The Battle of Vicksburg or Siege of Vicksburg was the final significant battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of brilliant maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River. He drove the Confederate army of John C. Pemberton into defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant besieged the city, which surrendered six weeks later, yielding command of the Mississippi River to the Union. Author Terry Winschel, chief historian at Vicksburg National Military Park, weaves a professional lifetime of personal experience and scholarship into this remarkable study. His chapters cover every major aspect of what many consider to have been the decisive military achievement of the war - the capture of 'The Gibraltar of the Confederacy'. How good was General Grant's generalship? Was Confederate Lieutenant General John Pemberton really as inept as we have been led to believe? Which battle of the months-long campaign was decisive and sealed the fate of the city? How did the civilians deal with the lack of food and supplies? What role did cavalry play in this critical campaign? Winschel discusses these issues and many others with articles on General Grant's march through Louisiana, Grierson's Federal cavalry raid, the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hill, the infantry assault on Vicksburg, siege operations, John Walker's Texas Division, the citizens of Vicksburg, and much more. TERRENCE WINSCHEL is the Chief Historian of Vicksburg National Military Park and the author or editor of several books and dozens of articles on the Civil War. He lives with his family in Vicksburg.
