Vicksburg 17 May ̶ 4 July 1863

The Union victory at Vicksburg, a vital link for raw materials and smuggled weapons, was pivotal in changing the course of the Civil War. It had a destructive effect on the Confederate war effort and was a critical part of the Northern Strategy, the Anaconda Plan. When the Union army, under Major General Ulysses S. Grant, began a series of assaults on Confederate fortifications at Vicksburg, Mississippi, they were initially repulsed. Grant’s first assault on 19 May was followed by a second on 22 May. The Confederates were under the command of Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, who had been advised by his superiors to ‘sacrifice the city’, as victory was impossible. Pemberton resisted and between 25 May ̶ 3 July, the Union troops created an iron ring of entrenchments, trapping the Confederates and civilians. On 4 July, with his men starving and weak, Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg and the Union flag was raised.