Champion Hill, Battle of, Miss., 1863

The Battle of Champion Hill, also known as the Battle of Champion's Hill and the Battle of Baker's Creek, of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Major General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confederate States Army under Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton and defeated it twenty miles to the east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, leading inevitably to the Siege of Vicksburg and surrender. Sidney S. Champion, born in Guilford County, North Carolina, in 1824, came to Mississippi and settled on a large tract of land located between Bolton and Edwards. Captain Champion was a seasoned Confederate soldier long before the outbreak of the Battle of Champion Hill. The night of May 15 found Captain Champion within range of the battle site and serving as a vital member of General Pemberton's staff.