The Battle of Vicksburg

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The Battle of Vicksburg The Civil war cut our nation in two, Americans fighting Americans, brother against brother. A key battle fought westward was the turning point in the war: the Battle of Vicksburg. (Williams 3) Grant began to make plans for a campaign against Vicksburg. The campaign in the American Civil War culminating in the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863. General Ulysses S. Grant with the largest force, about 67, 000 men. I was to guard rail communications and occupy towns in the Union. It held territory in the west, but he would concentrate on taking Vicksburg. Vicksburg is the last principal confederate bastion on the Mississippi. (Street-17) During the period May through July 1862, several attempts to seize Vicksburg were made by Adam. David G. Farragut’s fleet and troops under General Thomas Williams. These Ventures failed because the guns used on the ships could not be directed effectively against the confederate batteries high on the bluffs, and because the confederate troops far outnumbered the Union contingents sent against them. (Street 79) Between Cairo, Illinois, and the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River twists and winds for nearly 1,000 miles. Receiving control of Vicksburg and the Mississippi River was a huge benefit in the war. The River was vital to both the American Government and to the Confederate forces in the west. Confederate forces mounted artillery batteries ready to challenge the passage of Union ships. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Vicksburg, Mississippi had become one of the most prosperous and sophisticated towns on the old Southern frontier. The city was a becoming center ... ... middle of paper ... ... commander of the Department of the Tennessee and in charge of cleaning the Mississippi of Confederate resistance. Grants long campaign to capture Vicksburg on the Mississippi was one of the most important senses of connected battles during the Civil War. (Wheeler36) Bibliography: Works Cited Page Brann, Willam Cowper. Complete Works of Brann the Iconoclast, Volume 12.. New York, New York, The Brann Publishers, Inc. 1919 Catton, Bruce. The American Heritage New History of The Civil War. New York New York, Penguin Group Penguin Books USA Inc. 1988 Street, James Jr. The Struggle for Tennessee. Time-Life Books Inc. Morristown, New Jersey, 1985. Williams, Kenneth P. “Vicksburg is the Key.” Http:// http://www.americancivilwar.com/vicksburg.html.online.GOTO. Wheeler, Joseph. Amerias Civil War. “Civil War Times”. VOL.21, NO. 24 12,August, 2000

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