Battle Of Vicksburg Essay

“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.” The famous quote said by military General Ulysses S. Grant, states the significance of the Siege of Vicksburg. With military geniuses, economic distress, and strategy, the battle of Vicksburg was one of the most forceful, and destructible battles in the history of the American Civil War.

When the first shot was fired in Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the Union and Confederates officially broke apart, causing the first outbreak of the American Civil War. With the Union having around 200,000 troops in 1861, and with having the Confederates half that, they were already at a disadvantage. As the war went on, the Union had

Taking the city of Vicksburg was crucial because it was the last hold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. Cutting off the Confederacy, was a key focal point because it would cut off the Confederacy's supply and leave them with a less efficient way to trade with foreign places. By doing this, not only would they be cutting them off, but would be taking hold of the Mississippi, which would give the Union control of foreign trades, and would make transferring goods more direct and efficient. This would boost the economy for the United States, and for Vicksburg. Ulysses S. Grant, the Commanding General of the United States, was born on April 22, 1922, and was born in Point Pleasant Ohio. Grant went to school at The United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1843. He then went on to fighting in the Mexican War, and later received an honorable mention for gallantry and an honorable mention for meritorious conduct. After having to move to posts far from his family, Grant was beginning to drink heavily, and ignore his work. Because of this, he was later forced to retire in 1854, because of his fear of being kicked out of the service due to being a drunkard. For the next

Doing this, hurt the Union’s economy by taking away their resources and supplies. On May 18th, 1863, Pemberton reached the city of Vicksburg, and only had 18,000 troops, while Grant had over twice that, with more coming. However, even though Pemberton was low in numbers, he had the advantage of knowing the terrain and knowing the land in the District. Having lines of defense 6.5 miles around Vicksburg, he was able to line troops apon hills, and steep ridges along the outskirts of the city. Grant however, knew that if he were to overwhelm the Confederates before the battle started, he would have a better chance of taking them down. He did this by ordering an artillery bombardment to help weaken the defenses before going into battle. This was not enough because of their location by the Mississippi Infantry, so even after more attempts, Grant’s men could only get as far as the ditch below the fortification. After having 942 casualties for the Union, and the Confederates only having 70, this was a big loss of confidence in the Union soldiers. After having a winning streak through the state of Mississippi, failing to take the city was a big disappointment. Although the defeat of the first attempt was damaging, they were ready to strike again on May 22. This time, they would focus on weakening the defenses by naval forces. Doing this