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 ...
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... 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)
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McDowell’s opponent at Manassas was General Beauregard, commanding the 22,000 troops facing McDowell, while at the same time General Joseph Johnston commanded the Army of the Shenandoah with some 10,000 troops. When Beauregard determined that the Union forces were on the way toward Manassas, he asked for help, at which time the Confederate Government sent Johnston east via the “Manassas Gap Railroad,” to act as reinforcements for Beauregard. Their arrival at Manassas at a critical time turned the tide in favor of the South,...
Turner, Thomas R. 101 Things You Didn’t Know about the Civil War. Avon: Adams, 2007.
Fort McAllister had effectively guarded the Great Ogeechee River, also known as “Savannah’s ‘back door’,” against five naval attacks during a nine month period. However, by December 10, 1864, MG William T. Sherman, Commander of the Army of the Mississippi, had marked it as an obstacle to sustaining his army by naval resupply. Major Henry Hitchcock, General Sherman’s aide de camp, estimated that there were 10 days of provisions for the men but no longer enough fodder for the support animals. Additionally,...
The Civil War, beginning in 1861 and ending in 1865, was a notorious event in American history for many influential reasons. Among them was the war 's conclusive role in determining a united or divided American nation, its efforts to successfully abolish the slavery institution and bring victory to the northern states. This Civil War was first inspired by the unsettling differences that divided the northern and southern states over the power that resided in the hands of the national government to constrain slavery from taking place within the territories. There was only one victor in the Civil War. Due to the lack of resources, plethora of weaknesses, and disorganized leadership the Southern States possessed in comparison to the Northern States,
The advantages of the Union going into the war are numerous. The system of government had long been established in the North and along with that came the benefits of a treasury and a prepared army and navy. The South had no preexisting system of government or infrastructure prior to the war. While the North was preparing to fight, the South faced the issue of jumpstarting a nation. They were charged with creating institutions and a culture separate from the North that did not rely on slavery as its center. That is, it was not enough for the Confederacy to merely be the Union with slavery; they needed to create a sense of nationalism through an autonomous and cohesive Southern identity. The war effort united Southerners under a unity of purpose in the early days of fighting, but after 1863, as the war waged on and years passed, Southerners began to lose faith in the Confederacy (Perman, 229).
Shaw, William B., et al. A Photographic History of the Civil War. Six Volumes. New York, New York: The Blue and Grey Press, 1987.
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
The city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, 250 feet high, overlooks the Mississippi River on the Louisiana-Mississippi state border. Confederate forces mounted artillery batteries ready to challenge the passage of Union ships. Receiving control of Vicksburg and the Mississippi River was a huge benefit in the war. Due to the Geographic location made it ideal for defense.
General Burnside’s “Campaign to Richmond” led the Army of the Potomac to the far side of the Rappahannock River, opposite of Fredericksburg, on the 19th of November 1862. Burnside envisioned pontoon boats stretching twice across the river to allow for a swift and continuous passage of his army. This is where Burnside’s problems began. The pontoon boats arrived several days later and Confederate scouts in the city were able to report the Army of the Potomac’s location. Within days, General Lee’s Rebel f...
General Farragut, a Union general, reaches Vicksburg on May 26, 1862. His ships fired 20 shots and continued down stream. The following day Farragut returned and bombarded the city for 12 hours (Miles 194). The civilians left to live in the country until things calmed down (Foote 395). Van Dorn, leader of defense for Vicksburg, sent the "Arkansas" to Vicksburg. The "Arkansas" destroyed three warships for an estimated loss of $3,000,000 (Foote 386). The ship was later grounded and her own crew destroyed her (Miles 224). The process of trying to run past Vicksburg's guns became too difficult. The Union tried to build canals to bypass the city. Farragut started a canal across a peninsula north of Vicksburg that would return to the river 10 miles past the city but his attempts failed (Miles 202). He finally withdrew from Vicksburg and headed south to Baton Rouge (Miles 229). In October of 1862 the commander of Tennessee was brought in to clear the Confederates off their turf.
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
The Civil War was a battle between the northern states and the southern states. The southern states wanted to secede
Grant used fast tempo maneuvers which were daring to capture Port Gibson for the Vicksburg Campaign. His operation was described as “Once across the river, Grant quickly began moving northeast, though this meant abandoning his already tenuous supply lines and feeding his troops off the surrounding enemy
In May and June 1862, Lucy McRae and William Lord Jr. witnessed the Union launch failed attempts to capture Vicksburg