After a brief stint through Memphis, Tennessee and Oxford, Mississippi, the Mercantile Battery was part of the expedition led by General William Tecumseh Sherman to seize Vicksburg in December 1863.  Sherman transported his troops down the Yazoo River and unsuccessfully stormed the northern bluffs above Chickasaw Bayou. The Chicago Mercantile Battery then took part during the next month in the Union capture of Arkansas Post, also known as Ft. Hindman, on the Arkansas River.

In preparation for the upcoming campaign against Vicksburg, General Grant dismissed Captain Cooley and his commissioned officers.  Grant then promoted Patrick H. White, an Irishman from Chicago, to become the new Captain of the Mercantile Battery. Grant was familiar with the bravery and artillery acumen that White had exemplified while serving as a Lieutenant in Taylor’s Battery at Belmont, Ft. Donelson, and Shiloh.

Sources: "Report of the Illinois Adjutant General, Volume VIII," revised by Brig. Gen. J. N. Reece, 1901; and "Patriotism of Illinois," by T. M. Eddy, D. D.

• Before Vicksburg

• Vicksburg Campaign

• Red River Campaign

• Red River to New Orleans

• Camp Ford, Tyler, TX

• The Return to Chicago