry
Unattached	Infantry	20th Arkansas Infantry
Unattached	Artillery	A section of Co. A and a section of Co. B, Pointe Coupee Artillery: Cpt Alcide Bouanchaud[4]

The battle

Outside of Coffeeville, the Confederate command decided to ambush the harassing enemy cavalry. On December 5, under the command of Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman, the men of Baldwin, Tilghman and Rust's brigades with artillery and support from W. H. Jackson's units, hid on a wooded ridge alongside the Water Valley-Coffeeville Road.

Around 2:30 pm, the Union Cavalry (led by Colonel Theophilus Lyle Dickey) approached Coffeeville within one mile. When the Cavalry was within 50 yards of the Confederate positions, it was fired upon by artillery, followed by volleys of infantry fire.

According to letters sent from James Thompson, a member of the Union cavalry, to his wife, Charlotte, James was positioned behind Colonel Dickey in the column. He states that during the charge, Colonel Dickey was shot three times and that one of the orderlies was shot four times. Thompson fell off of his horse and was held prisoner before attempting to escape on another horse, which the Confederates shot. He promptly found a third horse and made his escape "without a scratch."[5]

After the skirmish, the Confederates pushed the Union Cavalry back about three miles to the head of Grant's column. The pursuit halted and the Confederates returned to the ambush site. The Union Cavalry retreated to Water Valley. The fighting lasted from around 4 pm until dark.[1] The Battle of Coffeeville brought Grant's Mississippi invasion via Tennessee to a halt. He pulled his army back to Oxford.

References

Tucker, Spencer (2013). American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 395–396.
Van Dorn, Earl (1863). Reports of Battles Embracing the Defence of Vicksburg. Richmond, VA: Bailey & co. pp. 103–109.
Churchill, Samuel J. (1901). Genealogy and Biography of the Connecticut Branch of the Churchill Family in America. Lawrence, KS: Journal Publishing. pp. 71–77.
Sides, Don, (2015) The Essential Guide to the Battle of Coffeeville, Mississippi, p. 54. Cpt Bouanchaud is mentioned as Cpt Bouchard in Tilghman's battle report.
Arnold, Bruce. "A Horse to Live and a Greyhound to Die: Early Civil War Experiences of Robert and James Thompson" (PDF). Retrieved October 5, 2023.

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[Encyclopedia-1] Tucker, Spencer (2013). American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 395–396.

[Van_Dorn-2] Van Dorn, Earl (1863). Reports of Battles Embracing the Defence of Vicksburg. Richmond, VA: Bailey & co. pp. 103–109.

[3] Churchill, Samuel J. (1901). Genealogy and Biography of the Connecticut Branch of the Churchill Family in America. Lawrence, KS: Journal Publishing. pp. 71–77.

[4] Sides, Don, (2015) The Essential Guide to the Battle of Coffeeville, Mississippi, p. 54. Cpt Bouanchaud is mentioned as Cpt Bouchard in Tilghman's battle report.

[5] Arnold, Bruce. "A Horse to Live and a Greyhound to Die: Early Civil War Experiences of Robert and James Thompson" (PDF). Retrieved October 5, 2023.