“P’ is for Pocotaligo, Battle of (October 22, 1862)

“P’ is for Pocotaligo, Battle of (October 22, 1862). In the fall of 1862, the Union commander of the Department of the South planned an operation to break the railroad connections between Charleston and Savannah near the towns of Pocotaligo and Coosawhahatchie. If the railroad were cut and a base of operations established, then Federal Forces could move overland against Charleston or Savannah. On the night of October 21, a Union force of 4,500 men sailed up the Broad River. The next morning, they landed on Mackey’s Neck and pushed through Confederate defenses and drove the southerners across the Pocotaligo River. A second Union force landed near Coosawhahatchie. By late afternoon the Confederates received reinforcements and both Federal columns withdrew. At the Battle of Pocotaligo the United States Army suffered 350 casualties while Confederate forces lost 163 men.