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| conflict = Siege of Vicksburg
| image = Thure de Thulstrup - Siege of Vicksburg - Assault on Fort Hill.jpg
| caption = The ''Siege of
| partof = the [[Vicksburg campaign]] of the [[Western Theater of the American Civil War]]
| date = May 18 – July 4, 1863<br/>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=05|day1=18|year1=1863|month2=07|day2=4|year2=1863}})
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[[File:Vicksburg Assaults May 22.pdf|thumb|upright=1.5|May 22 assaults on Vicksburg]]
Grant wanted to overwhelm the Confederates before they could fully organize their defenses and ordered an assault against the Stockade Redan for May 19. Troops from Sherman's corps had a difficult time approaching the position under rifle and artillery fire from the [[36th Mississippi Infantry Regiment|36th Mississippi Infantry]], Brig. Gen. [[Louis Hébert (Confederate Army officer)|Louis Hébert]]'s brigade. They had to negotiate a steep ravine protected by [[abatis]] and cross a {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=mid|-deep}}, {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} ditch before attacking the {{convert|17|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} walls of the redan. This first attempt was easily repulsed. Grant ordered an artillery bombardment to soften the defenses and at about 2 pm, Sherman's division under Maj. Gen. [[Francis Preston Blair, Jr.|Francis P. Blair]] tried again, but only a small number of men were able to advance even as far as the ditch below the redan. The assault collapsed in an exchange of rifle fire and hand grenades lobbing back and forth.<ref>Eicher, p. 468; Ballard, pp. 327–332.</ref>
The failed Union assaults of May 19 damaged troop morale, deflating the confidence the soldiers had felt after their string of victories across Mississippi. They were also costly, with 157 killed, 777 wounded, and eight missing, versus Confederate casualties of eight killed and 62 wounded. The Confederates, assumed to be demoralized, had regained their fighting edge.<ref>Bearss, vol. III, pp. 778–780; Ballard, p. 332.</ref>
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[[File:Vicksburg Siege.pdf|thumb|upright=1.5|Siege of Vicksburg. Corps and division commanders are shown for the period June 23 – July 4.]]
When the Federal troops started to dig in, they built complicated defenses that soldiers at the time called "ditches." These went all the way around the city and got closer and closer to the Confederate defenses. With their backs against the Mississippi and Union gunboats firing from the river, Confederate soldiers and citizens alike were trapped. Pemberton was determined to hold his few miles of the Mississippi as long as possible, hoping for relief from Johnston or elsewhere.<ref>Smith, p. 253; Foote, p. 412; Catton, p. 205.</ref>
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After this truce, Grant's army began to fill the {{Convert | 12 | mi | 0 | adj = on}} ring around Vicksburg. It soon became clear that even 50,000 Union soldiers would not be able to effect a complete encirclement of the Confederate defenses. Pemberton's outlook on escape was pessimistic, but there were still roads leading south out of Vicksburg unguarded by Union troops. Grant sought help from Maj. Gen. [[Henry W. Halleck]], the Union general-in-chief. Halleck quickly began to shift Union troops in the West to meet Grant's needs. The first of these reinforcements was a 5,000-man division from the Department of the Missouri under Maj. Gen. [[Francis J. Herron]] on June 11. Herron's troops, remnants of the [[Army of the Frontier]], were attached to McPherson's corps and took up position on the far south. Next came a three division detachment from [[XVI Corps (Union Army)|XVI Corps]] led by Brig. Gen. [[Cadwallader C. Washburn]] on June 12, assembled from troops at the nearby posts of Corinth, Memphis, and LaGrange. The final significant group of reinforcements to join was the 8,000-man strong [[IX Corps (Union Army)|IX Corps]] from the Department of the Ohio, led by Maj. Gen. [[John G. Parke]], arriving on June 14. With the arrival of Parke, Grant had 77,000 men around Vicksburg.<ref>Bearss, vol. III, pp. 963, 1071–1079.</ref>
In an effort to cut Grant's supply line, Confederates in Louisiana under Major General [[John George Walker|John G. Walker]] attacked [[Battle of Milliken's Bend|Milliken's Bend]] up the Mississippi on June 7. This was largely defended by recently enlisted [[United States colored troops]].
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Pemberton was boxed in with plentiful munitions but little food. The poor diet was telling on the Confederate soldiers. By the end of June, half were sick or hospitalized. [[Scurvy]], [[malaria]], [[dysentery]], [[diarrhea]], and other diseases cut their ranks
[[File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14576375107).jpg|thumb|left|Heavy artillery pieces that were used by the Union in order to force the besieged city and its defenders into surrender]]
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