Combat· American Civil War
Tullifinney Cross Roads and Derang's Neck
A second effort against the same railroad, more successful than the first.
A few days after the repulse at Honey Hill, the naval brigade, with Stoddard's Marines, tried again, on 6 December reaching the vicinity of Tullifinney Cross Roads, about a mile from the rail line, only to be beaten back once more by entrenched Confederates. On the 9th the Marines deployed in a skirmish line, waded forward through waist-deep swamp ooze under a curtain of fire, and this time pushed the naval brigade to within striking distance of the works. In the confusion of a Confederate counterthrust Stoddard's unit was nearly cut off, but he led his men through the swamp, slipped past an enemy patrol along the river, and reached friendly lines. Heavy rains in late December ended the operation. The references give no Marine casualty count; the sheet's blank entry matches.
Podcast episodes on American Civil War
Record no. 429