The Battle of Okolona: Defending the Mississippi Prairie

by Brandon H. Beck

In February 1864, General William Sooy Smith led a force of over seven thousand cavalry on a raid into the Mississippi Prairie, bringing fire and destruction to one of the very few breadbaskets remaining in the Confederacy. Smith's raid was part of General William T. Sherman's campaign to march across Mississippi from Vicksburg to destroy the railroad junction at Meridian. Both Smith and Sherman intended to burn everything in their path that could aid in the Southern war effort. It was a harbinger of things to come in Georgia, South Carolina and the Shenandoah Valley. But neither reckoned with General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest's small Confederate cavalry force defeated Smith in a running battle that stretched from West Point to Okolona and beyond. Forrest's victory prevented Smith from joining Sherman and saved the Prairie from total destruction. Join Civil War historian Brandon Beck as he narrates this exciting story, with all the realities and color of cavalry warfare in the Deep South. Also included is a brief guided tour of the extant sites, preserved for future generations by the Friends of the Battle of Okolona, Inc.

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Sarah Larson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book to read because it was a gift and looked to be a short read. I usually tend to avoid non-fiction and this book reminded me why. I am a huge history buff (mainly World Wars, ancient Egypt, shipwrecks, etc.) and enjoyed a couple tidbits here and there. However, the book felt like an overload of somewhat useless information. At other times it felt like it was lacking information like what year we were in because it jumped around so much. In my opinion, it read like a awful textbook to the point where I was craving the pages with the inserted pictures. As someone who isn’t a diehard Civil War buff, it was also difficult for me to keep track of who was with the Union and who was with the Confederacy. It would have been helpful to have it stated a few more times.

[W. Charles Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good little book on the Battle of Okolona in Mississippi in 1864. The author does an excellent job explaining why the battle and campaign took place. He provides a detailed accounting of the several small battles and skirmishes that make up the overall battle. He also delves into the beginnings of the wholesale destruction of the souths effort to supply their field armies as the Federal troops burn their way through the Mississippi Prairie. The maps are adequate. If there is a downside to the book, it’s that the narrative is only about three-fifths of the book. The remaining two-fifths is a tour of Okolona and the subsequent fighting. I recommend the book.