page_title: 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Confederate)
section_title: Champion Hill
hierarchical_section_title: 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Confederate) / Service history / 1863 / Champion Hill
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: soldierinourcivi02lesl (find matches) Title: The soldier in our Civil War&#160;: a pictorial history of the conflict, 1861-1865, illustrating the valor of the soldier as displayed on the battle-field, from sketches drawn by Forbes, Waud, Taylor, Beard, Becker, Lovie, Schell, Crane and numerous other eye-witnesses to the strife Year: 1893 (1890s) Authors: Leslie, Frank, 1821-1880 Mottelay, Paul Fleury, b. 1841, ed Campbell-Copeland, T. (Thomas), ed Beath, Robert B. (Robert Burns), 1839-1914 Vandervoort, Paul. History of the Grand Army of the Republic Avery, I. W. (Isaac Wheeler), 1837-1897. History of the Confederate Veterans' Association Davis, A. P. History of the Sons of Veterans Merrill, Frank P. History of the Sons of Veterans Subjects: United States. Army United States. Navy Confederate States of America. Army Confederate States of America. Navy Grand Army of the Republic United Confederate Veterans Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Publisher: New York Atlanta&#160;: Stanley Bradley Pub. Co. Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection Digitizing Sponsor: State of Indiana through the Indiana State Library View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: ilBGE OF VICKSBDltli.—SilERJLAJiS ATTACK OSjIU; CONKEDEJiATE WORKS. MAY aac, 188B THE SOLDIER rN OUR CIVIL WAR. Text Appearing After Image: i,j.iilljjiiii;i;i;M;iil)ttjt THE SOI.DrHR IN OUR CIVIL WAR. 45 I Cihi jiut iit tlie lnttcr3 only fiin liiul l&gt;;i1 Lliird lire. Ilio coamumder of tlio larft-oaui .1 (lo«.i. null ilio (voivdcr- The cro* was then Irana- I. ttiid tho IltmmoQoros ay tho offifore; but m thev were nUoiit i-nirring the boat, a proniaturo Lccceded ir At abouteight o-clocT: llie Confwlcrotea rafwd oitiloaion took&#160;;&gt;hicc. slmttcring tho llVjr/yffU mto engiigiiig the Hills of truce whcrovur ijnwlioable. anil dumanilL..! fnigmcnts. and inslaiitly kilhng Comniotloro faTinfMjatfl 5orrw. /m^, Jiiftor, and WetifitU, had The Clifton had meanwhile goncto the aMstanOB mlve of llie engmc tlui;&#160;;tEt eilcncwl the giina on Pelican lahmd, when four of the WeHfiM, which had got ugroTind while at- mngazme thrown open. Confederate stcamera appeared on tho scene. laeking tlio Fort Point batteries, ciipturcd by tho ferred to tho M.A.Banhm Two of these vessels, the BayMt Vil;/and J^ep- Ci&gt;ii(ederates, and Bucceeded in dr Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment entered into service on September 1, 1862, when the elements of two preceding battalions were combined. Many of the men entering the regiment had seen service with the secessionist Missouri State Guard. James McCown was the regiment's first colonel. After playing a minor role at the Battle of Iuka on September 19, the regiment then fought in the Second Battle of Corinth on October 3 and 4. After being only lightly engaged on the 3rd, the regiment charged the Union lines on the 4th, capturing a fortification known as Battery Powell. However, Union reinforcements counterattacked and drove the regiment from the field. In early 1863, the regiment was transferred to Grand Gulf, Mississippi, where it built fortifications. The unit spent part of April operating in Louisiana, before recrossing the Mississippi River to return to Grand Gulf.
  On May 1, the regiment fought at the Battle of Port Gibson, where it and the 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment charged the Union line in an attempt to turn the enemy's exposed flank.
context_section_description: On May 7, the regiment was reinforced when 100 exchanged prisoners joined the regiment, creating a second Company H.  The First Missouri Brigade was also issued .577 Enfield rifled muskets around the same time.  The regiment fought next on May 16 at the Battle of Champion Hill.  Early in the battle, Company F was detached from the rest of the 5th Missouri Infantry as part of a battalion of skirmishers drawn from the infantry regiments of the First Missouri Brigade; the battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Finley L. Hubbell of the 3rd Missouri Infantry.  By the early afternoon of the 16th, the Confederate left flank at Champion Hill was already collapsing.  The First Missouri Brigade was sent by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton to stabilize the Confederate line.  The 5th Missouri Infantry was the first of the brigade's regiment to reach the front, where it formed next to the 56th Georgia Infantry Regiment.  The 3rd Missouri Infantry then formed next to the 5th.  However, an attack by Slack's Union brigade routed the Georgians and captured Waddell's Alabama Battery.  The two Missouri regiments were then exposed to enfilade fire, causing them to retreat slightly.  The rest of Cockrell's First Missouri Brigade arrived, and the 3rd and 5th Missouri Infantry moved back to their original positions.  After full deployment, the brigade was aligned with the 6th Missouri Infantry and the 2nd Missouri Infantry on the left, the 3rd Missouri Infantry in the center, and the 5th Missouri Infantry and the 1st and 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) on the right.
  Green's brigade formed to the right of Cockrell's brigade, and the two brigades charged, supported by fire from Landis' Battery and Lowe's Missouri Battery.  The Confederate charge broke the first Union line, and recaptured a strategic crossroads as well as the cannons of Waddell's Battery.  After retaking the crossroads, the Confederates began advancing towards Champion Hill, another prominent battlefield feature.  Cockrell's brigade defeated McGinnis' brigade, and Green's swept aside Slack's.  Union division commander Brigadier General Alvin P. Hovey ordered artillery batteries to support the Union line, including the 16th Ohio Battery, which inflicted heavy casualties on the Missourians with canister fire.  During the attack, the two lines were sometimes as close as 15 yards (14 m) apart.  After the attack had begun, newly rallied Confederate units, including the 56th Georgia Infantry and the 57th Georgia Infantry Regiments joined the attack.
  Union reinforcements arrived in the form of Colonels George B. Boomer's and John B. Sanborn's brigades.  The 5th Iowa Infantry Regiment was routed by the Confederates, but the Union reinforcements were enough to slow the momentum of the Confederate attack.  Most of the Confederates were halted, although the 1st and 4th Missouri Infantry (Consolidated) and portions of the 5th continued on in an attack, aiming for the Union supply train.  However, the attack was unsuccessful.  Another Union brigade, commanded by Colonel Samuel A. Holmes, entered the fighting, and the Confederates were forced to withdraw.  The Confederates had also began to run low on ammunition, as an Confederate officer, likely Major General Carter L. Stevenson, had ordered Cockrell's and Green's supply trains from the field.  Fire from Guibor's Battery, Landis' Battery, and Wade's Missouri Battery helped cover the retreat.  As Pemberton's Confederate army slipped from the field in retreat, the First Missouri Brigade was used as a rear guard.  The 5th Missouri Infantry lost 90 men at Champion Hill.
caption: Battle of Champion Hill
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