May 17, 1863---The Battle of Big Black River Bridge

MAY 17, 1863:  

The Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi (The Battle of Big Black). Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge on the evening of May 16–17, where they took up defensive positions to impede the Union advance toward Vicksburg.  When the pursuing Union troops arrived in the morning, they found the Confederates dug in behind breastworks of cotton bales fronted by a bayou and abatis. The Confederates laid down an ineffective artillery barrage. Avoiding a frontal assault, the Union troops slued around the Confederate front by crossing one of the many river meanders in the area and attacked the Confederate breastworks en enfilade. The Confederates broke and withdrew in disorder across the Big Black River, fleeing into Vicksburg. The Union captured 1,700 rebel troops and as many drowned. The remaining Confederate forces in the area were now bottled up in Vicksburg. Big Black sealed Vicksburg's fate: Siege.