Research Catalog

Title

Vicksburg : Grant's campaign that broke the Confederacy / Donald L. Miller.

Author

Miller, Donald L., 1944-

Publication

• New York : Simon & Schuster, 2019.
• ©2019

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xx, 663 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits; 24 cm

Summary

• "The astonishing story of the longest and most decisive military campaign of the Civil War in Vicksburg, Mississippi, which opened the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy, freed tens of thousands of slaves, and made Ulysses S. Grant the most important general of the war. 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"--
• The surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 4, 1863, is considered by many the decisive victory of the Civil War. It opened the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy, and freed tens of thousands of slaves. Ulysses S. Grant was considered a washed-up veteran of the Mexican War, but his succession of victories along the Mississippi River and the end of the siege of Vicksburg elevated Grant to commander of all Union armies. Miller creates an enthralling story of the most significant military campaign of the Civil War. -- adapted from jacket

Subjects

• Strategy
• Grant, Ulysses S (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
• 1800-1899
• Mississippi > Vicksburg
• History
• HISTORY / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)
• Strategy > History > 19th century
• HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
• Vicksburg (Miss.) > History > Siege, 1863
• Siege of Vicksburg (Mississippi : 1863)
• HISTORY / Military / United States

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 597-633) and index.

Contents

Prologue -- Cairo -- River warrior -- Winter fortress -- A tremendous murder mill -- "The battle for the Mississippi" -- "These troublous times" -- Secessionist citadel -- Rebel victory -- Anxiety and intrigue -- Revolution -- Grant's march -- The Chickasaw slaughter pen -- Mud and misery -- "Things fall apart..." -- Steele's bayou -- Crisis -- The entering wedge -- This one object -- Pursuit -- The hill of death -- A circle of fire -- "The crisis is on us" -- "It is great, Mr. Welles" -- Epilogue -- Appendix: Vicksburg battlefield casualties.

Call Number

JFE 20-312

ISBN

• 9781451641370
• 1451641370

LCCN

• 2019010269
• 40029538701

OCLC

1085160871

Author

Miller, Donald L., 1944- author.

Title

Vicksburg : Grant's campaign that broke the Confederacy / Donald L. Miller.

Publisher

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2019.

Copyright Date

©2019

Edition

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 597-633) and index.

Chronological Term

1800-1899

Other Standard Identifier

40029538701

Research Call Number

JFE 20-312