Big Black River Campaign, 1863

For today we have the Big Black River campaign, U.S. Grant's most impressive campaign of manoeuvre warfare. During the first half of May 1863, Grant won five battles (Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion's Hill and Big Black River), defeating forces that if they had combined would have been just as large as his own. We also add a biography of John A. McClernand, a political general who was one of Grant's three corps commanders during the campaign.