Vicksburg: Animated Battle Map

[Music] by the end of the civil war 2nd year Union forces in the West controlled much of the Mississippi River except for one vital stretch few northern boats tested the strong Confederate River batteries at Port Hudson or at Vicksburg known as the Gibraltar of the Confederacy President Abraham Lincoln claimed Vicksburg the key to winning the Civil War but by late 1862 Union naval efforts there had failed that key remained firmly in southern hands using the Mississippi River and its major tributaries to move men and munitions the Union Army had won a series of victories in the West and they hadn't done it alone in late 1861 the US War Department had rapidly built a fleet of ironclad river boats never before seen in warfare by late 1862 this brown water Navy and Major General Ulysses s grants army set their sights on the city that Confederate President Jefferson Davis claimed was the nailhead that held the South's two hands together with most of the south sports blockaded by Union ships vixx Birds connection to the trans-mississippi region made it critical to the Confederacy's very survival Texas beef and Louisiana sugar salt and molasses fed the southern armies led from Missouri filled southern rifles and it all funneled through Vicksburg rail the defense of Vicksburg and Port Hudson fell to Lieutenant General John Pemberton who was a Pennsylvanian by birth but sided with the south at the urging of his wife Virginia with little combat experience his orders are to hold Vicksburg at home in late 1862 grant began his campaign for Vicksburg with a two-pronged strike intending to lure Confederate forces from Vicksburg but the first bra while the second commanded by Major General William Sherman struck at the cities lightly held defenses but Confederate Calvary hit first cutting grants long supply line forcing him to fall back and allowing Confederates to shift men by rail to defeat Sherman's attacks at Chickasaw Bayou in late December grant spends the winter and early spring of 1863 trying a variety of routes to Vicksburg each ending in failure yet amidst growing public rise to replace him and against the advice of his closest advisors grant grew bolder embarking upon the largest and fibia campaign in American history up to that time in late March grant orders Major General John McClellan's 13th Corps to improve the route across Louisiana's swampy River bottoms out of the reach of Vicksburg's big guns the Union force would then be ferried across the mighty river and on to Mississippi soil grants plan his intricate risking success hinges on Admiral David Porter's fleet of gunboats and troop transports which on the night of April 16th make a daring race passive expert batteries hugging the riverbank below to withstand their five even with quarters freaks south of Vicksburg grant continues to keep Tim Burton guessing as to where he'll attack on April 17th the day after Porter's dairy grant launches a federal cavalry raid into the heart of Mississippi on April 29th Sherman faints an attack north of Vicksburg while Union gunboats shell Bren Gulf were grant actually plans to ferry his army across the Great River the Calvary rain ties up Tim Burton's Catholic leaving river crossings unguarded Sherman's faith draws Confederate attention north of the city both keep Tim Burton distracted from the truth grand golf the batteries there were too strong for Union gunboats so grant adapts and crosses instead at Bruins burg by April 30th grant realizes a goal he had toiled six months to achieve the lead element of his army is on the Confederate side of the river for the next 17 days his army would march more than 200 miles and fight five battles in a campaign never before was an American soil moving inland of steep Bluffs March the soldiers of McLaren scored in the early morning hours of May 1st they hit the Confederate brigades to the next 17 hours up to 8,000 Confederates put up a noble defense in the rugged terrain surrounding Fort Gibson holding back 20,000 Federals by late afternoon topped flanked and low on ammunition the Confederates fall back the loss here causes the Confederate evacuation of Grand Gulf on may 2nd with his beachhead secure grants plan truly unfocused now aware of grants true intentions Pemberton assumes he will march north for Vicksburg but grant has already rejected that approach as too restrictive instead using the Big Black River as a shield he plans to cut the rail line which feeds Vicksburg with supplies and reinforcements then he will turn and trap Tim Burton at Dix Berg it was this type of bold indirect strategy that would become the hallmark of grants military career by May 12th joined by Sherman's Corps grant marches along a 10-mile front aiming to attack the southern railroad the next morning Pemberton shifts his army and rushes a Confederate Brigade by rail to Jackson with orders to strike French right flank [Applause] these three thousand confederates slammed into Major General James McPherson 10,000 men along the banks of 14 Mile Creek just southwest of Raymond unaware that they are outnumbered three to one Confederates launched a fierce attack after almost six hours Macpherson's artillery and numeric advantage has the rebels retreated to Jackson realizing he can't safely march on Vicksburg with a large body of Confederates now at his rear grant wields two-thirds of his army toward the state capital he cuts rail and telegraph lines along the way and hinders communication between Pemberton and the one man sent to assist him on the night of May 13th general Joe Johnston the hero of first Manassas arrives at Jackson to take charge of the grim Confederate predicament in Mississippi within hours even as his reinforcements near Jackson Johnston wires the authorities in Richmond that he is too late and orders the city evacuated the next morning Sherman and McPherson his divisions pushed back and federal artillery and roadblocks from a handful of Confederate regiments the late afternoon on May 14th the United States flag flies once again over the state capital grant spares none of his men to occupy Jackson and put its military supplies and rail lines to the torch then he turns his army towards its Berg as Jackson burned Pemberton had moved with 20,000 men to attack grant supply line without a working Telegraph Confederate communications unravel as Johnson gathers reinforcements to the Northeast Pemberton moves southeast on May 16th Pemberton receives a two-day-old message from Johnston ordering him to Clinton as Pemberton reverses his column grant Pemberton hastily deploys his divisions along a three-mile front to face two advancing federal columns but he is unaware of a third moving toward his exposed left flank Brigadier General Steven Lee of Stevenson's division shifts his brigade to a hill owned by Sid chimney Brigadier General Alfred Cummings Georgians move to fill a gap and block the Union divisions closing on the middle road and at 10:30 that morning a champion Hill grant starts the battle destined to seal Vicksburg's eventual fate if Pemberton's then left flank crumbles grant will control the Baker's Creek Bridge and Finn Mertens escape route to Vicksburg Seth Barton's Georgia Brigade hustle to stop the Union onslaught by 11:30 a.m. the fighting on champion Hill turns viciously hand-to-hand but Stevenson's division eventually thrown back to the jetson Road Major General John Bowens division savagely drives the Federals back to the champion house for the second federal assault overwhelms reinforcements led by Major General William Warren arrived tuning and Bowens men fall back their retreat turns to panic as Koretz divisions converge the main escape route now cut off Pemberton's men had managed to construct a second bridge which they used to retreat to edwards though not before grants army is able to strand lorry on the east side of Baker's creek out of communication with Pemberton and believing grant has already taken Edwards luring orders his vital 8,000 man division to Jackson and away from the defenses at Vicksburg unaware of Lauren's decision Pemberton waits for him that night in the fortification at the Big Black River bridge and steady has met the next morning by McLaren score which immediately attacked and send the rebels running to the safety of Vicksburg the battles at champion Hill and big black river cause Pemberton dearly 25% of his army 45 cannon the faith of his man 30 years ago - of the day Pemberton had accepted a cadetship to West Point as he rode back to the experi keynotes and today that career is ended in disaster and disgraced Grant strap is now sent on May 17th Pemberton's demoralized soldiers reeling from the loss at Big Black River began streaming into the city they worked through the night to shore up their fortifications Vicksburg's land defenses stretched more than eight miles with nine major forts connected by rifle pits artillery embrasures and parapets of earth and laws one such stockade roared and guarded the graveyard road leading into Vicksburg wanting to avoid a lengthy siege grant attacks you May 19 hour artillery barrage Sherman goes in but piles of brush and sharpened tree limbs unravel formations as Confederate crossfire butts men down in scores pinned down Confederates lob hand grenades into their midst the Federals used to cover of darkness to fall back to their lives almost 1000 of grants manic ill wounded or missing behind his stout defenses Pemberton loses only seventy Oh May 22nd grant tries again on a only McClure nerd school gains of food he sends grant a message to keep up the pressure but they are beaten back and lose another 3,000 men grant realizes he has no other choice but to lay siege ordering his commanders to dig their lines closer to the Confederate trenches by mid-june they began mining beneath the third Louisiana a day and on June 25th the Federals explode 2,200 pounds of black powder soldiers from both sides pour into the freedom fighting for more than 20 hours before Brent calls off the attacks by July 6 the Federals will be prepared to detonate 13 more mines but it will not be necessary 47 days soldiers and Vicksburg citizens endure a constant nightmare day and night up to 220 cannon bless the southern defences from the land as Porter's gunboats shelled Vicksburg's batteries from the river citizens took to living in hillside caves for shelter food and water grow scarce as disease flourishes medical supplies dwindling every public building and many homes are now hospitals wagons make daily rounds to pick up the dead rebel soldiers rations are by now a handful of peas and rice and a single cup of water per day sickness and desertion leave fewer men on the fertile plains one day in late June a notice slid under the door of Pemberton's headquarters it reads if it can't feed us surrender us signed many soldiers [Music] following a dire report from his subordinates that his army lacks the strength to make a breakout attack on July 2nd Pemberton realizes he has no choice he must surrender on July 3rd 1863 there came a sound ominous for some four weeks unheard by all silence that day grant and Pemberton meet to discuss terms of surrender with the anniversary of American independence only a day away Pemberton hopes grant will be that generous mood instead grant demands unconditional surrender Pemberton refuses later that evening grant offers terms instead of taking Pemberton's army prisoner he will parole them many will go home at once Pemberton accepts and on the 4th of July the Confederates tack arms handing over the city of Vicksburg to the Union forces [Music] the South's gibralta had fallen with the capture of Port Hudson five days later the Mississippi River is entirely in Union hands grant loses ten thousand killed wounded or missing and inflicts nearly as many losses on the Confederates but aided by Porter's fleet he disperses an entire rebel army and cuts the South's supply line soon even the most basic goods like salt to preserve meat would grow increasingly scarce yet the Vicksburg campaign is overshadowed in the press by the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg the day before and only in the coming decades would grants accomplishment be recognized late into the 20th century coalition forces in the first Gulf War were still using tactics inspired by grants Vicksburg campaign [Music] and it was at Vicksburg that the blue and the gray found unity in the cause of preservation the efforts resulted in the establishment of the Vicksburg National Military Park in 1899 today that preservation effort continues so that the sacrifices made there by both sides will not be forgotten you [Music] you

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Rating: 4.9101052 out of 5

Keywords: American Battlefield Trust, Civil War Trust, Siege of Vicksburg, Battle of Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Grant Mississippi River, Confederate supply lines, Civil War Trust Vicksburg, Vicksburg preservation, Civil War Western Theater

Id: 1eSgimZ8GKQ

Length: 20min 32sec (1232 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 27 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/metalliska]

More impactful than Gettysburg in my opinion.

Had the Confederates been able to get cotton boats to London (in exchange for that new currency printed on it 1862-3); they might've been able to hunker down in the Appalachians indefinitely.

Boats matter. The Monitor vs Merrimack was an example of this where you can have one boat (inassaultable from shore) able to pick off commercial ships.

I've also been to the memorial and it's quite breathtaking. Apparently (not sure how authentic) Vicks burgers didn't celebrate July 4th until 1945.

So I'm wondering how a national unity over the Huns in WWI (Great War) wasn't enough push to "relent" and recognize Old Glory, but between VE day and VJ day there was.