Who was the leader of the confederate army in the battle of siege of Vicksburg?

Answer 1

The Confederate forces inside the town, numbering just over 30,000, were under the command of Lieutenant General (three stars) John C. Pemberton. There are several valid criticisms of Pemberton to be made of his performance, for allowing himself to be penned in and surrounded in the town to begin with, and for failing to push with determination the one effort he made to break out. At the time he was considered to be suspect because he was a northern man, from Philadelphia. After the surrender Pemberton resigned his commission as a three star general and then served the rest of the war in the Rebel army as a Lieutenant Colonel of artillery. When Pemberton got himself surrounded General (four stars) Joseph E. Johnston was ordered to Mississippi. Johnston for some months had been in command of all forces in "the west", which during the Civil War was the area west of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi. But Johnston, who spent the entire war squabbling with the government in Richmond and sulking, complained that this was not realy a true command. There were two main forces in his area - that under Permberton, and the Army of Tennessee, at that time under Braxton Bragg. The authorities in Richmond seem to have expected Johnston to command, and to move men between these forces as necessitated by events. But he did not do much, having delivered himself of his opinion of his job. He went to Mississippi, where he was supposed to collect up all the forces he could, and cooperate with Pemberton who was to try to break out while Johnston attacked Grant's besieging force from the rear. But, Johnston never moved to attack Grant, though he collected almost as many men as Grant had, and if one adds in those under Pemberton in the town he had a numerical superiority. But Johnston fought only two battles the entire war, lost them both, and blamed everyone but himself. His specialty was a masterful withdrawal in the face of the enemy.