The Battle of Vicksburg was a significant part of the American Civil war. The battle started on May 18, 1863, and lasted for 47 days till July 4, 1863. The location of the Battle of Vicksburg was Warren County, Mississippi. It was a significant point in the American Civil war. The Battle of Vicksburg paved the way for the stronghold of success of the Federal Army in the civil war. The Southern Federal army was pushed to defeat through the Battle of Vicksburg.
Importance of The Battle of Vicksburg
By the year 1862, the Union forces were able to capture the majority of the Confederate region along the river Mississippi except for a particular belt of the region which was dominated by the Confederate army. The belt span across Port Hudson and Vicksburg. This was known as the Gibraltar of the confederacy. The leaders of the Union army felt the necessity to win over the region to ensure their success in the ongoing war.
The Mississippi River was a critical transportation pathway for the movement of supplies required for battles and ammunition needed. The rail lines were also prominent for the Even the Confederate army’s leaders mentioned the importance of the city of Vicksburg and its impact on the civil war. Lieutenant General John Pemberton was in charge of the defenses in both Port Hudson and Vicksburg.
Attempts to Capture Vicksburg
The previous attempts to acquire Vicksburg by cutting a canal around the city under General Grant were a failure as the approach was from the North, which highly alerted the Confederate armies. General Grant analyzed and looked for loopholes and ways to enter the region successfully. The consistent determination of General Ulysses Grant paved the way for the complete success of the Battle of Vicksburg. His plans and strategies surprised the Confederates.
Grand Gulf and Bruinsburg
This time General Ulysses Grant approached the town from East, reaching the western bank of Mississippi. By the end of April, Grant plans to attack by entering the Mississippi River at Grand Gulf. At the same time, the forces of Sherman plan a simultaneous attack in the North of Vicksburg to distract the Confederates. Since the batteries were very severe and robust, General Grant reroutes and crosses the Mississippi River at a Bruinsburg, a few miles south of Grand Gulf.
From the bank of Mississippi, General Grant moved South along with his 40,000 troops. Finally, on reaching the other side of the Mississippi River, the troops started marching at a faster pace to meet the goal of capturing the region. With a continuous five battle campaigns, the Battle of Vicksburg was one of the greatest of that time. At Port Gibson, the confederates tried to defend by their tactics but weren’t able to hold the gigantic army of the Federals for more than 17 hours.
This resulted in the first defeat of the Confederates. The Confederates were forced to leave the grounds of Grand Gulf. Once they entered the enemy region, General Grant didn’t directly move further North to the city of Vicksburg. Instead, General Grant and his army take a diverted route along the outer border of the Big Black River. General Grant directly attacked the Southern Rail Road, which was the primary source of transportation to the city of Vicksburg. The Sothern Rail Road was strategically significant for the movement of food supplies. This surprise attack was a great battle strategy from the Federal army.
Late Arrival of Joseph Johnston
From the other end, the group of McClernand, Sherman, McPherson entered the Confederate region via the Grand Gulf. Pemberton arranged a brigade of soldiers to defend them. The Pemberton’s crew of 3,000 soldiers directly faced the 10,000 soldiers of James McPherson. This took place along the fourteen miles creek riverbank region. Now the confederates have again returned to the Jackson region.
Now, General Grant hatches a plan and diverts around two-thirds of his men to the State’s capital. General Joseph Johnston was sent to assist Pemberton, but his arrival was a little bit delayed. Therefore, the communication gap between Pemberton and Johnston created a lot of chaos among the Confederate army. Now Johnston ordered the evacuation of the city Johnson. All the Federal forces now reach the state capital and conquer the city.
From here, the Federals turn their attention towards the city of Vicksburg. As General Grant starts marching towards the Northeast with his Federal army, the troops of Pemberton are stalled and confused due to miscommunication. Now Pemberton reverts back but is faced on three sides by the force of the Union army
. This marks the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, 1983. With the Federal army marching to acquire the Baker’s creek bridge, the Confederates brigade struggled to tolerate them. After a day of fighting, the Confederates utilized a second bridge that was built as an escape plan to reach Edward Station.
Miscommunication in the Air
At the same time, Lauren has ordered the retreat of 8,000 men back to Johnson. Pemberton was waiting for the return of these 8,000 men by the Big Black River bridge fort. The Federal forces under McLaren attacked the Confederates at Big Black River, resulting in a great fallout for the Confederates as they were forced back to Vicksburg. The defense of Vicksburg city included numerous forts, artilleries, Rifle pits. Stockade Redan was guarding the main graveyard road, which led to Vicksburg city
. On May 19th, the Federal Army, under General Grant, begin their attack. This 19-hour fight included a lot of casualties from both parties. The Confederates had a significant advantage in this battle. The Federal army again struck on the 22nd of May, over a greater span of 3 miles this time. This also significantly impacted the Federals as they lost more than 3,000 of their men on the battlefield. General Grant realized the situation and started to look for other options.
By June 25, 1963, the Federals had dug trenches by the 3rd Louisiana Redan. They created explosions to desert the soldiers. By June 6, 1963, the Federals added many more mines as a trap to defeat the Confederates.
The Final chapter
The overall socio-economic condition of Vicksburg city was deteriorating, and there existed famine, scarcity of resources, and various diseases. People started leaving the city to find a better place. The Federal fleet was continuously creating mines all along the region. The conditions worsened day by day, and soldiers started sending notes to Pemberton stating to surrender. Pemberton realized the inability and difficulty of the army and decided to surrender by July 2, 1963.
Therefore, on July 3, 1963, Pemberton of the Confederate military met with Grant of the Federal army. Pemberton has come to a peaceful surrender. A negotiation was made between Pemberton and Grant on not imprisoning the Confederate soldiers and letting them return back to home. After the whole storm of Battle of Vicksburg, something was born on the 4th of July, 1963. The city of Vicksburg was surrendered to the Federal army.
After five days of the acquirement of Vicksburg and the end of the Battle of Vicksburg, Port Hudson was also captured by the Union army. Now the Union has acquired the whole Mississippi River. The Vicksburg sealed a transportation route to the South Confederates that supplied essential commodities and ammunitions. The simultaneous Battle of Gettysburg completely dominated the mass media, and the victory of the Battle of Vicksburg by General Grant went highly unrecognized until the later years.
Even though the Battle of Vicksburg was a great victory and strategic key point for the Federals, the Federals lost around 10,000 soldiers during the course of the Battle of Vicksburg. To commemorate the Battle of Vicksburg, a military park was created in the year 1899.
