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The Battle of Champion Hill (aka The Battle of Champion's Hill) of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confederate States Army under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton and defeated it twenty miles to the east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, leading inevitably to the Siege of Vicksburg and surrender. The battle is also known as Baker's Creek.
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 15th found Captain Champion within range of the battle site and serving as a vital member of General Pemberton's staff.