Disharoon's Plantation

Disharoon's Plantation was a historic agricultural property and river landing in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was not a consumer brand or operating company in the modern commercial sense. The name referred to a plantation tract associated with the Disharoon family and later to an important transportation and military location during the American Civil War. The property was probably named for William Disharoon, an early settler who was described as living on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi below Grand Gulf. Disharoon died on July 9, 1839. By 1851, an approximately 800-acre property in Tensas Parish was still identified as the Disharoon tract. The plantation lay about 13 miles above St. Joseph, Louisiana, and occupied a naturally elevated levee along the river. Its physical geography gave the site importance beyond agricultural use. The plantation had a long, steep riverbank suitable for steamboat operations, together with cleared fields and relatively dry ground for encampments. These characteristics distinguished it from stretches of the Mississippi Valley that were heavily wooded, swampy, or difficult for troops and wagons to cross. The landing therefore provided a practical place to assemble, supply, and move military forces. Disharoon's became particularly significant during the Union campaign against Vicksburg in 1863. On April 29, Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand's XII Corps, part of the Army of the Tennessee, occupied the plantation after moving across the base of Coffee Point from Hard Times Plantation. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant reached the site near nightfall and initially considered using it as a staging point for a river crossing and landing at Rodney, Mississippi, approximately 12 miles downstream. During the night, an escaped enslaved man provided information that changed Grant's plan. He reported that Bruinsburg Landing, roughly five miles farther downstream, had an excellent landing and roads leading inland. Grant consequently selected Bruinsburg rather than Rodney as the principal landing site for his army's movement into Mississippi. That decision contributed to the operational success of the Union's crossing and subsequent advance during the Vicksburg Campaign. Disharoon's Plantation thus functioned as a reconnaissance, planning, and logistical waypoint even though the decisive landing took place elsewhere. The plantation did not survive long after the war. It was destroyed by Mississippi River floodwaters shortly after the Civil War, and it is therefore treated as a historical location rather than an active plantation, business, or place brand. The surviving historical significance of Disharoon's Plantation rests on its association with antebellum settlement, river transport, the geography of the lower Mississippi, and Grant's 1863 campaign planning.

Disharoon's Plantation was located in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The place name appears to have derived from William Disharoon, an early settler who lived on the Louisiana side of the river below Grand Gulf and died on July 9, 1839. The historical record does not establish a precise founding date for the plantation or identify a formal founder in the modern corporate sense. By 1851, an approximately 800-acre property in Tensas Parish was being described as the Disharoon tract. Its location was about 13 miles above St. Joseph and approximately 6.5 miles southwest of Grand Gulf, Mississippi, with Hard Times Plantation nearby to the north. The property's importance was closely connected to the natural landscape of the lower Mississippi Valley. Disharoon's occupied a high natural levee, giving it firmer and drier ground than many surrounding areas. A long stretch of steep riverbank created an effective steamboat landing. The surrounding cleared fields offered space for camps and movement, while roads connected the landing with the interior. These characteristics made the site unusually useful for transporting people and supplies, especially in a region where swamps, flooded ground, and dense forest could restrict military operations. The plantation became a temporary Union military base during the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863. On April 29, Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand's XII Corps of the Army of the Tennessee occupied the property after marching across the base of Coffee Point from Hard Times Plantation. Ulysses S. Grant arrived near dark that evening. Grant was seeking a suitable place from which to move Union troops across the Mississippi and begin operations against Confederate positions in Mississippi. His initial plan was to land at Rodney, approximately 12 miles downstream from Disharoon's Plantation. That plan changed after an escaped enslaved man informed Grant late that night about the advantages of Bruinsburg Landing. The landing, about five miles downstream, reportedly offered an excellent river approach and roads leading into the interior. Grant chose Bruinsburg instead of Rodney. The resulting crossing enabled Union forces to enter Mississippi and advance inland during the campaign that ultimately isolated and captured Vicksburg. Disharoon's Plantation was therefore not the principal battlefield or final landing point, but it served as a key staging and decision-making location in the campaign's movement across the river. The site's history also reflects the dependence of Civil War operations on local knowledge, enslaved people's movements and testimony, river geography, and existing plantation infrastructure. Its value came less from permanent military fortification than from the combination of a usable landing, elevated terrain, open ground, and roads. Shortly after the Civil War, Mississippi River floodwaters destroyed the plantation. No current operating entity, surviving commercial brand, or active plantation business is identified in the available material. The name survives primarily through historical writing about the Vicksburg Campaign and the geography of the Mississippi River corridor.

• 1863

  Union occupation during the Vicksburg Campaign

  [1]Disharoon's Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  On April 29, Union forces under John A. McClernand occupied the plantation. Ulysses S. Grant arrived later that day to assess options for crossing into Mississippi.

• 1863

  Grant selects Bruinsburg as the landing site

  [1]Disharoon's Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  After receiving local intelligence about the landing and roads at Bruinsburg, Grant changed his planned crossing from Rodney to Bruinsburg.

• 1851

  Disharoon tract documented as an 800-acre plantation

  [1]Disharoon's Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  An approximately 800-acre plantation in Tensas Parish was identified as the Disharoon tract, confirming the continued use of the name before the Civil War.

• 1839

  Death of William Disharoon

  [1]Disharoon's Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  William Disharoon, the early settler believed to have given the property its name, died on July 9, 1839.

• Plantation destroyed by flooding

  [1]Disharoon's Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The property was destroyed by Mississippi River floodwaters shortly after the Civil War.

A historic plantation estate and Mississippi River landing rather than a commercial brand. Its historical identity is tied to antebellum agricultural settlement and its temporary military-logistical role during the Union campaign against Vicksburg.

• 1863

  Grant changes the planned landing from Rodney to BruinsburgStrategy

  Background

  Grant initially considered using the Disharoon's Plantation area to support a landing at Rodney, Mississippi. During the night of April 29, an escaped enslaved man described Bruinsburg Landing as having a better steamboat approach and useful roads into the interior.

  Action taken

  Grant selected Bruinsburg as the landing point for the Union army's crossing of the Mississippi River instead of Rodney.

  Aftermath

  The decision enabled the Union army to enter Mississippi at a strategically favorable location and continue its advance during the Vicksburg Campaign.

  Source

1. 1Disharoon's Plantationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ninety-Eight Days: A Geographer's View of the Vicksburg Campaignbooks.google.com
3. 3The Vicksburg Campaign, March 29-May 18, 1863books.google.com
4. 4The USS Carondelet: A Civil War Ironclad on Western Watersbooks.google.com