The purpose of this research is to analyse the siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. The military history of this battle is well known. This study will therefore cover some of the personal encounters, the character of the Army and naval commanders, as well as some of the more specific details of the military events that are not generally recorded. These events will be arranged in chronological order.
As early as 1861, the value of fortifying Vicksburg to aid in the closing of the Mississippi River was clear to the Confederate command, but it was not until February 1862 that steps were taken to garrison and fortify the place. General Braxton Bragg sent one regiment to set up a command post, and in March guns and ammunition were sent from Pensacola, Florida. In April, General Pierre Beauregard recommended that works should be constructed on the bluffs commanding the river for 40 guns and six batteries, which were to be completed by May. Three thousand soldiers were committed to the post.
Meanwhile, the Federal command gave orders to clear the Mississippi. Admiral David Farragut and Admiral David Porter, in naval commands, were ordered to attack the new fortifications. They were unsuccessful and a stalemate resulted. Vicksburg's defenses were too high above the river to be bothered. This situation endured until General Ulysses Grant moved 30,000 men against Vicksburg in November, 1862. On July 4, 1863, the siege and capture of Vicksburg were over. After one of the most important battles of the Civil War, Vicksburg fell. The Union capture of Vicksburg was even more damaging to the Confederates than the failure to invade Pennsylvania at Gettysburg. The victory at Vicksburg guaranteed federal control of the Mississippi River and separated the eastern states of the Confederacy from the western supporters.
Vicksburg was an optimum location for military defense. In this location, the Mississippi River had bluffs as...