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The Siege of Vicksburg took place form May 18 to July 4, 1863.
Major General Ulysses S. Grant led a siege on the town of
Vicksburg against the Confederate Lieutenant General John
Pemberton.
Grant commanded 77,000 troops against Pemberton’s 20,000.
The Siege of Vicksburg took place because Grant wanted
a strategic fort by a bend of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg
also had railroads leading to Richmond and Jackson.
The Union forces, under Grants control, came down the
Mississippi River towards Vicksburg and then they left at
Milliken’s Bend for Roundaway Bayou. They went south past
Brierfield to cross the Mississippi at Bruinsburg. They then
traveled east to fight the Confederates west of port Gibson on
May 1, 1863. After securing fort Gibdson, they headed
northeast for eleven days until fighting the Confederates at
Raymond. They continued to Jackson, fighting again two days
later. After that they traveled west, fighting the Confederates
at Champion Hill and the Big Black River Bridge until reaching
Vicksburg on May 18 where Pemberton already lay.
The significance of the Siege of Vicksburg was that it cut
off Confederate supplies lines and split the Confederacy in
half. The claiming of Vicksburg would help Lincoln’s
assessment and Scott’s Anaconda Plan.
On July 4, 1863 the Union found themselves victorious in
claiming Vicksburg. This was the last major city along the
Mississippi River the Union needed to claim the entire river.
Many thought of it as the turning point of the Civil War.
The Siege of Vicksburg wasn’t an open-raged battle, it was
fought mostly with artillery and was basically a bombardment
on Confederate troops trapped within the city. The entire time
the Union soldiers were fighting outside the city, leaving the
Confederates inside to lose to disease and starvation.
Pemberton eventually requested surrender on July 3.
The long-lasting effects of the Siege of Vicksburg was that
it successfully split the Confederacy in half, a major
achievement for the Union. After securing Vicksburg they
were able to then go for the Confederate capital, eventually
leading to the Union’s victory of the Civil War.
At the end of the battle, the Confederates had lost a total
of 1,413 men and another 3,800 of them had gone missing.
3,878 were wounded in total. The Union suffered a loss of
1,581 dead men, and 1,007 deserters. 7,554 men were
wounded.