| [231] | New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. |
CHAPTER XXIX.
the campaigns of 1863.
VICKSBURG.
514. Situation in the West.—At the opening of the year 1863, it was evident that in the West the most important military operations would center about Vicksburg, on the Mississippi River, and Chattanooga, in eastern Tennessee. Vicksburg was a strongly fortified city, and until it should be taken the Mississippi River could not be controlled by the Union forces. The importance of the place lay not only in the fact that it prevented the Federals from making use of the river, but also in the fact that it furnished the Confederates with easy passage for troops and supplies from Texas and Mexico. In strategic importance, it was scarcely inferior to Richmond itself; for it now held the only remaining railroad which extended from the far West into the Eastern states of the Confederacy. Chattanooga was also important, since it was so situated as to control, not only Eastern Tennessee, but also the most easy and natural passage from Virginia to the Southwest. Soon after Halleck was placed in command at Washington, in July, 1862, Grant was left in charge of the territory about Vicksburg, and Rosecrans about Chattanooga.
515. First Efforts against Vicksburg.—Vicksburg is situated on a high bluff on the eastern side of the Mississippi. Just above the town, the river turns sharply to the northeast, and then, winding into a loop on which Vicksburg is built, flows again toward the southwest. The regions west and south being so low as often to be flooded, and the territory being intersected by numerous streams, military movements were rendered extremely difficult. In November and December, 1862, and again in January, 1863, unsuccessful attempts were made against the city, by Grant and Sherman. As the spring of 1863 advanced, efforts were renewed. Grant cut a new channel for the river, across the neck, hoping to leave Vicksburg high and dry inland. In this endeavor he was not successful.
516. Johnston and Pemberton.—The Confederate forces in the West were commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, who had now recovered from his wound (§ [495]), General Pemberton being second in command. Johnston desired to meet Grant in the field, thinking that thus Vicksburg could best be held, and ordered Pemberton to conduct operations on this line; but Pemberton, encouraged by some recent successes, and not recognizing Johnston’s right to command him, chose to fight behind the fortifications of the city. This difference of policy divided their forces, so that, while Pemberton remained at Vicksburg, Johnston, with headquarters at Jackson, held himself in readiness to attack the lines of Grant as opportunity might offer.
517. Capture of Vicksburg.—Grant’s next strategic move was one of the most daringly planned and brilliantly executed of the whole war. It was to pass with his army through the Louisiana swamps west of the city, and, cutting himself free from his base of supplies, to obtain a foothold on the river below, while Admiral Porter should force a passage in the night with his gunboats loaded with supplies. The movement, in spite of determined resistance on the part of the Confederates, was completely successful. After several minor engagements, Grant took possession of the country as far as eighty miles south and west of Vicksburg. Without waiting to establish a base of supplies, and disregarding the earnest protest of Sherman, he advanced, May 7, from Grand Gulf northeast toward Jackson. Here, on May 14th, he defeated Johnston, and later joined with Sherman on the east side of Vicksburg, thus separating the Confederate armies. He then defeated Pemberton in the open field, and finally, by May 18, drove him behind his fortifications.[[232]] After weeks of fruitless effort, Pemberton was obliged, July 4, to surrender with over twenty-nine thousand prisoners of war.[[233]] This was by far the greatest Union victory yet achieved, and the number of prisoners was the largest ever surrendered in America. His success made Grant the foremost of the Federal generals. Four days later, Port Hudson also surrendered, and the Mississippi River throughout its course was opened to the Union army. The Confederacy was thus cut into two parts, and no reënforcements or supplies in any considerable amount could thereafter reach the Southern armies from the west side of the river.
THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN
