During the American Civil War, Union forces sought in 1862 and 1863 to capture the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Located on high bluffs astride the Mississippi River, Vicksburg was a highly defensible fortress, and its capture proved difficult for the Union troops. Finally in 1863, Vicksburg surrendered after a siege starved them out.
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Because Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi. The surrender ended the war in the west, isolated all Confederate forces on the far side of the river, and released Grant's army to rescue the Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga. It also earned Grant high credibility and prestige, so that he would soon be appointed General-in-Chief, while it confirmed Jefferson Davis's poor grasp of strategy, and led to even more feuds among Confederate generals.
The Battle of Champion Hill, fought on May 16, 1863, during the American Civil War, was a crucial engagement in the Vicksburg Campaign. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Confederate forces commanded by General John C. Pemberton, effectively cutting off Confederate reinforcements from reaching besieged Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Union victory at Champion Hill played a significant role in Grant's eventual capture of Vicksburg, a major turning point in the war.
The Confederates attempted to capture the high ground on the flanks.
President Lincoln ordered General Ulysses S. Grantand his army to capture Vicksburg.
This concerns the Vicksburg campaign in the American Civil War. This campaign occurred later in the War Between the States and was designed to capture the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. This town, called the Gibraltar of the South, was the one remaining obstacle to total Union domination of the Mississippi River. The actual siege and surrender of Vicksburg occurred from May 18 to July 4, 1863. Major General U.S. Grant commanded the Union forces while Confederate Lieutenant General J.C. Pemberton led the defense of Vicksburg. General Grant made several attempts to attack Vicksburg before finally laying siege to it. The Battle of Champion's Hill was fought outside of Vicksburg, which resulted in General Pemberton bringing his forces into the breastworks around Vicksburg. Vicksburg is located on an area of very rugged, clay bluffs that overlook the Mississippi River. The Confederate guns could fire on any ship that tried to come down the river. One attempt to capture Vicksburg in March of 1863, Grant blew the levee on the Mississippi River just below Memphis and sent iron-clad gunboats and troop ships down the Tallahatchie River which would connect to the Yazoo River and attack the city from the east. This expedition was stopped at Fort Pemberton(at Greenwood, MS) at the juncture of the Tallahatchie & Yazoo Rivers. Custermen