The Buildup for War

During the buildup for war at Grand Gulf, Confederate use of flying batteries made their forces so mobile that Union troops had great difficulty stopping the fortification of the bluffs behind the town, and the harassment forced Commodore David Farragut to convoy unarmed ships. In March 1863, Confederate defenses were strengthened with the addition of Wade's and Guibor's Missouri Batteries under Colonel William Wade, chief of artillery for Brigadier General John Bowen, while Bowen had about 2,500 infantry to man extensive new rifle pits. Dug into the side of the Point of Rock about forty feet above the gulf, Fort Cobun was protected by a parapet nearly forty feet thick and at the time of attack mounted two 32-pounder rifles, one 8-inch Dahlgren, and a 30-pounder Parrott rifle, along with extensive rifle pits. Fort Wade, the lower fort behind the ruined town, stood on a shelf about twenty feet above and a quarter of a mile from the river, and its armament consisted of one 100-pounder Blakely rifle, one 8-inch Dahlgren, and two 32-pounder rifles, with extensive rifle pits as well.

Mississippi · United States