Occupation of Jackson

Confederate troops evacuated Jackson on June 7, 1862, after devastating defeats at Fort Donelson and Shiloh. In the afternoon, the 78th Ohio and 30th Illinois Infantry under Union Gen. John McClernand occupied the town. The 700 Federals seized both railroad depots and the telegraph office, along with Confederate commissary and quartermaster stores. Almost immediately, Lt. Cyrus M. Roberts, 78th Ohio, raised the Stars and Stripes atop the courthouse cupola, where the flag floated over the town. The following afternoon any lingering thoughts of resistance vanished when Union Gen. John A. Logan marched into Jackson with four infantry regiments, accompanied by three brass bands. Logan, placed in command of the garrison, made his headquarters in the P.J. Murray house on North Royal Street.