Artillery used the crest of this ridge throughout the battle. From here Confederate guns commanded the Raymond Road and prevented a Union advance from the right. Late in the afternoon, the Confederates deployed closer to Bakers Creek, and Union artillery moved up and took this position, aiming west. One of the two Union artillery units in the Coker House yard was the Chicago Mercantile Battery, an elite unit sponsored by Chicago businessmen. The battery was organized in August 1862, and most recruits were described as well-born, well-bred, and well-educated. Among its members, six received the Medal of Honor for their actions during the second assault on Vicksburg on May 22, six days after the Battle of Champion Hill. Captain Pat White recalled taking four guns up the road past infantry lying on either side, going into battery on the left in front of Coker's house about 300 feet back from the road, while rebel batteries and infantry were posted on the next ridge 330 yards away and their fire plowed the ground around them, so the guns were unlimbered and run by hand nearly to the top of the ridge to avoid exposing the horses.
