is a summary of Lee's involvement at Sharpsburg: On November 6, 1862, Lee was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Leaving the artillery branch, Lee briefly led an infantry division during the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou from December 26–29, where he repulsed the attacks of Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Beginning in January 1863 he led a brigade in the Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana until that May, when he was ordered to take command of Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's artillery defending access to the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Lee fought notably during the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, where he was wounded in a shoulder. Military historian Jon L. Wakelyn praises Lee's performance in this action, saying "he was the hero of the battle of Champion Hills." Lee served throughout the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg until Pemberton's surrender to Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, becoming a prisoner of war. While on parole, he was promoted to the rank of major general on August 3, 1863. Beginning on August 16 Lee was assigned to command the cavalry of Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana, and he was officially exchanged on October 13. During that time, General Joseph E. Johnston sent Lee's small cavalry force of 2,500 men to Tennessee to reinforce General Braxton Bragg, who was beginning to lay siege to Chattanooga. Lee rode from northern Mississippi into northern Alabama, where he met Confederate cavalry commander Joseph Wheeler who had just conducted a raid through central Tennessee and convinced Lee his plans would be hopeless against the great number of Union troops in the region. Lee was then given command of the Department of Alabama & East Louisiana on May 9, 1864. Troops in Lee's department under Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest scored a victory at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, and seriously threatened Union supply lines supporting Sherman in Georgia. Lee personally reinforced Forrest but the combined Confederate force was defeated at the Battle of Tupelo, ensuring the safety of Sherman's supply lines. Lee was promoted to lieutenant general on June 23, 1864, making Lee the youngest at this grade in the Confederate States Army. On July 26 he was assigned to lead the Second Corps, Army of Tennessee, commanded by John Bell Hood. During the Atlanta Campaign, Lee fought at the Battle of Ezra Church