Popular Vicksburg Campaign Books

10+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Vicksburg Campaign

4.5/5

The Vicksburg Campaign, March 29–May 18, 1863 by Steven E. Woodworth (Editor) , Charles D. Grear (Editor) , Michael B. Ballard (Contributor) , Stephen Nathaniel Dossman (Contributor) , William Feis (Contributor) , Jason M. Frawley (Con

Ulysses S. Grant’s ingenious campaign to capture the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River was one of the most decisive events of the Civil War and one of the most storied military expeditions in American history. The ultimate victory at Vicksburg effectively cut the Confederacy in two, gave control of the river to Union forces, and delivered a devastating b Ulysses S. Grant’s ingenious campaign to capture the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River was one of the most decisive events of the Civil War and one of the most storied military expeditions in American history. The ultimate victory at Vicksburg effectively cut the Confederacy in two, gave control of the river to Union forces, and delivered a devastating blow from which the South never fully recovered. Editors Steven E. Woodworth and Charles D. Grear have assembled essays by prominent and emerging scholars, who contribute astute analysis of this famous campaign’s most crucial elements and colorful personalities. Encompassed in this first of five planned volumes on the Vicksburg campaign are examinations of the pivotal events that comprised the campaign’s maneuver stage, from March to May of 1863. The collection sheds new light on Grant’s formidable intelligence network of former slaves, Mississippi loyalists, and Union spies; his now legendary operations to deceive and confuse his Confederate counterparts; and his maneuvers from the perspective of classic warfare. Also presented are insightful accounts of Grant’s contentious relationship with John A. McClernand during the campaign; interactions between hostile Confederate civilians and Union army troops; and the planning behind such battles as Grierson’s Raid, Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, and Big Black River Bridge.

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4.3/5

War on the Mississippi: Grant's Vicksburg Campaign by Jerry Korn

A gripping, comprehensive account of the Civil War, including eyewitness testimony, profiles of key personalities, period photographs, illustrations and artifacts, and detailed battle maps. Fully researched, superbly written.

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3.8/5

The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Vicksburg Campaign by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures. *Includes descriptions of the campaign by generals and some of Vicksburg's residents. *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading. *Includes a table of contents. At the start of 1863, Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had been frustrating the Union in the Eastern theater for several months, but the situation in the West was comple *Includes pictures. *Includes descriptions of the campaign by generals and some of Vicksburg's residents. *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading. *Includes a table of contents. At the start of 1863, Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had been frustrating the Union in the Eastern theater for several months, but the situation in the West was completely different. The Confederates had lost control of several important states throughout 1862, and after New Orleans was taken by the Union, the North controlled almost all of the Mississippi River, which Confederate general James Longstreet called “the lungs of the Confederacy”. By taking control of that vital river, the North would virtually cut the Confederacy in two, putting the South in a dire situation. The only domino left to fall was the stronghold of Vicksburg, and both sides knew it. The Union Army of the Tennessee, led by Ulysses S. Grant, would spend months trying to encircle the army and eventually force John Pemberton’s Confederate army to surrender. Grant eventually succeeded on July 4, 1863, but since it came a day after the climactic finish of the Battle of Gettysburg, Vicksburg was (and still is) frequently overlooked as one of the turning points of the Civil War. In fact, had the Confederate’s military leadership listened to Longstreet, who advocated detaching soldiers from Lee’s army to head west and help the Confederates deal with Grant or Rosecrans in that theater, the Battle of Gettysburg might never have happened. While many read about the siege of Vicksburg in the summer of 1863, as well as the desperate straits the Confederate soldiers and Vicksburg residents found themselves in, Grant’s initial attempts to advance towards Vicksburg met with several miserable failures, and it took several months just to get to the point where the Union forces could start a siege. First, Grant’s supply base at Holly Springs was captured, and then an assault launched by Union General Sherman at Chickasaw Bayou was easily repulsed by Confederate forces, with serious Union casualties resulting. Grant then attempted to have his men build canals north and west of the city to facilitate transportation, which included grueling work and disease in the bayous. On April 30, 1863, Grant finally launched the successful campaign against Vicksburg, marching down the western side of the Mississippi River while the navy covered his movements. He then crossed the river south of Vicksburg and quickly took Port Gibson on May 1, Grand Gulf on May 3, and Raymond on May 12. Realizing Vicksburg was the objective, the Confederate forces under the command of Pemberton gathered in that vicinity, but instead of going directly for Vicksburg, Grant took the state capital of Jackson instead, effectively isolating Vicksburg. Pemberton’s garrison now had broken communication and supply lines. With Grant in command, his forces won a couple of battles outside Vicksburg at Champion Hill and Big Black River on May 16 and 17, forcing Pemberton’s men into Vicksburg and completely enveloping it. When two frontal assaults were easily repulsed, Grant and his men settled into a nearly two month long siege that ultimately won the campaign. It was the largest troop surrender during the entire Civil War, and Vicksburg’s residents were so embittered that popular folklore maintained Vicksburg didn’t celebrate Independence Day for a generation. In any telling of military history, people can be easily seduced by straightforward explanations that say why one side won and the other was doomed, but in the Civil War, no greater epic of war tests that like the Vicksburg campaign.

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4.5/5

Silencing the Vicksburg Guns: The Story of the 7th Missouri Infantry Regiment as Experienced by John Davis Evans Union Private & Mormon Pioneer by Jerry Evan Crouch

Silencing the Vicksburg Guns is about the 7th Missouri Infantry Regiment and their part in the great Vicksburg campaign. The book is not long, 132 pages of text, because it stays focused only on the 7th Missouri's actions. The May 12, 1863 Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, for instance, concentrates on the right side of the Union line where the Regiment suffered 73 casualtie Silencing the Vicksburg Guns is about the 7th Missouri Infantry Regiment and their part in the great Vicksburg campaign. The book is not long, 132 pages of text, because it stays focused only on the 7th Missouri's actions. The May 12, 1863 Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, for instance, concentrates on the right side of the Union line where the Regiment suffered 73 casualties. The story is told through the experiences of Private John Davis Evans of Company D. He had been a teamster for supply wagon trains to Salt Lake City, Utah when he was 16 and again at age 17. After three years fighting with the 7th Missouri, limping from a wound, Evans made his third and final trek at age 21 The text is illustrated by 32 maps. Also a 30 page roster of the 1,063 soldiers in the 7th Missouri includes personal information on many. Such listings as: "killed May 1863" or "wounded August 1862" are shown. Also discharges, deaths from disease and even desertions, of which there were many. The book covers the entire existence of the regiment from June 1861 to June 1864. Their seventeen months directly connected to General Ulysses S. Grant, from May 1862 to October 1863, were a particularly active time. Grant was a man of action and action is what they got. Poignant in the story is a scorecard kept as the war progressed. From the 1, 063 soldiers at the beginning there were only 588 still standing for the mustering out three years later.

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4.2/5

The Beleaguered City: The Vicksburg Campaign by Shelby Foote

The companion volume to Stars in Their Courses, this marvelous account of Grant's siege of the Mississippi port of Vicksburg continues Foote's narrative of the great battles of the Civil War--culled from his massive three-volume history--recounting a campaign which Lincoln called "one of the most brilliant in the world".

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4.8/5

The Web of Victory: Grant at Vicksburg by Earl S. Miers

The Web of Victory tells of the Union siege of Vicksburg, a campaign that might very well have been the turning point of the Civil War and was without any doubt the turning point in the military career of General Ulysses S. Grant.If Grant began the campaign as a leader known more for his drinking and shabby appearance than for his strategy, he emerged from the siege with t The Web of Victory tells of the Union siege of Vicksburg, a campaign that might very well have been the turning point of the Civil War and was without any doubt the turning point in the military career of General Ulysses S. Grant.If Grant began the campaign as a leader known more for his drinking and shabby appearance than for his strategy, he emerged from the siege with the respect of his president and the admiration -- in some cases grudging admiration -- of his fellow generals. Vicksburg revealed him as a daring, resourceful strategist, a leader who had the courage and inspiration to toss aside the military textbooks and give free rein to his genius.

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4.6/5

Grierson's Raid: A Daring Cavalry Strike Through the Heart of the Confederacy by Tom Lalicki

"The most brilliant expedition of the Civil War." --General William Tecumseh Sherman In 1863 Union colonel Benjamin H. Grierson was chosen for a secret mission: to lead three regiments of horsemen and a battery of artillery -- seventeen hundred men in all -- on a slashing raid through the state of Mississippi. Their objective was to damage a major Confederate rail line, sp "The most brilliant expedition of the Civil War." --General William Tecumseh Sherman In 1863 Union colonel Benjamin H. Grierson was chosen for a secret mission: to lead three regiments of horsemen and a battery of artillery -- seventeen hundred men in all -- on a slashing raid through the state of Mississippi. Their objective was to damage a major Confederate rail line, spreading alarm and destroying enemy supplies in the process. Union leaders were relying on Grierson to provide cover as they moved thousands of troops into position for a major and ultimately victorious assault on Vicksburg, the South's vital transportation hub on the Mississippi River. Owing to Grierson's shrewd tactics, as well as luck and the skilled soldiering of his men, the raid was wildly successful in every respect. Here is an exciting day-by-day account of this grueling sixteen-day adventure, which weaves together several first-person accounts from Grierson and his soldiers themselves and is heavily illustrated with maps and period photographs.

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4.1/5

Ninety-Eight Days: A Geographer's View of the Vicksburg Campaign by Warren E. Grabau

Grant's campaign against Vicksburg has been studied from a number of perspectives—but always with the outcome in the foreground. This documented history of the final phases of the Vicksburg Campaign, from March 29 through July 4, 1863, examines the actions of Union and Confederate commanders as they unfolded, reconstructing their decisions based only on what they knew at a Grant's campaign against Vicksburg has been studied from a number of perspectives—but always with the outcome in the foreground. This documented history of the final phases of the Vicksburg Campaign, from March 29 through July 4, 1863, examines the actions of Union and Confederate commanders as they unfolded, reconstructing their decisions based only on what they knew at any given time. In meticulous detail, Warren E. Grabau describes the logistical situation at key junctures during the campaign and explains how and why those situations constrained the choices available to Grant and Confederate commander John C. Pemberton. Alternating between Confederate and Federal perspectives, he allows the reader to see the situation as the commanders did and then describes how the available information led to their decisions. Grabau examines not only topographic and hydrographic features but also strategic, political, economic, and demographic factors that influenced the commanders’ thinking. He analyzes the effectiveness of the intelligence-gathering capabilities of each side, shows how the decisions of both commanders were affected by the presence of the Union Navy, and describes the impact of political philosophies and command structures on the conduct of the campaign. Through his detailed analysis, Grabau even suggests that Grant had no actual campaign plan but was instead a master opportunist, able to exploit every situation. Remarkably detailed maps reconstruct the terrain as it was at the time and show how incomplete data often resulted in poor military decisions. Other supportive material includes Command Structures of the Federal and Confederate Forces in diagrammatic form as they stood at the beginning of the ninety-eight days. Ninety-eight Days is a monumental work masterfully executed, a reconstruction of military reasoning that is more analytical than any previous study of Vicksburg. It contributes substantially to our understanding of those military operations and demonstrates how crucial geography is to the conduct of war. The Author: Warren E. Grabau is a retired geologist with a long interest in the Civil War. He is he coauthor of two earlier books: Evolution of Geomorphology; A Nation-by-Nation Summary of Development (with H. J. Walker) and The Battle of Jackson, May 14, 1863 (with Edwin C. Bearss).

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3.9/5

Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River by William L. Shea , Terrence J. Winschel

The struggle for control of the Mississippi River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to The struggle for control of the Mississippi River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to armored ram, played a role, and military engineers practiced their art on a scale never before witnessed in modern warfare. Union commanders such as Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and Porter demonstrated the skills that would take them to the highest levels of command. When the immense contest finally reached its climax at Vicksburg and Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Here was the true turning point of the Civil War. This fast-paced, gripping narrative of the Civil War struggle for the Mississippi River is the first comprehensive single-volume account to appear in over a century. Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River tells the story of the series of campaigns the Union conducted on land and water to conquer Vicksburg and of the many efforts by the Confederates to break the siege of the fortress. William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel present the unfolding drama of the campaign in a clear and readable style, correct historic myths along the way, and examine the profound strategic effects of the eventual Union victory.

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4/5

Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg by Timothy B. Smith

The Battle of Champion Hill was the decisive land engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign. The May 16, 1863, fighting took place just 20 miles east of the river city, where the advance of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Federal army attacked Gen. John C. Pemberton's hastily gathered Confederates. The bloody fighting seesawed back and forth until superior Union leadership broke apart The Battle of Champion Hill was the decisive land engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign. The May 16, 1863, fighting took place just 20 miles east of the river city, where the advance of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Federal army attacked Gen. John C. Pemberton's hastily gathered Confederates. The bloody fighting seesawed back and forth until superior Union leadership broke apart the Southern line, sending Pemberton's army into headlong retreat. The victory on Mississippi's wooded hills sealed the fate of both Vicksburg and her large field army, propelled Grant into the national spotlight, and earned him the command of the entire U.S. armed forces.Timothy Smith, who holds a Ph.D. from Mississippi State and works as a historian for the National Park Service, has written the definitive account of this long overlooked battle. His vivid prose is grounded upon years of primary research and is rich in analysis, strategic and tactical action, and character development. Champion Hill will become a classic Civil War battle study. REVIEWS WINNER, NON-FICTION, 2005, MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND LETTERS

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