Battle of Okolona 1864
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 22 February 1864 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1864 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 34.0021, -88.7556 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Okolona took place on February 22, 1864, in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, between Confederate and Union forces during the American Civil War. Confederate cavalry, commanded by Major-General Nathan B. Forrest, faced over 7,000 cavalry under the command of Brigadier-General William S. Smith and defeated them at Okolona, causing 100 casualties for the loss of 50.
Smith's force had been ordered to set off from Memphis, Tennessee, and rendezvous with the main Union army of 20,000 that was marching on Meridian, Mississippi, and was under the command of Major-General William T. Sherman. However, Smith disobeyed orders and delayed his march for ten days waiting on a unit that was ice bound in Kentucky. When he eventually left, he encountered the Confederate cavalry force on February 21, and on February 22 was engaged in a running battle across eleven miles with Forrest's forces. With Confederate reinforcements, Forrest routed Smith but did not pursue due to lack of ammunition, and Smith limped over the state line to Tennessee on February 26, where he was criticized for putting Sherman's Meridian campaign in danger.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Okolona (revision 1370271148), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the American Civil War
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- Action at Ashley's Station 1864
- Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams 1864
- Bahia incident 1864
- Battle of Adairsville 1864
- Battle of Albemarle Sound 1864
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
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