The Siege of Vicksburg also called Battle of Vicksburg was the zenith of a naval campaign and long land campaign by Union forces to attain a critical strategic position during the period of American Civil War. The president then, Abraham Lincoln, recognized the importance of the town that was located above the Mississippi River. Abraham Lincoln said that the city was very instrumental, and the war was not going to end unless the “key” was in their pockets (Johnston, 2010). Seizing Vicksburg was imperative in severing the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy from the east of Mississippi River. It was to open the river to the Northern traffic along its whole length. The Siege of Vicksburg transpired between May 18, 1863 and July 4, 1863. It was the last principal military action in the history of the campaign of Vicksburg of the American Civil War. General Ulysses Grant together with his union crossed the Mississippi River and coerced the confederate army led by General John C. Pemberton into the defensive lines that bordered the fortress of the Vicksburg city. The encounter proceeded in a series of successive maneuvers. The paper discusses the events that characterized the siege of Vicksburg.
It is imperative to note that before the start of the Civil War, Mississippi River was one of the most substantial commercial arteries in America (Bush, 2009). It was because it served as the main route for the cotton trade. Unfortunately, the eruption of civil war bared the Mississippi from conducting trade with the northern people. As a result, the union was much determined to open up the river to the sensitive localities of trade and restore the trade to full capacity. By the late 1862, a stretch that extended between Port Hudson and Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the only place that was obscured to North ships. Concisely, Vicksburg was the most potent and influential barrier on the stretch of the river.
Before the Siege
The city of Vicksburg was a locality protected by geography. Mississippi created a broad, wet, swampy vale with precise edges and a raised dry ground meeting the swamp. General Grant whose primary aim was to capture Vicksburg faced a major challenge of crossing with his army to the dry land. Earlier, he had made an attempt of bypassing Vicksburg with no success in each of the attempts. The successive failures in his initiatives of capturing Vicksburg tainted his reputation in the North and this was serious to him (Johnston, 2010). He did not take the defamation lightly. Grant had to act swiftly in a bid to save his lost reputation.
The union held a gala ball in Vicksburg in celebration of the lifting of the threat of the union on April 16th in the year 1863. However, the celebration party did not come to a peaceful end. Roars of gunfire on the river emanating from gun batteries cut short the celebrations. The interruption was an opportunity that Grant had to capitalize on for pursuing his quest. Pemberton had more 30000 soldiers then. It meant that Grant was to face an army that was equal in strength to his army. Knowing the size and the power of the enemy army, he had to be ready for the fierce encounter.
During the duration between May 17 and May 18, Grant managed to launch a skillful campaign. The campaign was termed as Big Black River Campaign. Grant moved with his troops along the strip of Big Black River and isolated Pemberton from the troops that Jackson gathered. On the 18th day of May, Pemberton’s army retreated to Vicksburg after losing about 5000 soldiers to their enemies.
The Siege
General Grant launched an direct attack on Vicksburg immediately after his arrival in front of their defenses with his troops on May 19 (Clapp, 2010). Initially, the confederate invested many resources in the construction of defenses. They spent seven months in putting up strong defense lines. Conceivably, this is the reason as to why Pemberton repulsed Grant’s attacks even after suffering two serious successive defeats within a period of three days of their encounter.
The union propelled a second assault, which was prudently prepared. However, the defense teams successfully repulsed the attack one more time. At this moment, Grant was worried that Confederate General Johnston was slowly increasing the size of his troops. Though the defenses were considerably strong, Vicksburg still hoped that another confederate commander probably Johnston was going to come to the rescue or aid of the city. The confederacy had one problem that still plagued them. They were running out of men to replenish their strength. In overcoming the stout defense line of their opponent’s troop, numbers was of importance.
Braxton Bragg dispatched two divisions on the western side of the attacking front earlier. The move further weakened his troops at the very crucial time of need. At that moment, Robert Lee could be of great help to Braxton in reinforcing his troops by sending him additional troops. However, this was not possible because he was just about to invade the north for a second instance. Therefore, he wanted to consolidate his army to realize the hardest hit on the north that could make them realize a victory.
General Taylor Richard was then commanding in Louisiana on the western side of Mississippi. He sent three brigades to attack Grant’s supply line. In June year 1863 at a place called Milliken Bend, they overcome the expedition. The only single hope for the defenders of Vicksburg was the rescue mission that they expected from Johnston. However, Johnston was not in a position to provide help at that moment as he had only 30000 men in his forces to depend on. In addition, most of his men were inexperienced, and he had no proper transport system. In general, he was poorly equipped to rise to the occasion. In the meantime, Johnston’s troops grew and became bigger and bigger. On the other hand, Grant’s army became even bigger with an army of 70000 men. They surrounded Vicksburg with seven groups facing the eastern side of the town under the able leadership of Sherman (Bush, 2009). It was necessary to counterattack any advances from the confederate.
In the whole month of June, Grant’s troops made several trenches in preparation to begin a classical siege operation. As days went by, the trenches under construction snuck closer and closer under the lines of the confederate. In the meantime, mines were also exploded. The first landmine exploded on 25th day of June. It resulted into the creation of a big crater. On detecting the move of their opponents, the defenders of the city of Vicksburg city built a second line of defense far back. Once again, the Union launched an attack. The city repulsed the attack but incurred substantial losses that left them weak. On the first day of the month of July, a second landmine exploded. The second landmine shattered the fort of the confederacy. Immediate attack did not follow the explosion of the mine. It seems the delay in making an immediate attack was intentional in the sense that Grant was planning a greater attack. He was certainly planning to explode several landmines concurrently after which he would use the confusion in the city as an advantage to launch a general attack alongside the line. July 6 was the D-Day that he set.
The Surrender
In the culmination, Grant did not necessarily require the launching of any attack as food was running low within the boundaries of the city (Wheeler, 2009). On the 28th day of June, the general, Pemberton received an anonymous piece of note from his troops. The note had a message requesting him to surrender. If he was not going to abide by their request, the whole army was going to abandon him. On July 1, Pemberton had to consult with the senior officers. They considered the likelihood of fighting their way through the federal line. The consultation did not bear any fruits. The senior officers resolved that his men were too weak to make an attempt of an attack. Early in the in the morning of July 3, the Pemberton ordered his men to raise white flags on the defense line of the Confederate. It meant that he was ready to surrender. Pemberton and Grant met between the lines at 3.00 p.m. on the same day. However, the meeting of the two generals was not successful. The failure resulted due to an unconditional surrender demanded by Grant. Pemberton firmly refused Grant’s option of surrendering.
Afterwards, Grant went back and shared with his corps commanders. Grant after meeting his commanders, Grant revised his condition and terms. In his terms, he would allow the confederate troops to leave the city of Vicksburg after giving their promise that they would not to fight again. These terms and conditions issued by Grant had two primary intentions. Firstly, they aimed at to reduce the stress exerted on Grant’s supply chains. Secondly, he wanted to threaten the morale of their opponents. By instilling fear in the opponents, Grant hoped that 30,000 estranged ex-soldiers strolling around and within the Confederacy would serve to harm to morale of the people of the city. At the nightfall of July 3, Pemberton approved and committed to the terms, and the day that followed his approval was Independence Day. Briefly, 2,166 officers and 27,230 men admitted defeat at city of Vicksburg and within a span of several weeks; they were dashing across the south (Wheeler, 2009). The surrender to Gant significantly influences the event regarding the surrender of Port Hudson. It quickly prompted the surrender of Port Hudson that was the last stronghold of the Confederate on the Mississippi.
Today, the city’s national military park stretches over 1800 acres of field, ravines, and woods. It comprises the city’s National Cemetery that was the final resting place of 17000 Union soldiers. Indeed, this is the largest number of any national cemetery.
References
Bush, E. (2009). Under Siege!: Three Children at the Civil War Battle for Vicksburg (review). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 63(1), 44-45.
Clapp, P. (2010). The tamarack tree: a novel of the siege of Vicksburg. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
Johnston, M. I. (2010). The siege of Vicksburg. Boston: Pratt Bros..
Wheeler, R. (2009). The siege of Vicksburg. New York: Crowell.
