Siege of Vicksburg facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siege of Vicksburg
Part of the Vicksburg campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War
The Siege of Vicksburg by Kurz and Allison
Date May 18 – July 4, 1863 Location Warren County, Mississippi 32°20′37″N 90°51′04″W / 32.34361°N 90.85111°W / 32.34361; -90.85111 Result Decisive Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant	John C. Pemberton
Units involved
Army of the Tennessee	Army of Mississippi
Strength
∼ 77,000	∼ 33,000
Casualties and losses
4,835 total (766 killed  3,793 wounded  276 captured/missing)	32,697 total (3,202 killed/wounded/missing  29,495 surrendered) 172 cannons captured by United States 1 camel killed

Sculpture honoring the Battle of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863

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 Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Vicksburg was the last major 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 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.

The Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863, is sometimes considered, when combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George Meade the previous day, the turning point of the war. It cut off the Trans-Mississippi Department (containing the states of Arkansas, Texas and part of Louisiana) from the rest of the Confederate States, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two for the rest of the war. Lincoln called Vicksburg "The key to the war."

Images for kids

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  May 19 assaults on Vicksburg

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  May 22 assaults on Vicksburg

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  Siege of Vicksburg. Corps and division commanders are shown for the period June 23 – July 4.

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  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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  "Whistling Dick" was the name given to this Confederate 18-pounder because of the peculiar noise made by its projectiles. It was part of the defensive batteries facing the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. On May 28, 1863, its fire sank USS Cincinnati.

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  Fighting at the crater at the Third Louisiana Redan

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  Shirley's House, also known as the White House, during the siege of Vicksburg, 1863. Union troops of Logan's division set about as engineers and sappers to undermine Confederate fortifications but they had to stay under cover for fear of Confederate sharpshooters.

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  Troops of John A. Logan's division enter Vicksburg on July 4

See also

In Spanish: Sitio de Vicksburg para niños