Battle of Raymond: Difference between revisions

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[[Randall McGavock]], the commander of the 10th/30th Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment, having assumed command of the flanking force, sent a courier to find General Gregg. The courier returned, not with orders from General Gregg, but with news that the Confederate center had been routed. In a panic, McGavock ordered his regiment to the center without pausing to issue orders to the other regiment on the Confederate left flank. Marching double time by the right flank back to the position he had occupied earlier that morning, McGavock emerged from the woods in time to see scattered groups of Confederates being pursued by a massive wave of blue. Before all his troops had even emerged from the woods, McGavock ordered a charge directly into the midst of the blue mass. In a dramatic flourish, he threw back his cape, exposing the red liner and inspiring his men as he led the attack. The red cape also served to make him a fine target, and he was quickly riddled with bullets. The 10th/30th scattered the pursuing federal force, then quickly realized what McGavock had led them into. The seven companies who had actually arrived in time to participate were now trapped in a bowl-shaped depression surrounded by federals on all sides. Lt. Colonel Turner immediately had the unit retrace their steps, loading and firing the entire time, until the regiment had rejoined their comrades firing away at the federals from the safety of the hilltop. Helping stem the federal tide was the arrival of Gregg's reserve -- the 41st Tennessee Infantry regiment -- and the fact that the hill had become a rallying point for remnants of other units, most notably the right battalion of the 7th Texas Infantry.
 
At this point, the battle devolved into a contest of sniping, as the federal commanders attempted to reform the men into organized units in the difficult tangle while suppressing the fire from the hill top. Gregg, meanwhile, found himself scrambling to provide enough time to allow the routed units to reform for the retreat. The 1st Tennessee Infantry Battalion spent the afternoon feinting in various directions, and suffered heavy casualties for their efforts. The 50th Tennessee, having grown tired of standing around waiting for orders from McGavock, traversed the battlefield from left to right in order to check a federal movement on the right flank, while the 41st Tennessee from Gregg's reserves traversed the battlefield from right to left, passing the 50th Tennessee, to check a threat to the left flank.
 
Eventually, McPherson began to extend his right flank beyond the Confederate hilltop. The position having been turned and his routed units reasonably reformed, Gregg ordered a withdrawal through Raymond towards Jackson. Here, the federal artillery finally made their mark in the battle, pounding the Confederate ranks as Gregg continued the delaying action to allow his battered units to withdraw. As his disorganized force came scrambling over fences and through yards in Raymond, they were met by the 3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry, the leading element of reinforcements headed to Raymond from all over the Confederacy. Help had arrived too late to do anything but provide cavalry rear guard protection to General Gregg's spent force.