Vicksburg, Mississippi was considered the key to the Confederacy by both sides during the Civil War. If the Union could capture it, then numerous supply lines could be cutoff for the states that had seceded. If not, then the Confederacy could potentially fight on indefinitely with fresh troops, supplies, and arms.
1. It Turned the War
Ulysses S. Grant was able to capture Vicksburg and Port Hudson in July 1863 after laying siege to the city for over 45 days. Two failed attacks in May of that year after a failed attack in 1862 required a different plan to be implemented. By cutting off the city and not allowing it to be resupplied, Grant was able to gain its surrender.
2. A Painful Disagreement
Jefferson Davis had a plantation not far from Vicksburg and the entire Confederate leadership recognized the need to secure this city along the Mississippi River. Like many other key Confederate battles, the leadership couldn’t come to a general consensus on what strategy to use for the battle to save the city. This created indecision ultimately cost them a victory and eventually the Civil War.
3. Promotions
Lincoln was so impressed with Grant’s strategy of disengagement that it led to being promoted to take command over the entire Union Army by the next summer. That strategy of disengagement included a promise not to take prisoners. It was one of the few decisions that Grant wound up regretting because many of the soldiers that fought against him at Vicksburg wound up fighting Grant again later on in the war.
4. Relatively Harmless
Many of the battles of the Civil War were quite bloody. If two large armies got together, there would be tens of thousands of casualties. The Battle of Vicksburg say 4,800 casualties on the Union side and 3,300 on the Confederate side with more than 100,000 total men engaged in battle for the city.
The Union would never give up control of Vicksburg or the Mississippi River at that point, helping them to essentially cut the Confederacy in half. In less than 2 years, the Civil War would essentially be over and the US on a path toward reconstruction. Grant would become President and all of that was because of this one victory at the Battle of Vicksburg.
