Control Of Vicksburg And The Mississippi River example essay topic

History 10-8-03 Battle of Vicksburg The Battle of Vicksburg, The Civil war that in my opinion cut our nation in two, Americans fighting Americans. This was a very important battle that was fought westward it was the turning point in the war. The Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant with the largest force, about 67,000 men. Vicksburg is the last spot on the Mississippi River. May through July in 1862, several attempts to seize Vicksburg were made by Adam.

These Ventures failed because the guns used on the ships could not be directed effectively against the confederate batteries high on the bluffs, and because the confederate troops far outnumbered the Unions sent against them. Between Cairo, Illinois, and the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River twists and winds for nearly 1,000 miles. Having control of Vicksburg and the Mississippi River was a huge benefit in the war. The River was important to both the American Government and to the Confederate forces in the west. Confederate forces made artillery batteries ready to take Union ships. Before the Civil War, Vicksburg, Mississippi had become one of the most prosperous and advanced towns on the old Southern frontier.

The city was the center of trade; it was crowded with boats carrying all kinds of goods. By early 1862 the peaceful town had become one of the most important spots in the whole confederacy. From the beginning of the war in 1861, to protect their most prized possession, the Confederacy but up protective points along the river. After fighting their way south from Illinois and north from Gulf of Mexico, Federal forces eventually captured post after post. Until the summer of 1862, only Vicksburg and Port Hudson appeared to be major spots to the Union of the two posts, Vicksburg was the strongest and most important. The city Sate was high over looking a bend in the river, protected by artillery and dangerous swamps.

So far the city had rejected Union efforts to force into submission. In order to protect the Mississippi Valley, Confederates made a line of defense, which ran from Columbus, Kentucky, overlooking the Mississippi River through bowling green to Cumberland Gap where the bright flank was secure on the mountains. On the Mississippi River, south of Columbus, forts were also placed on island number 10 and on the Chickasaw Bluffs north of supported Jackson St. Phillip stood guard at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Union land and naval forces moved from two directions.

In a huge attack to gain control of the Mississippi from the Confederate troops headed south from Cairo Illinois, federal forces took forts Henry and Donelson on to the Tennessee and Cumberland. Rivers had opened the pathway of invasion to the south. Efforts by Union land and naval forces to capture Vicksburg and open the waterway to navigation ended in failure. It was only a mater of time before war centered in on Vicksburg. The first threat began on May 1862, when the ships from the West Gulf Blockading Squadron arrived bellow Vicksburg and demanded that they surrender. The Surrender was refused.

It was then noticed by the Union and Confederate commands that would be in he hands of a huge land and naval effort. A decision was made to make a line of defense around the city, which would guard the road and railroad access to Vicksburg. On October of 1862 Ulysses S Grant was chosen to be the commander of the Department of the Tennessee and in charge of cleaning the Mississippi of Confederate resistance. Grants long campaign to capture Vicksburg on the Mississippi was one of the most important battles during the Civil War. Bibliography:

Bibliography

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The American Heritage New History of the Civil War. New York New York, Penguin Group Penguin Books USA Inc. 1988 Street, James Jr.
The Struggle for Tennessee. Time-Life Books Inc. Morristown, New Jersey, 1985.
Williams, Kenneth P. "Vicksburg is the Key". Http: // web Wheeler, Joseph. Americas Civil War. "Civil War Times". VOL. 21, NO. 24 12, August, 2000.