What was vicksburg nickname

Grant assaulted the redan twice, May 19 and 22, , only to be repulsed with heavy casualties. Grant was well-known by the soldiers of both armies for seizing the initiative and ordering the offensive, but while he would reluctantly settle in for a day siege because of the more than 4, casualties sustained at Stockade Redan, he would soon direct his miners and sappers to tunnel and then to explode a massive mine under the 3rd Louisiana Redoubt.

Grant's Vicksburg Strategy: Grant's strategy, up to the capture of Grand Gulf, had been first to secure a base on the river below Vicksburg and then to cooperate with Maj. Nathaniel P. Banks in capturing Port Hudson. After this he planned to move the combined force against Vicksburg. Port Hudson , a Strong point on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge, was garrisoned by Confederate troops after Farragut's withdrawal the previous summer.

To follow his original plan would force postponement of the Vicksburg campaign for at least a month, giving Pemberton invaluable time to organize his defense and receive reinforcements. From this delay the Union Army could expect the addition of no more than 12, men. Grant now came to one of the most remarkable decisions of his military career.

Information had been received that a new Confederate force was being raised at Jackson, 45 miles east of Vicksburg. Against the advice of his senior officers, and contrary to orders from Washington, Grant resolved to cut himself off from his base of supply on the river, march quickly in between the two Confederate forces, and defeat each separately before they could join against him.

Meanwhile, he would subsist his army from the land through which he marched. The plan was well conceived, for in marching to the northeast toward Edwards Station, on the railroad midway between Jackson and Vicksburg,. Grant's vulnerable left flank would be protected by the Big Black River.

Moreover, his real objective—Vicksburg or Jackson—would not be revealed immediately and could be changed to meet events. Upon reaching the railroad, he could also sever Pemberton's communications with Jackson and the East.

It was Grant's belief that, although the Confederate forces would be greater than his own, this advantage would be offset by their wide dispersal and by the speed and design of his march. But this calculated risk was accompanied by grave dangers, of which Grant's lieutenants were acutely aware. It meant placing the Union Army deep in alien country behind the Confederate Army where the line of retreat could be broken and where the alternative to victory would not only be defeat but complete destruction.

The situation was summed up in Sherman's protest, recorded by Grant, "that I was putting myself in a position voluntarily which an enemy would be glad to maneuver a year—or a long time—to get me. The action into which Pemberton was drawn by the Union threat indicated the keenness of Grant's planning. The Confederate general believed that the farther Grant campaigned from the river the weaker his position would become and the more exposed his rear and flanks.

Accordingly, Pemberton elected to remain on the defensive, keeping his army as a protective shield between Vicksburg and the Union Army and awaiting an opportunity to strike a decisive blow—a policy which permitted Grant to march inland unopposed. His widely separated columns moved out on a broad front concealing their objective. Grant's Army alone numbered 35, men upon arrival at Vicksburg, May 18, , but by adding Sherman's command, and the other units arriving almost daily, it increased and numbered 77, strong when Vicksburg capitulated on July 4.

To oppose him, Pemberton had available about 50, troops, but these were scattered widely to protect important points. On the day of Grant's departure from Grand Gulf, Pemberton's defensive position was further complicated by orders from President Jefferson Davis that both Vicksburg and Port Hudson must be held at all cost. Forced into the already prepared trenches of Vicksburg after the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Pemberton's force was reduced to 18, effectives.

In comparison with campaigns in the more thickly populated Eastern Theater, where a more extensive system of roads and railroads was utilized to provide the tremendous quantities of food and supplies necessary to sustain an army, the campaign of Grant's Western veterans "reg'lar great big hellsnorters, same breed as ourselves," said a charitable "Johnny Reb" was a new type of warfare.

The Union supply train largely consisted of a curious collection of stylish carriages, buggies, and lumbering farm wagons stacked high with ammunition boxes and drawn by whatever mules or horses could be found. Grant began his Wilderness campaign in Virginia the following year requiring over 56, horses and mules for his 5, wagons and ambulances, artillery caissons, and cavalry. Lacking transportation, food supplies were carried in the soldier's knapsack.

Beef, poultry, and pork "requisitioned" from barn and smokehouse enabled the army which had cut loose from its base to live for 3 weeks on 5 days' rations. Stephen D. Lee, the most decisive and far-reaching battle of the war was fought. Here at Vicksburg over one hundred thousand gallant soldiers and a powerful fleet of gunboats and ironclads in terrible earnestness for forty days and nights fought to decide whether the new Confederate States should be cut in twain; whether the great river should flow free to the Gulf, or should have its commerce hindered.

The Federal army, commanded by Gen. Grant, and the Union navy under Admiral Porter were victorious. The Confederate army was under the command of Gen. John Pemberton and numbered some thirty thousand men.

Although Pemberton's army was captured by Grant, the soldiers were soon paroled and returned to operate in other killing fields of the war. The loss on July 4, , was a staggering blow from which the Confederacy never rallied.

June Left South Fort, overlooking the Mississippi, was located south and on the flank of the Confederate defenses below Vicksburg. Interior of South Fort, showing the heavy type of Columbiads and mortars which made up the battery here. The Columbiads, which were being retired by the Union army, were older smoothbore guns that were found in greater quantity in the Confederate arsenal, and the mortars could lob a pound shell at a high trajectory making the interior of forts vulnerable.

To protect themselves from the mortars, both sides would construct bombproofs as a defense. As with any weapon of war, both distance and shielding between the soldier and threat is the objective in the defense. The heavy guns of this Union siege battery were borrowed from the Federal gunboats and used against the Confederate siege defenses. Fortifications had to be opposed to the formidable one of the Confederates and a constant bombardment kept up to silence their guns, one by one.

It was to be a drawn-out duel in which Pemberton, hoping for the long-delayed relief from Johnston, held out bravely against starvation and even mutiny. For twelve miles the Federal lines stretched around Vicksburg, investing it to the river bank, north and south. More than eighty-nine battery positions were constructed by the Federals. Battery Sherman was exceptionally well built—not merely revetted with rails or cotton-bales and floored with rough timber, as lack of proper material often made necessary.

Gradually the lines were drawn closer and closer as the Federals moved up their guns to silence the works that they had failed to take in May. At the time of the surrender Grant had more than guns in position, mostly of heavy caliber.

By the 1st of July besieged and besiegers faced each other at a distance of half-pistol shot. Starving and ravaged by disease, the Confederates had repelled repeated attacks which depleted their forces, while Grant, reinforced to three times their number, was showered with supplies and ammunition that he might bring about the long-delayed victory which the North had been eagerly awaiting since Chancellorsville.

Meanwhile, political forces were at work. President Abraham Lincoln had long recognized the importance of Vicksburg; he wrote "Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until the key is in our pocket. John A. McClernand, a War Democrat politician, had convinced Lincoln that he could lead an army down the river and take Vicksburg. Lincoln approved his proposal and wanted Maj.

Banks to advance up river from New Orleans at the same time. McClernand's troops were split into two corps, one under McClernand, the other under Sherman. McClernand complained but to no avail. Grant appropriated his troops, one of several maneuvers in a private dispute within the Union Army between Grant and McClernand that would continue throughout the campaign.

For the Union, the spring of signaled the beginning of the final and successful phase of the Vicksburg Campaign as Gen. Leaving their encampments on March 29, , Federal soldiers took up the line of march and slogged southward over muddy terrain, building bridges and corduroy roads as they went. Grant's column pushed first to New Carthage, then to Hard Times, where the infantrymen rendezvoused with the Union navy. At p. About June , Explosion of the mine under the Third Louisiana Redan would create a crater measuring 12 feet deep and 40 feet wide.

On June 25, , as the entire Union line opened fire to prevent shifting of reinforcements, a charge of 2, pounds of powder would be exploded beneath the Third Louisiana Redan, creating a large crater into which elements of the 23rd Indiana and 45th Illinois raced from the approach trench. Anticipating this result, however, Confederate Gen. Forney had prepared a second line of works in the rear of the fort where survivors of the blast and supporting regiments met the Union attack to drive it back.

More than 30 hours of hand-to-hand fighting would ensue before the Federals, without gaining an advantage, withdrew on June Because the siege of Vicksburg would continue beyond the June 25 explosion, Union engineers would construct additional mines, but with no relief in sight or sound, Gen. Pemberton would commit to surrender, and Gen. Grant would dine in Vicksburg on July 4, as he had promised.

Vicksburg Civil War History U. Flag raised over Vicksburg Courthouse. Undaunted by his failure at Grand Gulf, Grant moved farther south in search of a more favorable crossing point. Looking now to cross his army at Rodney, Grant was informed that there was a good road ascending the bluffs east of Bruinsburg.

Seizing the opportunity, the Union commander transported his army across the mighty river and onto Mississippi soil at Bruinsburg on April 30—May 1, In the early morning hours of April 30, infantrymen of the 24th and 46th Indiana Regiments stepped ashore on Mississippi soil at Bruinsburg. The invasion had begun. The landing was made unopposed and, as the men came ashore, a band aboard the U. Benton struck up "The Red, White, and Blue.

This landing was the largest amphibious operation in American military history until the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. Elements of the Union army pushed inland and took possession of the bluffs, thereby securing the landing area. By late afternoon of April 30, 17, soldiers were ashore and the march inland began.

Moving away from the landing area at Bruinsburg, the Federal soldiers rested and ate their crackers in the shade of the trees on Windsor Plantation. Late that afternoon the decision was made to push on that night by a forced march in hopes of surprising the Confederates and preventing them from destroying the bridges over Bayou Pierre. The Union columns resumed the advance at p.

The next day, May 1, the brigades of Brig. William Baldwin and Col. Francis Cockrell hastened out the Bruinsburg road to reinforce the Confederate troops then heavily engaged with Grant's forces. Late in the afternoon of May 1, Baldwin's men would retire from the field along the road into Port Gibson followed by the victorious Union soldiers. At the point of deployment, an interval of 2, yards separated the roads.

The brigades of Tracy, on the right, and Green, on the left, who was strengthened by four guns of the Pettus Flying Artillery, were separated by a deep cane-choked ravine which prevented one flank from reinforcing the other flank.

To do so, the Confederates had to march back to the road junction. The "Y" intersection of the roads was thus the lateral avenue of movement for the Confederates. Shortly after midnight the crash of musketry shattered the stillness as the Federals stumbled upon Confederate outposts near the A.

Shaifer house. The Battle of Port Gibson had begun. Union troops immediately deployed for battle, and their artillery, which soon arrived, roared into action.

A spirited skirmish ensued which lasted until 3 a. For the next several hours an uneasy calm settled over the woods and scattered fields as soldiers of both armies rested on their arms. Throughout the night the Federals gathered their forces in hand and both sides prepared for the battle which they knew would come with the rising sun.

One division was sent along a connecting plantation road toward the Bruinsburg Road and the Confederate right flank. With skirmishers well ahead, the Federals began a slow and deliberate advance around a.

The Confederates contested the thrust and the battle began in earnest. Martin E. Green's Brigade. Heavily outnumbered and hard-pressed, the Confederates gave way shortly after a. The men in butternut and gray fell back a mile and a half. Here the soldiers of Brig. William E. Baldwin's and Col. Francis M. Cockrell's brigades, recent arrivals on the field, established a new line between White and Irwin branches of Willow Creek.

Full of fight, these men re-established the Confederate left flank. The morning hours witnessed Green's Brigade driven from its position by the principle Federal attack. Edward D. Tracy's Alabama Brigade, astride the Bruinsburg Road, also experienced hard fighting. Although Tracy was killed early in the action, his brigade managed to hold its tenuous line. It was clear, however, that unless the Confederates received heavy reinforcements, they would lose the day.

John S. Bowen, Confederate commander on the field, wired his superiors: "We have been engaged in a furious battle ever since daylight; losses very heavy. The men act nobly, but the odds are overpowering. Green's weary soldiers, having been regrouped, arrived to bolster the line on the Bruinsburg Road. Even so, by late in the afternoon on May 1, the Federals had advanced all along the line in superior numbers.

As Union pressure built, Cockrell's Missourians unleashed a vicious counterattack near the Rodney Road, and began to roll up the blue line.

The 6th Missouri also counterattacked, hitting the Federals near the Bruinsburg Road. All this was to no avail, for the odds against them were too great. The Confederates were checked and driven back, the day lost.

Battle of Vicksburg History Siege of Vicksburg. Battle of Vicksburg Stockade Redan, Vicksburg, present-day. Right Looking down Graveyard Road toward Stockade Redan, this is the same vantage point held by the Union soldiers as they moved along the road and assaulted the redan during May , and it was here that Union troops would advance and force Grant's investment on target Johnny Reb at Stockade Redan directly to their front.

The redan was an inexpensive, elementary earthwork that must be taken, according to Grant, so Billy Yank's artillery, which was in plain sight of the redan, had trained its guns and leveled much tonnage into the nearly foot thick salient since the Federal's arrival. The Union army would assault Stockade Redan twice, initially on May 19 and lastly on May 22, but as the redan demonstrated that neither iron nor steel could subdue the earthwork, and with Federal casualties now over 4,, the frustrated Grant would reluctantly resort to siege activities.

Union losses at the Battle of Port Gibson were killed, wounded, and 25 missing out of 23, men engaged. This victory not only secured his position on Mississippi soil, but enabled him to launch his campaign deeper into the interior of the state. Union victory at Port Gibson forced the Confederate evacuation of Grand Gulf and would ultimately result in the fall of Vicksburg.

The Confederates suffered 56 killed, wounded, and missing out of 8, men engaged. In addition, 4 guns of the Botetourt Virginia Artillery were lost. The action at Port Gibson underscored Confederate inability to defend the line of the Mississippi River and to respond to amphibious operations.

Contrary to assertions by modern-day historians, the Union army relied heavily on the Grand Gulf supply base to sustain its movements in Mississippi. Only after reaching Vicksburg and reestablishing contact with the fleet on the Yazoo River, did Grant abandon this vital supply line. On May 2, instead of marching directly on Vicksburg from the south, Grant marched his army in a northeasterly direction, his left flank protected by the Big Black River.

It was his intention to strike the Southern Railroad of Mississippi somewhere between Vicksburg and Jackson. Destruction of the railroad would cut Pemberton's supply and communications lines, and isolate Vicksburg. As the Federal force moved inland, McClernand's Corps was positioned on the left, Sherman's in the center, and McPherson's on the right. On the morning of May 12, , Maj.

James B. Shortly before a. Suddenly a deadly volley ripped into their ranks from the woods lining the nearly dry stream. As the battle progressed, McPherson massed 22 guns astride the road to support his infantry, while Confederate artillery also roared into action, announcing the presence of Brig.

John Gregg's battle-hardened brigade. The ever-combative Gregg decided to strike with his 3,man brigade, turn the Federal right flank, and capture the entire force. Faulty intelligence led Gregg to believe that he faced only a small Union force, when in reality McPherson's 10,man corps was on the road before him.

Thick clouds of smoke and dust obscured the field and neither commander accurately assessed the size of the force in his front.

Gregg enjoyed initial success, but as successive Confederate regiments attacked across the creek to the left, resistance stiffened and it became clear that a much larger Federal force was on the field.

By early afternoon, the Confederate assault was checked and Union forces counterattacked. Union brigades continued to arrive on the field and deploy in line of battle on either side of the Utica road. In piecemeal fashion, McPherson's men pushed forward at p.

The ensuing fight was of the most confused nature, for neither commander knew where their units were or what they were doing. However, Union strength of numbers prevailed. The Confederate right flank along the Utica road broke under renewed pressure, and Gregg had no alternative but to retire from the field.

His regiments retreated through Raymond along the Jackson Road, bivouacking for the night near Snake Creek. There was no Federal pursuit as McPherson's troops bedded down for the night in and around the town. The fight at Raymond cost Gregg 73 killed, wounded, and missing, most of whom were from the 3rd Tennessee and the 7th Texas.

McPherson's losses totaled of whom 66 were killed, wounded, and 37 missing. The Battle of Raymond led Grant to change the direction of his army's march and move on Jackson, the state capital. It was the Union general's intention to destroy the important rail and communications center in the city, and scatter any Confederate reinforcements which might be moving toward Vicksburg.

William T. Sherman pushed northeast through Raymond to Mississippi Springs. To cover the march on Jackson, Maj. McClernand's Corps was placed in a defensive position on a line from Raymond to Clinton. Late on the afternoon of May 13, as the Federals were poised to strike at Jackson, a train arrived in the capital city carrying Confederate Gen.

Joseph E. Johnston, ordered to the city by President Jefferson Davis to salvage the rapidly deteriorating situation in Mississippi. Establishing his headquarters at the Bowman House, Gen. Johnston was apprised of troop strength and the condition of the fortifications around Jackson. He immediately wired authorities in Richmond, "I am too late," and instead of fighting for Jackson, ordered the city evacuated.

John Gregg was ordered to fight a delaying action to cover the evacuation. A heavy rain fell during the night, turning the roads into mud. Advancing slowly through the torrential downpour, the corps of Sherman and McPherson converged on Jackson by mid-morning of May Around 9 a. Wright farm. Quickly deploying his men into line of battle, the Union corps commander prepared to attack.

Suddenly, the rain fell in sheets and threatened to ruin the ammunition of his men by soaking the powder in their cartridge-boxes. The attack was postponed until the rain stopped around a. The Federals then advanced with bayonets fixed and banners unfurled. Clashing with the Confederates in a bitter hand-to-hand struggle, McPherson's men forced the Southerners back into the fortifications of Jackson. Meanwhile, Sherman's corps reached Lynch Creek southwest of Jackson at 11 a.

Union cannon were hurried into position, and in short order drove the Confederates back into the city's defenses. The stream was unfordable, forcing Sherman's men to cross on a narrow wooden bridge.

Reforming their lines, the Federals advanced at p. Not wishing to expose his men to the deadly fire, Sherman sent one regiment to the right east in search of a weak spot in the defense line.

These men reached the works and found them mainly deserted, with only a handful of state troops and civilian volunteers left to man the guns in Sherman's front. The Confederates moved quickly to evacuate the city and were well out the Canton Road to the north when Union troops entered Jackson around 3 p.

The "Stars and Stripes" were unfurled atop the capital by McPherson's men, symbolic of Union victory. Confederate casualties for the Battle of Jackson were incomplete, but an initial report indicated 17 killed, 64 wounded, and missing, for a preliminary tally of In addition, 17 artillery pieces were taken by the Federals.

Union casualties totaled men, of whom 42 were killed, wounded, and 7 missing. Not wishing to waste foot soldiers on occupation, Grant ordered Jackson neutralized militarily.

The torch was applied to machine shops and factories, telegraph lines were cut, and railroad tracks destroyed. With Jackson's resources rendered ineffective, and Johnston's force scattered to the winds, Grant turned with confidence toward his objective to the west — Vicksburg.

Following the Union occupation of Jackson, Mississippi, both Confederate and Federal forces made plans for future operations. Johnston retreated, with most of his army, up the Canton Road, but he ordered Lt. Pemberton, commanding about 23, men, to leave Edwards Station and attack the Federals at Clinton. On May 16, though, Pemberton received another order from Johnston reiterating his former directions.

Pemberton had already moved after the supply trains and was on the Raymond-Edwards Road with his rear at the crossroads one-third mile south of the crest of Champion Hill.

Thus, when he ordered a countermarch, his rear, including his many supply wagons, became the advance of his force. Pemberton was unaware that one Union column was moving along the Jackson Road against his unprotected left flank. For protection, Pemberton posted Brig. Lee's men atop Champion Hill where they could watch for the reported Union column moving to the crossroads. Lee spotted the Union troops and they soon saw him.

If this force was not stopped, it would cut the Rebels off from their Vicksburg base. Pemberton received warning of the Union movement and sent troops to his left flank. Union forces at the Champion House moved into action and emplaced artillery to begin firing. When Grant arrived at Champion Hill, around am, he ordered the attack to begin.

By am, Union forces had reached the Confederate main line and about pm, they took the crest while the Rebels retired in disorder. The Federals swept forward, capturing the crossroads and closing the Jackson Road escape route. Grant then counterattacked, committing forces that had just arrived from Clinton by way of Bolton. In the late afternoon, Union troops seized the Bakers Creek Bridge, and by midnight, they occupied Edwards. The Confederates, now routed, were in full retreat towards Vicksburg.

If the Union forces caught these Rebels, they would destroy them. Company G, 1st Mississippi Light Artillery Cowan's Battery , straddled the road with two guns to the north and four guns to the south. Tilghman, having dismounted, was personally giving directions regarding the sighting of one of the guns north of the road, when he was struck by a shell fragment and instantly killed.

Immediately following the withdrawal of Confederate forces, Union troops took possession of the ridge. Six guns of the Chicago Mercantile Battery were positioned between the Raymond Road and the Coker House, which was eventually utilized as a field hospital for soldiers of both North and South.

The Battle of Champion Hill was costly for both armies. Union casualties totaled 2,, with killed, 1, wounded, and missing, and Confederate losses were killed, 1, wounded, and 2, missing and captured, for a total of 3, Battle of Vicksburg Abraham Lincoln. About Stockade Redan on May 19 and 22, Stockade Redan was the location of the two deadliest days of the day Siege of Vicksburg. The fort, located on Graveyard Road, was a very thick, strong earthwork that acted as the gatekeeper and defender of Vicksburg, and, knowing that it was the most likely target of any Union attack on the city, the Confederates had constructed it well.

On both flanks were innumerable natural and manmade obstructions that would force the Union army to attack from Graveyard Road. Nearby Confederate works would also place any Union assault in a fierce crossfire that resembled Shiloh's "hornets nest. The two failed frontal assaults on the earthen redan May 19 and 22 produced more than 4, Union men in killed, wounded, and missing, and Grant, with his army now hemorrhaging, reluctantly, but wisely, resigned his army to a siege while deadlocked before the gates of Vicksburg.

Whereas the Siege of Vicksburg lasted from May 18 to July 4, , the siege operations actually didn't begin until May 23, the day after Grant's second failed assault on the redan.

Grant, who commanded an army of some 35, strong, arrived on the outskirts of Vicksburg on May 18, and on the following day he pressed and assaulted the Confederate works with the objective of sweeping the Rebels from the field and capturing Vicksburg immediately-- but it didn't materialize.

On May 22, Grant, now agitated and more determined to break that redan, massed an even greater number of men for the imminent advance on the works.

Preceding the attack, during the night of the 21st, many of the Union artillery pieces had been adjusted to fire for effect on Stockade Redan. The cannonading would continue through the night followed by a short respite before being resumed on the following day. But similar to his initial, ill-fated attack on the 19th, Grant's units became entangled and delayed by the many obstructions and mines while en route to the foot high earthwork. Union units were being badly beaten and pushed back.

Reform your men, were the orders to the regimental commanders, and then press and take that redan. The fighting was furious and with some Federals arriving with scaling ladders now in the ditch below the redan, some progress was observed. A few ladders and planks were seen rising on the salient-- but they were too short to be of use.

Only a few feet separated the enemies, but now, with the number of blue uniforms increasing in the ditch below, the gray-clad men began tossing grenades while rolling charges down the embankment and onto the Federals.

The 8-foot wide ditch, which had served its purpose well, was now a welcoming grave to the once persistent Union men who had fought so bravely to reach it. Stockade Redan remained intact, and it would not be assaulted for the duration of the siege. Grant, who would later become the 18th U. President, received his after battle reports showing killed, 2, wounded, and missing, for a grand total of 3, Union casualties. Coupled with the nearly 1, casualties that the Union army had sustained on May 19, Grant made the obvious decision to besiege the city.

Grant was a fighter, but in spite of the fact that he knew that he had been beaten badly at the redan, his only regret was that did not succeed.

Although Grant was receiving reinforcements from Maj. Halleck almost daily, he knew very well that a Confederate force was gathering nearby in hopes of breaking the siege and relieving Pemberton's beleaguered Confederates. A Northern army deep in Dixie couldn't remain static, and Grant understood that.

With the sunset on May 22, the Federals, having licked their wounds, waited for additional orders. The Rebels, however, held the advantage as long as Grant forwarded his army in piecemeal fashion down the long narrow Graveyard Road, which was lined with many obstructions on both sides, and headlong into the clutch of well-defended Confederates in and near the redan.

As the redan was attacked several times on those two days of May, the course of the Rebs was merely to aim and then pull the trigger of their muskets, and then observe the heavily concentrated ranks of Union soldiers collapse and bottle up the approach. While t he Siege of Vicksburg was a proving ground for Grant, unbeknownst to the general, he would also be engaged in the longest siege of the war during the following summer, against General Robert E.

Lee before Richmond. Loring to cross. Unbeknownst to Pemberton, however, Loring was not marching toward the river, but instead northeast, to join with the forces of Gen. Federal troops appeared early in the morning of May 17, and prepared to storm the defenses, with McClernand's XIII Corps quickly deploying along the road and Union artillery opening on the Confederate fortifications with solid shot and shell.

The Confederate line was naturally strong, and formed an arc with its left flank resting on Big Black River and the right flank on Gin Lake. A bayou of waist-deep water fronted a portion of the line, and 18 cannon were placed to sweep the flat open ground to the east. As both sides prepared for battle, Union troops took advantage of terrain features and Brig. Mike Lawler, on the Federal right, deployed his men in a meander scar not far from the Southern line of defense.

Believing that his men could cover the intervening ground quickly, and with little loss, Lawler boldly ordered his troops to fix bayonets and charge. With a mighty cheer the Union troops swept across the open ground, through the bayou, and over the parapets. From beginning to end, the charge lasted three minutes. Pemberton surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, Massive military ships, like the USS Cairo , were moving in close proximity. Homes became hospitals as they provided refuge for wounded soldiers.

The city itself was turned into a war zone, the remnants of which are still preserved today at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Interested in learning more about the Vicksburg Campaign during the Civil War? Contact us for details. Vicksburg maintained rail access to the heart of the Confederacy at this time but most of the other towns along the river could not. They soon found their situation untenable.

Two weeks after capturing New Orleans, Farragut started up the Mississippi with repaired and resupplied warships. Although not an easy voyage, the northern troops pressed on. Baton Rouge fell first. On May 12, , Natchez surrendered without a fight. The city's reply, delivered five hours later, was "No! Autry, Military commander of Vicksburg, "Mississippians don't know and refuse to learn how to surrender to an enemy. After a period of intermittent bombardment from the river, Farragut conceded that he could not run his fleet past the "Gibraltar of the Mississippi.

Farragut withdrew his ships and returned to New Orleans. Farragut arrived off Vicksburg again on June 25, with a force including 3, troops on transports and several mortar schooners designed to bombard the elevated shore batteries. The following two days of bombardment marked the city's first concentrated assault and provided her first casualties. The bombardment was only the beginning of continuing strife for the residents of Vicksburg.

During the historic Siege of Vicksburg, the citizens of Vicksburg and her defenders began living in caves dug out of the hillsides, conducting their daily business as well as possible The siege caves of Vicksburg have long remained one of the most unique aspects of the city. On July 1, , General Pemberton met with his commanders regarding the prospect of being relieved or fighting their way out of the besieged city of Vicksburg. Two days later Generals Grant and Pemberton met in the afternoon to discuss surrender.

Grant's final terms stopped short of unconditional surrender, with a major point being that 30, Confederates in Vicksburg would be paroled rather than imprisoned. Pemberton officially accepted the terms around midnight. The next morning, a victorious Union army marched into Vicksburg following the forty-seven day siege. This park, now a member of the National Park System, commemorates and preserves the infamous siege line and the historic heritage of Vicksburg. Considered by many to be one of America's most beautiful national memorials, it is the final resting place for 17, Union soldiers, 13, of whom are unknown.

With the final surrender of the Confederate States of America, the North tried to stabilize local conditions. President Lincoln's wishes to reunite the nation with forgiveness, understanding and welcome for the Southern states, died with him. The South's reconstruction under the new President, Andrew Johnson, was harsh and stories of individual states and cities were similar..

Vicksburg pressed forward during this trying period.