After firing the nighttime opening shots of the Battle of Port Gibson, Confederate skirmishers retreated to the ridge behind Magnolia Church and joined the battle line that General Green formed in the dark. A volley from this line stopped the advancing Union soldiers, who fell back to the Shaifer house and waited uneasily until morning. The Confederate line at Magnolia Church then became the focus of the Union right flank's push toward Port Gibson. After this defensive line was overrun, Confederates established a second position where the road crosses Centers Creek, but as on the northern half of the battlefield, they were eventually forced to retreat in the face of overwhelming odds. After breaking the Confederate line behind Magnolia Church and a second defensive line where the road crosses a branch of Centers Creek, Union General Logan's Corps marched into Port Gibson on May 2. Soon after the war, the Baptist congregation of Magnolia Church moved to town, and the building and land reverted to the Shaifer family, who sold it to an African American congregation for one dollar. In many accounts, the battle, especially this portion of it, is referred to as the Battle of Magnolia Church.
