Vicksburg, Siege of

The Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) is the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War.

In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee cross the Mississippi River and drive the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Vicksburg is the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River; therefore, capturing it completes the second part of the Northern strategy, the Anaconda Plan.

When two major assaults against the Confederate fortifications, on May 19 and 22, 1863, are repulsed with heavy casualties, Grant decides to besiege the city beginning on May 25.

After holding out for more than forty days, with their supplies nearly gone, the garrison surrenders on July 4.

The successful ending of the Vicksburg Campaign significantly degrades the ability of the Confederacy to maintain its war effort.

This action, combined with the surrender of Port Hudson to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9, yields command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces, who will hold it for the rest of the conflict.

The Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863 is sometimes considered, when combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George Meade, the turning point of the war.

It cuts off the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas from the rest of the Confederate States, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two for the duration of the war.

The Union victory also permanently severs communication between the Trans-Mississippi Department and the balance of the Confederacy.

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