In the spring of 1863, as Grant's forces marched south through
Louisiana and crossed the river into Mississippi, Young's Point served as a vital supply
depot for the Union army. On May 9, during the Union offensive, General Pemberton
telegraphed Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith in command of the Trans-Mississippi Department,
"You can contribute materially to the defense of Vicksburg and the navigation of the
Mississippi River by a movement upon the line of communications of the enemy on the
western side of the river....To break this would render a most important service."
Pemberton's request, however, fell on deaf ears. Smith, more concerned with developments
in his own department, hesitated to act upon the request. It was not until June 7, as the
siege lines around Vicksburg tightened, that Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi
Department launched an attack against Milliken's Bend and Young's Point in an attempt to
destroy Union supply enclaves in Madison Parish and force Grant to loosen his grip on
Vicksburg.
Directed by Smith to "do something" on behalf of the
beleaguered Vicksburg garrison, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor, in command of the District of
Western Louisiana, launched a three-prong assault against the Union enclaves in Madison
and East Carroll parishes--Milliken's Bend, Young's Point, and at Lake Providence.
As the rugged veterans of Brig. Gen. Henry E. McCulloch's Brigade
battled the Federals at Milliken's Bend, their fellow Texans of Brig. Gen. James M. Hawes'
Brigade moved against Young's Point. Provided with local guides and intelligence reports
from Taylor, Hawes' Brigade, 1,400-strong, left Richmond (south of Tallulah) at 7 p.m. on
June 6. The brigadier later wrote, "I found these guides inefficient and useless to
me." Lack of reconnaissance led the brigade to consume seventeen hours to march
eleven miles because the men had to halt for four and one-half hours at Walnut Bayou as a
bridge was out and scouts had to search for a suitable crossing point. Instead of arriving
at dawn as was planned, the brigade reached the vicinity of Young's Point at 10:30 a.m.
Hawes recalled, "After taking position in the woods, I found about 500 of my men
rendered unfit for duty from exhaustion, occasioned by the excessive heat. About 200 of
these 500 had to be carried to the rear."
Informed that his men could approach the Federal camp through woods, Hawes was shocked
as his command debouched onto a level plain that he stated was "destitute of trees
and brush, in full view of a large camp of the enemy, situated below Young's Point, about
1 1/2 miles distant from my lines." As the Texans advanced across the fields, they
saw Federal reinforcements arrive by transports supported by gunboats. Realizing that the
chances for success had disappeared, Hawes ordered his troops to retire. And so
Confederate efforts at Young's Point ended in failure.
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