Civil War - The Battle Of Vicksburg

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in the Greek revival style. To its proud citizens, Vicksburg was the "Queen City of the Bluff" and a center, as one of them wrote, of "culture, education and luxury."
All this was to change with coming of the war. By early 1862 the peaceful town had become one of the most strategically important spots in the entire Confederacy- and would soon be one of the most bitterly fought over.

From the beginning of the war in 1861, to protect their most prized possession, the Confederacy put up fortifications at strategic points along the river. Federal forces eventually captured post after post. After fighting their way southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Until by late summer of 1862, only Vicksburg and Port Hudson appeared to be major constraints to the Union.

Of the two posts, Vicksburg was by far the strongest and most important. Setting high over looking a bend in the river, protected by artillery and dangerous swamps. So far the ...

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It was then realized by both Union and Confederate high commands that if Vicksburg were going to fall, it would be in the hands of a huge combined land and navel effort. A decision was made to construct a line of defense around the city, which would guard the road and railroad access to Vicksburg.

Strategists in Washington had no choice but to use ground forces. Therefore appointing Ulysses S. Grant in October of 1862. He was chosen to be the commander of the Department of the Tennessee and in charge of clearing the Mississippi of Confederate resistance.

Grant’s long campaign to capture Vicksburg on the Mississippi was one of the most important series of connected battles ...

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