Battle of Milliken ' s Bend The Battle of Milliken ' s Bend , fought June 7 , 1863 , was part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War . Confederate Lt . Gen . John C . Pemberton and his army were besieged in Vicksburg , Mississippi , by Union commander Maj . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant and the Army of the Tennessee . In an effort to cut Grant ' s supply line and relieve the city , the Confederates attacked the Union supply area at Milliken ' s Bend up the Mississippi . The Milliken ' s Bend area , 15 miles to the northwest of Vicksburg , had until recently served as a staging area for Grant ' s Vicksburg Campaign . It was a site of supply depots and hospitals , many of which were manned and guarded by black soldiers , some of whom were recently recruited men who were freed slaves . Although a relatively small battle , it was distinguished by the prominent role played by black Union soldiers who , despite lacking much military training , fought bravely with inferior weaponry and finally drove off the Confederates with help from gunboats . Background . Confederate President Jefferson Davis was under heavy political pressure to come to the aid of the besieged Pemberton and his 40 , 000 troops , bottled up in Vicksburg by Grant ' s 60 , 000 troops . Under the belief that Grant ' s supply lines on the west bank of the Mississippi , on the Louisiana side across from Vicksburg , were vulnerable , Davis instructed Trans - Mississippi Department Commander Lt . Gen . Edmund Kirby Smith to send troops to break up that supply line . Unknown to either Smith or Davis , Grant had recently shifted his supply lines to the east bank of the Mississippi above Vicksburg . Smith ordered Maj . Gen . Richard Taylor to mount this attack . He assigned Maj . Gen . John George Walker ' s Division of Texans , known as Walker ' s Greyhounds , to Taylor ' s command for that purpose . Taylor objected , citing the sloppy nature of the terrain and the uncertainty that the supply line still existed . He preferred instead to take Walker ' s troops south to attack a vulnerable New Orleans , poorly defended with the movement of most of Nathaniel P . Banks ' Army of the Gulf to Port Hudson . Smith rejected Taylor ' s plan , and Taylor reluctantly left with Walker and his men , going down the Red River from Alexandria to the Ouachita River , and from there north toward Richmond , Louisiana . The battle . On the morning of June 6 , Union Colonel Hermann Lieb with the African Brigade and two companies of the 10th Illinois Cavalry made a reconnaissance toward Richmond . About three miles from Richmond , Lieb encountered enemy troops at the Tallulah railroad depot and drove them back but then retired , fearing that many more Rebels might be near . While retiring , a squad of Union cavalry appeared , fleeing from a force of Rebels . Lieb got his men into battle line and helped disperse the pursuing enemy . He then retired to Milliken ' s Bend and informed his superior by courier of his actions . The 23rd Iowa Infantry and two gunboats came to his assistance . Walker proceeded east from Richmond at 7 p . m . June 6 . At midnight , he reached Oaklawn Plantation , which was situated about 7 miles from Milliken ' s Bend to the north and an equal distance from Young ' s Point to the south . Here , he split his command . Leaving one brigade in reserve at Oaklawn , he sent one brigade under the command of Brig . Gen . Henry E . McCulloch north to Milliken ' s Bend , and a second brigade under the command of Brig . Gen . James M . Hawes south to Young ' s Point . Around 3 : 00 a . m . on June 7 , Confederates appeared in force and drove in the pickets . They continued their movement towards the Union left flank . The Federal forces fired some volleys that caused the Rebel line to pause momentarily , but the Texans soon pushed on to the levee where they received orders to charge . In spite of receiving more volleys , the Rebels came on , and hand - to - hand combat ensued . In this intense fighting , the Confederates succeeded in flanking the Union force and caused tremendous casualties with enfilade fire . The Union force fell back to the river ’ s bank . About that time Union gunboats " Choctaw " and " Lexington " appeared and fired on the Rebels . The Confederates continued firing and began extending to their right to envelop the Federals but failed in their objective . Fighting continued until noon when the Confederates withdrew . The Union pursued , firing many volleys , and the gunboats pounded the Confederates as they retreated to Walnut Bayou . Aftermath . The Confederate attempt to help lift the Siege of Vicksburg had failed . Grant observed that despite their inexperience , the black troops had " behaved well . " Assistant Secretary of War Charles A . Dana wrote , " The bravery of the blacks completely revolutionized the sentiment of the army with regard to the employment of negro troops . " Having seen how they could fight , many were won over to arming them for the Union . There were some reports that prior to retreating from Milliken ' s Bend , Confederates murdered surrendering black troops at Milliken ' s Bend . Confederate officers in command and soldiers who served there denied these reports of atrocities .