What Happened in May 1863

Battle of Chalk Bluff - Marmaduke Abandons Offensive

Description: Union Brig. Gen. William Vandever pursued Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke to Chalk Bluff, where the Confederates hoped to cross the St.... Read more

Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1 and 2)

On April 27, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker led the V, XI, and XII Corps on a campaign to turn the Confederate left flank by crossing the Rappahannock and... Read more

Battle of Port Gibson

Description: Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant launched his march on Vicksburg in the Spring of 1863, starting his army south, from Milliken’s Bend, on the west... Read more

Battle of Chancellorsville (May 3)

On May 3, Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill, who had taken command of the Second Corps following Jackson's injuries, was incapacitated. Hill consulted with... Read more

Battle of Salem Church - Lee Defeats Sedgwick

Description: After occupying Marye’s Heights on May 3, Sedgwick’s VI Corps marched out on the Plank Road with the objective of reaching Hooker’s... Read more

Second Battle of Fredericksburg

Description: On May 1, Gen. Robert E. Lee left Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early’s division to hold Fredericksburg, while marching with the rest of the army... Read more

Battle of Chancellorsville (May 4-6)

On the evening of May 3 and all day May 4, Hooker remained in his defenses while Lee and Early battled Sedgwick. Sedgwick, after breaking Early's... Read more

Death of Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson died in an outbuilding on the Chandler plantation in the rural community of Guinea Station. Today, the Jackson... Read more

Battle of Raymond

The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The bitter... Read more

Battle of Jackson - Former Mississippi State Capital Destroyed

The Battle of Jackson, fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Union... Read more

Battle of Champion Hill

The Battle of Champion Hill, or Bakers Creek, fought May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War.... Read more

Battle of Big Black River Bridge - Confederate Forces Trapped in Vicksburg

Description: Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, the night of May 16-17. Lt. Gen. John C.... Read more

Confederate Forces Surrender at the Siege of Vicksburg

Description: In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate... Read more

Ulysses S. Grant Attempts to Take the Confederate Stronghold At Vicksburg, Mississippi

On May 19, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant attempted to take the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi. After making a daring run past... Read more

Battle of Plains Store - Union Victory near Baton Rouge

Description: Early in the morning of May 21, 1863, Maj. Gen. Christopher C. Augur’s Union division advanced from Baton Rouge toward the... Read more

Last Confederate Stronghold on Mississippi Surrenders at the Siege of Port Hudson

The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 21 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of... Read more