into the fight and leaving tactical decisions to junior commanders. Ballard attributes the Union victory to numerical advantage, rather than McPherson's generalship. Smith writes that "McPherson did not earn high marks for the handling of his corps" and criticizes him for allowing the Confederates to have the tactical initiative for most of the fighting and for failing to properly coordinate his troops. He also believes that the Union general should have had plans for a pursuit. Bearss also criticizes Gregg for being too aggressive and failing to ascertain the strength of the force he was facing. Conversely, Smith believes that Gregg "demonstrated real ability" in planning, use of discretion, and inspiring his men. Alternatively, writer Kevin Dougherty attributes the Confederate defeat to Gregg's failure to gain an accurate assessment of McPherson's strength and the nature of the battlefield situation. Battlefield preservation The site of the battle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on January 13, 1972, as the Raymond Battlefield Site. The 1971 NRHP application form stated that the battlefield had been altered, but that it was still in good condition. At that time, the site had both publicly and privately owned elements and had restricted access. Parts of the battlefield were used for agricultural, residential, industrial, or transportation purposes. Two iterations of Mississippi Highway 18 cut through the field. Construction of the newer iteration had required disinterring Confederate dead from a burial trench. The battlefield location of Bledsoe's battery had been covered over by an industrial facility, and the road to Utica was overgrown and no longer in use. The listing encompassed of the battlefield, but only about were still listed in 2010. The Battle of Raymond was one of 16 American Civil War battle sites studied by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) in Mississippi. In 1993, a CWSAC study ranked the Raymond battlefield as in the tier of highest priority for protection. A reenactment of the battle took place on the site in 2001. In 2010, the site received another study, this time from the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). The ABPP study focused on and deemed that of them were potentially eligible for NRHP listing. As of 2010, about 79 percent of the battlefield at Raymond was still considered intact, including the Union artillery position, Fourteenmile Creek, and part of the Utica Road. The Friends of Raymond group manages of the