Vicksburg: Grant's Campaign That Broke the Confederacy

VICKSBURG                                              DONALD L. MILLER

Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented the Union from using the river for shipping between the Union-controlled Midwest and New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. The Union navy tried to take Vicksburg, which sat on a high bluff overlooking the river but couldn’t do it. General Grant moved his army south and joined forces with Admiral Porter, but even together they could not come up with a successful plan. At one point Grant even tried to build a canal so that the river could be diverted away from Vicksburg.

In Vicksburg, Donald L. Miller tells the full story of this year-long campaign to win the city. He brings to life all the drama, characters, and significance of Vicksburg, a historic moment that rivals any war story in history. Grant’s efforts repeatedly failed until he found a way to lay siege and force the city to capitulate. In the course of the campaign, tens of thousands of slaves fled to the Union lines, where more than twenty thousand became soldiers, while others seized the plantations they had been forced to work on, destroying the economy of a large part of Mississippi and creating a social revolution.

Ultimately, Vicksburg was the battle that solidified Grant’s reputation as the Union’s most capable general. Today no general would ever be permitted to fail as often as Grant did, but in the end, he succeeded in what he himself called the most important battle of the war, the one that all but sealed the fate of the Confederacy.

PAT'S REVIEW

A book that takes you through the entire battle of Vicksburg. From first a naval siege almost a year prior. You get a look once again at Grant's life before the war and also the battles leading up to this one. This was a very important victory for the North and I always felt that most people did not think about the travel of the Mississippi River and once having control from North to New Orleans it changed everything. The author takes you through the politics between the generals and Washington, how others wanted to take Vicksburg but always stopped and wired back to Washington the need for more troops. What was accomplished by Grant and the Navy would not be done again until D-Day and that is really amazing? At times I could not get if the author cared for Grant or not? The author would talk about how he would get lucky in some battles and some other things. The problem I had was at least Grant and Sherman were willing to fight where other generals were not. The entire battle is described and the plans of taking an Army South of Vicksburg then marching at it from another direction. He also describes how Grant being a quartermaster in the Mexican War would always help him when marching his troops and having or thinking about supplies. Overall this was a good book and shows you just how important Vicksburg was to the victory of the North for it was truly a blow to the South. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com