On the morning of May 16, 1863, Gen. Pemberton placed his three Confederate divisions along a two-mile front from the Raymond Road on the south to the Middle Road on the north, with Loring on the right, Bowen in the center, and Stevenson on the left. Gen. John Bowen, age 32, was Pemberton's youngest and newest division commander. By 1 p.m. Stevenson's division was being overrun, while Hovey's federals had taken the Crossroads, and Pemberton ordered Bowen and Loring to move to support Stevenson. Loring did not respond. Cockrell's Missouri brigade moved to the Crossroads while Bowen rode with Green's Arkansas brigade and formed on Cockrell's right. At 2:30 p.m. Bowen's 5,000 men engaged the federals here and retook the guns of Waddell's Alabama Battery. He then charged the federal artillery on the crest of Champion Hill, capturing 4 guns and pushing the federals back almost three-quarters of a mile. The counterattack stalled when Bowen's men ran out of ammunition and encountered Crocker's federal division, supported by Hovey's artillery, and Bowen's division retreated across Bakers Creek.
