command of the offensive fell to Major General Richard Taylor, who was given a division of Texans known as Walker's Greyhounds. Taylor moved the 5,000-man force to Richmond, Louisiana, but did not believe that the coming expedition had any real chance of disrupting Grant's siege of Vicksburg. On June 5, Taylor learned that Milliken's Bend was no longer a significant supply point, but the planned offensive continued, with hopes of retaking control of the west bank of the Mississippi River and gaining the ability to send food across the river into Vicksburg. At Richmond, on June 6, Taylor detached the 13th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion on a raid against Lake Providence, Louisiana, while Walker's Greyhounds continued to the site of Oak Grove Plantation, where there was a road junction. One Confederate brigade split off to move against a Union position at Young's Point, while Brigadier General Henry E. McCulloch's brigade advanced against Milliken's Bend. A third brigade was held in reserve at Oak Grove. The Union posts at Milliken's Bend, Young's Point, and Lake Providence had become training grounds for African American soldiers. These soldiers were primarily newly-recruited freed slaves. Union leadership's plan had been to use these soldiers as laborers and camp guards rather than front-line soldiers, so they had only received basic military training. At this time, the Colored Troop units were commanded by white officers. Mustering these soldiers into the Union Army faced some opposition, with some believing that they would not fight. The support of several officers, including Major General John A. Logan, however, helped to reduce some of the resistance. The soldiers at Milliken's Bend had no prior experience with firearms before joining the Union Army, and demonstrated very poor marksmanship during training. Colonel Hermann Lieb commanded the camp, which was manned by an infantry brigade of African American soldiers and some cavalry from Illinois. Both Lieb and Brigadier General Elias Dennis, who commanded the Union troops in the area, suspected that the Confederates were preparing to attack Milliken's Bend. Lieb's 9th Louisiana Infantry Regiment and 10th Illinois Cavalry Regiment had encountered Confederates near Tallulah on June 6 during an expedition towards Richmond. Lieb requested reinforcements, and the 23rd Iowa Infantry Regiment and the ironclad USS Choctaw were sent to Milliken's Bend. Battle On June 7, McCulloch's 1,500 Confederates marched to Milliken's Bend in the cooler nighttime, and by 02:30 arrived within 1.5 miles of Milliken's