Artillery at Log Cabin Ridge

As Union troops retreated toward Tishomingo Creek, they faced a blocked bridge, a rain-swollen creek, and deadly cannon fire from Log Cabin Ridge. Confederate artillerymen under Captain John W. Morton fired four field guns, including two twelve-pounder howitzers and two three-inch rifles, on the scrambling Yankees and played a significant role at multiple points in the battle. Their performance was especially notable because the guns and caissons had to be maneuvered through woods and along primitive, muddy roads. The Confederate artillery continued pursuing and attacking the routed Federals across Tishomingo Creek and through swampy woods, even pushing the guns by hand. In each two-gun artillery section, seven soldiers served each gun in assigned roles such as swabbing the bore, loading ammunition and projectile, aiming, preparing fuses, relaying ammunition from limber and caisson chests, and pulling the lanyard to fire. Captain William Forse Scott of the 4th Iowa Cavalry recalled that the fire struck near the wagons on the east side of the creek with accuracy that greatly increased the disorder.

Mississippi · United States