Milliken's Bend

One of the fiercest battles of the Civil War was fought in Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana between Confederate troops and black regiments of the Union Army. Most of the Colored infantry had minimal training, were outnumbered and ill-equipped. Nevertheless, in close hand-to-hand combat, they routed the “Rebs” and won respect previously denied by both sides of the conflagration. Black soldiers vindicated Lincoln by defeating Confederate soldiers at Milliken’s Bend, in the critical battle for Vicksburg. Subsequently, most barriers to the enlistment and effective deployment of Colored recruits were eliminated in pursuit of the ultimate Union victory.