A couple of months ago, not long after the 150th anniversary of Milliken’s Bend, someone posted a comment on my Facebook page, talking about the fact that the Confederates successfully stormed the field, but that some people claim the battle as a Union victory. As usual, like everything else with Milliken’s Bend, it is not a simple answer. I felt my reply was worth repeating (in slightly modified form) here.

How you answer the question, “Who won at Milliken’s Bend?” depends on who you ask.

I have found that most of the men in the ranks on the Confederate side knew they had an overwheming victory. They had caused extraordinary casualties & sent the enemy fleeing.

The Confederate generals, however, were more circumspect. McCulloch was proud of his men, and rightly so, but they had to yield the field. Both McCulloch & his superior, Walker, declared the Texans’ bravery, but ultimately the immediate mission of taking the post was a failure.

Generals Richard Taylor & Kirby Smith were extremely disappointed. They certainly did not see it as a victory. Taylor did everything but call the men cowards, saying that he hadn’t seen such fear of gunboats since the beginning of the war. And he criticized McCulloch as having no ability to handle masses of men.

The Yankees declared it their victory, because the Confederates had to leave the field. For the Northern cause, the battle had extraordinary propaganda value, and the degree of victory was often exaggerated.

Even the Rebel civilians weren’t sure what to think. Sarah Wadley thought it a crushing Southern victory. Her friend, Kate Stone, was incredulous that fierce Texans had been defeated by what she called a “mongrel crew” of white and black Yankees.

My own evaluation is I consider it a Union victory because of Taylor and Smith’s reaction, and because the battle ultimately had a greater impact for the North (helped change people’s opinions about black troops, contributed to breakdown of prisoner exchanges, etc.) than for the South (didn’t accomplish stated goal, did not disrupt supplies, did not aid Pemberton at Vicksburg).

However, it definitely is a case where really it was not a clear cut victory, either way. And then, as now, “who won” depends on who you ask.