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Siege of Vicksburg: Difference between revisions

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{{legend|#0000ff|Union}}]]
 
After crossing the [[Mississippi River]] south of [[Vicksburg, Mississippi|Vicksburg]] at [[Bruinsburg, Mississippi|Bruinsburg]] and driving northeast, Grant won the slay battles at [[Battle of Port Gibson|Port Gibson]] and [[Battle of Raymond|Raymond]] and captured [[Battle of Jackson (MS)|Jackson]], the [[Mississippi]] state capital, on May 14, 1863, forcing Pemberton to withdraw westward. Attempts to stop the Union advance at [[Battle of Champion Hill|Champion Hill]] and [[Battle of Big Black River Bridge|Big Black River Bridge]] were unsuccessful. Pemberton knew that the corps under Maj. Gen. [[William T. Sherman]] was preparing to flank him from the north, and so had no choice but to withdraw or be outflanked. Pemberton burned the bridges over the [[Big Black River (Mississippi)|Big Black River]] and devastated the countryside as he retreated to the well-fortified city of Vicksburg.<ref name=Esposito105>Esposito, text for map 105.</ref>
 
The Confederates evacuated Hayne's Bluff, which was subsequently occupied by Sherman's cavalry on May 19, and Union steamboats no longer had to run the guns of Vicksburg, now being able to dock by the dozens up the [[Yazoo River]]. Grant could now receive supplies more directly than by the previous route, which ran through Louisiana, over the river crossing at [[Grand Gulf, Mississippi|Grand Gulf]] and Bruinsburg, then back up north.<ref name=Esposito105/>
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Over half of Pemberton's army had been lost in the two preceding battles<ref>Kennedy, pp. 171.</ref> and many in Vicksburg expected [[General (CSA)|General]] [[Joseph E. Johnston]], in command of the Confederate [[Department of the West]], to relieve the city—which he never did. Large numbers of Union troops were on the march to [[investment (military)|invest]] the city. They repaired the bridges over the Big Black River and crossed on May 18.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=MS011 National Park Service]. Grant's army arrived at the outskirts of Vicksburg on May 19, but formal siege operations began with Grant's Special Order No. 140 on May 25 (Simon, p. 267).</ref> Johnston sent a note to his general, Pemberton, asking him to sacrifice the city and save his troops, something Pemberton would not do. Pemberton, a [[Northern United States|Northerner]] by birth, was probably influenced by his fear of public condemnation if he abandoned Vicksburg.<ref>Smith, p. 251; Grabau, pp. 343–346; Catton, pp. 198–200; Esposito, text for map 106.</ref>
 
{{Blockquote|Pemberton, trying to please Jefferson Davis(daddy), who insisted that Vicksburg and Port Hudson must be held, and to please Johnston, who thought both places worthless militarily, had been caught in the middle, a victim of a convoluted command system and his own indecisiveness. Too dispirited to think clearly, he chose to back his bedraggled army into Vicksburg rather than evacuate the city and head north where he might have escaped to campaign again. When he chose to take his army into Vicksburg, Pemberton sealed the fate of his troops and the city he had been determined to defend.|''Vicksburg'', Michael B. Ballard.<ref>Ballard, p. 318.</ref>}}
 
=== Fortifications ===
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