Bend. By 03:00, they were within of the Union position. Lieb's 1,100 Union soldiers had constructed a defensive position by forming a breastwork out of cotton bales on top of a levee. The Union pickets were quickly driven back by the Confederates. McCulloch aligned his regiments with the 19th Texas Infantry Regiment, 17th Texas Infantry Regiment, and the 16th Texas Cavalry Regiment, from right to left; the 16th Texas Infantry Regiment was held as a reserve. Lieb's defensive line was held by the 23rd Iowa Infantry Regiment and the U.S. Colored Troops of the 8th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, the 9th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, the 11th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, the 13th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, and the 1st Mississippi Infantry Regiment. The main Union line fired a volley that temporarily slowed the Confederate attack, but the poorly trained African American soldiers were largely unable to reload their weapons before the Confederate charge continued and became close-quarters fighting. Bayonets were used in the fighting, and the Union defenders were driven back. Lieb's men fell back to a second levee, and the Confederates charged, yelling that no mercy would be given. During this stage of the fighting, few shots were fired, as the use of rifles as blunt weapons and bayonets was more common. By 04:00, the Confederates seemed to have victory, but they then made the mistake of exposing themselves on the top of the levee. Heavy fire from the large guns of USS Choctaw drove McCulloch's men back off the levee. Confederate leadership was unable to get the Texans to attack the levee again. McCulloch requested reinforcements to continue the fighting, but another Union vessel, the timberclad USS Lexington, arrived around 09:00. McCulloch withdrew his men off the field back to Oak Grove Plantation in the face of the gunboats. Aftermath and preservation The fight at Milliken's Bend cost the Union 652 men: 101 killed, 285 wounded, and 266 missing. Many of the missing men were African American soldiers who had been captured and returned to slavery. All but 65 of the Union casualties were incurred by the Colored Troops, with the 9th Louisiana Infantry suffering the worst with 68 percent of its strength becoming casualties. The Confederates lost 185 men. Rumors of the execution of captured Union soldiers reached Grant, who asked Taylor about the reports. Taylor denied that any executions occurred. The other two prongs