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The '''siege of Vicksburg''' (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the [[Vicksburg campaign]] of the [[American Civil War]]. In a series of maneuvers, [[Union Army|Union]] [[Major general (United States)|Maj. Gen.]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]] and his [[Army of the Tennessee]] crossed the [[Mississippi River]] and drove the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] [[Army of Mississippi#Army of Mississippi (December 1862)|Army of Mississippi]], led by [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[John C. Pemberton]], into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], leading to the successful siege and the Confederate surrender.
Vicksburg was the last major [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] stronghold on the Mississippi River; therefore, capturing it completed the second part of the Northern strategy, the [[Anaconda Plan]]. When two major assaults against the Confederate fortifications, on May 19 and 22, were repulsed with heavy casualties, Grant decided to besiege the city beginning on May 25. After holding out for more than forty days, with their supplies nearly gone, the garrison surrendered on July 4. The successful ending of the Vicksburg campaign significantly degraded the ability of the Confederacy to maintain its war effort. This action, combined with the surrender of the down-river [[Siege of Port Hudson|Port Hudson]] to Maj. Gen. [[Nathaniel P. Banks]] on July 9, yielded command of the [[Mississippi River]] to the Union forces, who would hold it for the rest of the conflict.
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