[5] Nonetheless, several sources list Rutherford as a Union Army general, although historian Ezra Warner does not.

[3][10] Friend Smith Rutherford married Letitia VanDyke Sloss of Florence, Alabama, on September 18, 1849.

Overall Union commander, Major General Ulysses S. Grant planned a further assault in the direction of Vicksburg with his force luring the Confederates from their defenses toward the southeast while Sherman attacked them from the north.

Union Navy gunboats and troop transports commanded by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter also were part of the attack force.

At the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, over the period December 26–29, 1862, Sherman's force, which included the 97th Illinois Infantry Regiment led by Rutherford,[12] was repulsed with heavy casualties and Grant abandoned this attempt to capture Vicksburg.

[7][9] In January 1863, Sherman and his corps were temporarily assigned to the command of Major General John A. McClernand.

Confederate commander Major General John Bowen withdrew his outnumbered force from Port Gibson that night.

[17] As the battle ended, the Confederate force retreated toward Vicksburg and prepared to defend a line at the Black River.

The Union forces suffered significant casualties so Grant decided to besiege the city and proceed by maneuver instead of making further frontal attacks.

[9] He appealed to President Lincoln who revoked the dismissal on November 11, 1863, and reinstated Rutherford in command of the 97th Illinois Infantry Regiment.

While the regiment was at Morganza, on June 15, 1864, Rutherford resigned his commission due to continued ill health.

[3][4][9][22] Rutherford had never regained full health after the Vicksburg campaign and resigned his commission on June 15, 1864, due to physical disability brought on by exposure and fatigue,[4][11] also identified as "chronic diarrhea.