Two supporting columns were under the command of Brigadier General William Sooy Smith and Colonel James Henry Coates.

Smith's expedition was tasked to destroy a rebel cavalry commanded by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, maintain communications with Middle Tennessee and take men from the defense on the Mississippi River to the Atlanta campaign.

[4] After the Chattanooga campaign Union forces under Sherman returned to Vicksburg and headed eastward toward Meridian.

[5] Meridian was an important railroad center and was home to a Confederate arsenal, military hospital, and prisoner-of-war stockade, as well as the headquarters for a number of state offices.

[1] To counter the threat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered troops to the area from other localities.

Sherman also asked Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks, Union commander of the Department of the Gulf at New Orleans, Louisiana, to have boats maneuvering as if they were preparing to attack Mobile.

Doing this forced the Confederates to keep troops from leaving Mobile to aid Meridian in case of an attack on the gulf.

As Sherman approached Meridian, he met stiffer resistance from the combined forces but steadily moved on.

[1] Smith never reached Meridian; he and his troops met Confederate resistance led by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest at West Point, Mississippi.

While he and his army were waiting, Sherman ordered his troops "to wipe the appointed meeting place off the map" by destroying the railroads and burning much of the area to the ground.

Sherman's troops destroyed 115 mi (185 km) of railroad, 61 bridges, 6,075 ft (1,852 m) of trestle work, 20 locomotives, 28 cars, and 3 steam sawmills.

[7] After the troops departed, inhabitants of the city were without food for some days, but the soldiers had not directly inflicted any personal injuries during the attack.

On March 5, Coates' force repulsed an attack by two brigades of Confederate cavalry under Lawrence Sullivan Ross and Robert V. Richardson in the Battle of Yazoo City.