Vicksburg was important to the enemy because it occupied the first high ground coming close to the river before Memphis. From there a railroad runs east, connecting with other roads leading to all points of the Southern States. A railroad also starts from the opposite side of the river, extending west as far as Shreveport, Louisiana. Vicksburg was the only channel, at the time the only channel connecting the parts of the confederacy divided by the Mississippi. So long as it was held by the enemy, the free navigation of the river was prevented. Hence its importance. Points of the river between Vicksburg and Port Hudson were held as dependencies; but their fall was sure to follow the capture of the former place.

Perberton's surrender of Vicksburg to Grant effectively closed off the Mississippi to southern traffic. It prevented the states East of the Mississippi from receiving fresh troops and supplies from the Confederate states to the West. It allowed Union troops free range to strike at will along the Mississippi Valley, completing General Scott's Anaconda Plan to squeeze the life out of the Southern States. It set the stage for Grant's victory at Lookout Mountain which, in turn, opened the door to Sherman's March to the Sea, which ultimately destroyed the South's ability to sustain its armies in the field.

Foxholes, on the ground, in tents, occupied houses. Wherever they could. But mostly foxholes.

In order to be less likely to be wounded by artillery and mortar fire, experienced soldiers "dig in" immediately when their unit stops moving for the day.

A "slit trench " for 2 soldiers takes about 30 minutes to dig, depending on how hard the ground is and how many rocks there are in it. It should be at least 5 feet deep, 3 feet wide, and 7 feet long, and be shaped like a letter L, with a 90 degree turn to shield the men from a grenade, if it lands in the trench. Over head cover is important, to protect against air burst shells, and it should be at least 2 feet thick, and cover at least half of the hole.

Sleeping in a farm house is a BAD idea, as the enemy has it registered on their artillery fire plan, and a couple of artillery rounds will kill everyone in the building in a few seconds. Same thing applies to any building in the fighting area. Much better to sleep outside, below ground level, safe from all threats but a direct hit by a shell.

Battle of Sharpsburg, most Civil War Battles had two names one by the North and one by the South. The south called them by the towns near by. The north named battles for the closest body of water.

Vicksburg had withstood a number of Union attempts to capture this fortress city on the Mississippi River. When after a long siege, the city surrendered, it was a propaganda victory for the North. US Grant led the Union forces in a series of battles to capture Vicksburg. When it fell, the Mississippi River was in the control of the Union. The captured Rebels were paroled and some returned to fight again. One problem about Vicksburg was that now a Union garrison was required to keep it in Union hands.

The actual bombardment of Fort Sumter lasted over the days of April 12, 13, and 14, 1861.

What Grant did was come AROUND Vicksburg and attacked it from the south, where they were least expecting it. He cut loose from his supply line and had his soldiers have only the food they could carry as they went through the swampy land around the city.

At Vicksburg (Mississippi) in 1863, the strategies of the Northern and Southern armies involved were clearly defined. For its part, the North needed to take the fortress so as to secure control of the Mississippi River. In contrast, the South needed to prevent this from happening, preferably by inflicting a decisive defeat on the North's armies so as to force a general retreat northwards.

The rebels were for once eating better than the yankees. The federal troops were still eating basic army rations of bacon, hardtack, and beans, while the rebels were eating from farms scattered around the area, corn, beans, fresh fruits, and smoked ham, poultry.

May 18 -- July 4, 1863

DateMay 18, 1863 -- July 4, 1863LocationWarren county, MississipiResultDecisive Union victoryBelligerents United Stated (Union) CSA (Confederacy)Commanders and leadersUlysses S. Grant

John C. Pemberton

Units involvedArmy of the TennesseeArmy of VicksburgStrength77,000~33,000Casualties and losses4,835 total3,202 killed or wounded

29,495 captured

The Union suffered 10,000 casualties. The South suffered 9,091 casualties and had 29,495 men surrender.

= =

It is generally agreed that over 3,000 Confederate soldiers died or were wounded during the Battle of Vicksburg in May to July of 1863, with under 1,000 killed and just over 2,000 wounded. The total Confederate losses for the battle should include the more than 29,000 soldiers who surrendered at its conclusion, although many of these would be paroled and continue the fight in later campaigns.

It liberated the Mississippi and ended the war in the West, releasing Grant's army for service in Eastern Tennessee, and earning Grant enough credibility to qualify him as General-in-Chief in due course.

It liberated the Mississippi, ending the war in the West, freeing-up Grant to go to the aid of the Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga.

Chance.

A Confederate officer managed to lose a copy of Lee's orders.

They were found by Union soldiers and shown to McLellan, who saw that Lee had divided his army into widely-separated divisions.

McLellan might have been able to destroy these divisions, one by one. But there had been a Confederate spy in the camp, who alerted Lee, who then concentrated his troops at Antietam Creek, by Sharpsburg.

The Union still won the battle, but was not able to destroy the Confederate army, which escaped back to Virginia.

The "Battle" of Vicksburg was actually a siege lasting many months in which the Union Army commanded by Gen. Grant surrounded the town and starved the people into surrender. The town was finally surrendered by Gen. John Pemberton on July 4, 1863.

General Grant commanded about 77,000 men at the Siege of Vicksburg, and when the fortress city surrendered on 4 July 1863, a total of 29,495 Confederate troops became prisoners. Grant reluctantly allowed an exchange of prisoners including his Mexican-American War comrade, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, CSA who had commanded the Department of the Mississippi. The Confederates routinely gave a short count of their troop strength in battles, so the exact number of troops that the South had at the Siege remains unknown, but it may have been as many as 35,000. This defeat was a major turning point in the war, since it gave the North full control of the Mississippi River.

Joseph(fighting Joe)

Ulysses S. Grant.

After Grant failed in a frontal assault, he ferried his troops across to the opposite bank of the river, out of sight and out of range of Vicksburg's big guns. He marched them below the town and had them recross without alarming the city's sentries. He then marched his troops through treacherous bayous to cut Vicksburg off from the landward side, capturing a rail junction, and a crossroads, cutting the city off from supplies, investing the river city. After a few more failed assaults, he settled in for a long siege, pounding the town with artillery and starving it out, while relying on a tenuous supply line himself. This campaign inspired Grant's subordinate, Sherman, to cut his troops off from supply communications entirely in the Fall of 1864 during his March to the Sea.

Mississippi.

It denied the Confederates all use of the great highway, and isolated all enemy units to the West of the river.

The Confederate General commanding the Vicksburg garrison was John C. Pemberton, supervised by his area commander Joseph E. Johnston.

The Union force was commanded by Ulysses S. Grant.

The Union general commanding at Vicksburg was Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederates were led by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton.