e next day Sherman and McPherson moved their entire forces
toward Jackson. The rain fell in torrents all the night before,
and continued until about noon of that day making the roads at
first slippery and then miry, notwithstanding, the troops marched
in excellent order without straggling and in the best of spirits
about fourteen miles, and engaged the enemy about 12 o'clock, M.,
near Jackson. McClernand occupied Clinton with one division,
Mississippi Springs with another, Raymond with a third, and had
his fourth division and Blair's division of Sherman's corps with
a wagon train still in the rear near New Auburn, while McArthur
with one brigade of his division of McPherson's corps was moving
toward Raymond on the Utica road. It was not the intention to
move these forces any nearer Jackson, but to have them in a
position where they would be in supporting distance if the
resistance at Jackson should prove more obstinate than there
seemed reason to expect.

The enemy marched out the bulk of his force on the Clinton road
and engaged McPherson's corps about two and a half miles from the
city. A small force of artillery and infantry took a strong
position in front of Sherman, about the same distance out. By a
determined advance of our skirmishers these latter were soon
driven within their rifle-pits just outside the city. It was
impossible to ascertain the strength of the enemy at this part of
the line in time to justify an immediate assault; consequently
McPherson's two divisions engaged the main bulk of the rebel
garrison at Jackson, without further aid than the moral support
given them by the knowledge the enemy had a force to the south
side of the city and the few infantry and artillery of the enemy
posted there to impede Sherman's progress. Sherman soon
discovered the weakness of the enemy by sending a (p. 383)
reconnoitering party to his right, which also had the effect of
causing the enemy to retreat from this part of his line. A few of
the artillerists, however, remained in their places, firing upon
Sherman's troops, until the last moment, evidently instructed to
do so, with the expectation of being captured in the end. On
entering the city it was found that the main body of the enemy
had retreated north, after a heavy engagemen