Black troops answered call at Milliken's Bend, 1863 by Stanley Nelson - posted Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 @ 6:04 am  E-mail Story |  Print Story  On Sunday, June 7, 1863, a small Civil War battle in northeastern Louisiana at Milliken's Bend introduced new, hard fighting soldiers for the North — men of African descent. Almost all were recently freed slaves. The battle came during the Yankee campaigns to capture Vicksburg and Port Hudson and take control of the Mississippi River. General U.S. Grant had made Milliken's Bend a staging area for the Vicksburg Campaign, but his main army had departed the location a month prior with about 1,000 men left behind, mostly newly-recruited black troops who had received only two weeks of training. ..... For the full story, subscribe to the The Franklin Sun's NEW E-Edition!