Battle Of Vicksburg Research Paper

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THE SEIGE OF VICKSBURG Introduction By 1860, the Union Army had failed to take two key locations along the Mississippi river at Port Hudson, and Vicksburg. This 142-mile stretch of the Mississippi River provided beef from Texas and sustainment from the fertile fields of Louisiana to the Confederate Army. The Union army had successfully blockaded ocean access to the south and all but a 142-mile stretch on the Mississippi River. Vicksburg, known as the Confederate Gibraltar1, was a major transportation hub that ensured safe passage to Confederate steamboats and the railroad. The rugged hills, and a force of 26,500 men and cavalry, made the city a natural defensive point on the Mississippi River. One Union soldier, on seeing the terrain for the first time wrote his sister, “Tis the opinion of all that Vicksburg is the strongest fortified place in the confederacy.”2 President Abraham Lincoln recognized the significance of the town situated on a 200-foot bluff above the Mississippi. He said, “Vicksburg is the key, the war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.”3 Taking the city would sever Confederate control and open the river to Union traffic along its 2300-mile length as well as create eastern…show more content…
Grant began a two-pronged assault on Vicksburg. A primary force of cavalry was to distract and draw out Confederate forces while the second force, headed by Major General Sherman, sailed along the Mississippi river to bombard the remaining forces of Vicksburg. The initial attack failed as Confederate cavalry cut off General Grant’s main supply routes forcing his army back. The remaining months of 1862 and early months of 1863 saw General Grant attempting multiple approach avenues to the city with no success. The previous battle under General Sherman against the high ground of Chickasaw Bluff north of town resulted in 1800 Union casualties and just over 200 Confederate
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    The Battle Of Vicksburg was fought May 18, 1863 – July 4, 1863.It was fought in Mississippi.The Union had won and the Confederency had lost.There was many things that had happened like my father losing.The other things that happened was that General Grant undertook a new and bold campaign against Vicksburg and the Confederate defenders under John Pemberton in the late April 1863.Also that when they were done conducting surprise landing below Vicksburg at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, Grant’s forces moved

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