Battle of Vicksburg Zack Danik

Preface ●New Orleans and Memphis had been captured in April and June 1862 respectively, leaving Vicksburg as the last remaining Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. o “Vicksburg is the nailhead that holds the South’s two halves together.” -Jefferson Davis ●Vicksburg would be the culmination of Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign, a series of battles and movements that aimed to cut the Confederacy in half. o The Vicksburg Campaign had cut up the Western Theater, and the fall of Vicksburg would allow northern reinforcements and supplies to travel up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico, uncontested. o The Confederacy knew this and in turn prepared the city to be a fortress and system of trenches. The Vicksburg Campaign Americancivilwar.com

The Battle Part I ●By May 1863, Vicksburg was surrounded and no reinforcements would be able to reach the fortified city. On May 19, Grant hoped to overwhelm the city before it could organize for an assault. Natural obstacles and defenses laid by the Confederates delayed the attack and the first charge was easily repelled with heavy losses to Grant. ●Three days later on May 22, the Union tried again after heavy bombardment from ships in the Mississippi River and Grant’s land artillery. o The result was equally as bloody and unsuccessful. The defenders returned fire from their own artillery, but the overwhelming enemy forces and lack of supplies forced capitulation. sonofthesouth.net

The Battle Part II ●After the assaults, the Union prepared a seige and launched over 22,000 shells into the city. Reinforcements arrived to the Union forces, bolstering their strength to almost 80,000 men. The Confederacy had less than 30,000 and began to run low on provisions and ammunition. o Confederate attempts to break the siege and resupply the garrison were unuccessful. o Civilians were forced to live in tunnels, dugouts, and basements due to the heavy bombardment. o Local papers published articles on the “luxury of mule- meat and fricasseed kitten,” to reflect the starvation in the city. ●The Federal forces dug mines under the city and Confederate lines and detonated over a ton of blackpowder, but the Conferates managed to hold the line. The mine that exploded under Fort Hill Bastion, one of the Confederate positions defending the city. sonofthesouth.net

The Outcome ●On July 4, Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered the ruins of the city and Confederate control of the Mississippi River was ended for the rest of the war. ●The men who had defended the city were starved, diseased, and shellshocked. o Pemberton also surrended 172 cannons and 50,000 rifles. These could not be replaced by the South. ●The Vicksburg Campaign was bloody on both sides. o The South suffered 9,000 casualties and 29,000 men were captured. o The Federal Army suffered around 10,000 casualties. Bombardment of Vicksburg wikipedia.org

Significance and Effects ●The Union gained control of the Mississippi River, effectively cutting Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas off from the rest of the Confederacy. o “The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.” -President Abraham Lincoln ●After paroling the surrendered garrison, many Confederate soldiers rejoined the war elsewhere, without exchange of northern prisoners, as was custom. o This led Grant to end prisoner exchanges between the North and South.

Bibliography ● ● ● ● The battlefield as seen today. Pemberton’s surrounded and hopeless position.