On May 16, 1863, attached to General Carr's Fourteenth Division, the regiment was in reserve almost the entire battle. Near the end of the battle, the 23rd was ordered to pursue the retreating Confederate army. The regiment succeeded in capturing multiple prisoners, as well as large quantities of stores from the retreating army. The command to pursue, however, was given too late for General Carr to successfully cut the rebels off from making their escape, which enabled many of the remaining Confederates to mass at the Big Black River despite the assistance of the 23rd and other regiments. These escaped soldiers would bolster some of the Confederate forces during the engagement the following day at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge.