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A Fatal Relationship: Davis and Johnston at War

Gabor S. Boritt

in Jefferson Davis's Generals

This chapter discusses several disaster reports where the battle in Gettysburg was lost and that most of the high-ranking commanders were either killed or badly wounded. It talks about the message ... More

This chapter discusses several disaster reports where the battle in Gettysburg was lost and that most of the high-ranking commanders were either killed or badly wounded. It talks about the message from Vicksburg regarding surrender and unprecedented losses: “1 lieutenant general, 4 major-generals, 8 brigadier-generals, and 1 State brigadier, with their staffs; the regimental and other officers, and rank and file and men amount to some 29,000”. It explains how Confederate President Jefferson Davis dealt with his major commanders, and how they along with him played a central part in the outcome of the civil war. It also discusses that Davis, though experiencing much difficulty, remained in charge and endured.Less

The Vicksburg Campaign and Siege

Earl J. Hess

in The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi

After returning to the scene of operations at Young's Point on January 29, Grant felt that the real work of the campaign and siege of Vicksburg now began. His campaign relied on the support of the ... More

After returning to the scene of operations at Young's Point on January 29, Grant felt that the real work of the campaign and siege of Vicksburg now began. His campaign relied on the support of the navy gunboats and the large fleet of civilian craft contracted to carry troops and supplies. The Federals literally could not have survived without these resources. This chapter describes the Vicksburg campaign and siege in detail, including the problems Grant faced in supporting a large army and finding ways to approach and capture Vicksburg.Less

The Vicksburg Campaign

Harry S. Laver

in A General Who Will Fight: The Leadership of Ulysses S. Grant

This chapter recounts the Vicksburg Campaign and Grant's maturing leadership ability. Eschewing frontal attacks, Grant maneuvered his army across the Mississippi countryside, winning four battles ... More

This chapter recounts the Vicksburg Campaign and Grant's maturing leadership ability. Eschewing frontal attacks, Grant maneuvered his army across the Mississippi countryside, winning four battles before capturing the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg. He demonstrated a relentless determination to keep pressing the Confederates while displaying a sophisticated understanding of the operational level of war.Less

From Corps Command to Army Command: January–December 1863

Brian Holden Reid

in The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman

This chapter examines William T. Sherman’s experience of being an army commander in 1863. Sherman had never formally been anything other than a corps commander, though a “wing” of the Army of the ... More

This chapter examines William T. Sherman’s experience of being an army commander in 1863. Sherman had never formally been anything other than a corps commander, though a “wing” of the Army of the Tennessee had been temporarily entrusted to his care. He had gained experience at high command and he put this to good use. To Sherman, the triumph of Vicksburg, including all the successes notched up since Arkansas Post, represented “the first gleam of daylight in this war.” All of his biographers agree that it represents an important learning experience for this commander. But this experience must be set within the context of the disappointments of the First Vicksburg Campaign. They distorted Sherman’s judgment and account for the development of Sherman’s essentially cautious outlook, mainly a product of the great distances that need to be traversed in this theater.Less

The Inner Civil War: Birth of the Free State of Jones

Victoria E. Bynum

in "The Free State of Jones, Movie Edition": Mississippi's Longest Civil War

This chapter begins with an overview of the Civil War from the perspective of Southerner Unionists and then examines the growth of anti-Confederate sentiment in Jones County. Drawing from legends, ... More

This chapter begins with an overview of the Civil War from the perspective of Southerner Unionists and then examines the growth of anti-Confederate sentiment in Jones County. Drawing from legends, oral histories, personal narratives, county records, and military records, it discusses the county’s opposition to secession, the coming of war, and the battles of Corinth, Iuka, and Vicksburg that convinced many men to desert the Confederate army. The chapter traces the origins of the Knight Company guerrilla band, created in the aftermath of the murder of Confederate Major Amos McLemore and headed by Newt Knight. The participation of women, slaves, children, and old people in home front battles is detailed, with special attention given to Rachel Knight, the band’s slave collaborator.Less

Warming by the Devil’s Fire (2003)

James Naremore

in Charles Burnett: A Cinema of Symbolic Knowledge

Warming by the Devil’s Fire is one in a series of films on blues music produced for television by Martin Scorsese. Burnett’s episode is by far the best of the series, in part because it shows the ... More

Warming by the Devil’s Fire is one in a series of films on blues music produced for television by Martin Scorsese. Burnett’s episode is by far the best of the series, in part because it shows the culture of poverty and brutal labor out of which the blues were created. The film contains powerful archival footage of southern black musicians and the world in which they grew up. Interwoven with this material is a fictional but highly autobiographical story about a boy from Los Angeles whose grandmother sends him to visit relatives in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She hopes he will learn about old-time religion, but he falls into the hands of a ne’er-do-well uncle who is a passionate blues historian. Less

The Gulf

Earl J. Hess

in The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi

Engineer officer John G. Barnard proposed a plan to capture New Orleans with land troops and naval support, then proceed northward to take Natchez, Vicksburg, and Memphis. He envisioned occupying the ... More

Engineer officer John G. Barnard proposed a plan to capture New Orleans with land troops and naval support, then proceed northward to take Natchez, Vicksburg, and Memphis. He envisioned occupying the entire Gulf Coast and believed that the capture of New Orleans would close down the major commercial port of the Confederacy.Less

Occupation and Port Hudson

Earl J. Hess

in The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi

This chapter discusses the Jackson campaign, the first time in the war that the Federals destroyed and left a city they occupied rather than garrison it permanently. It also discusses the occupation ... More

This chapter discusses the Jackson campaign, the first time in the war that the Federals destroyed and left a city they occupied rather than garrison it permanently. It also discusses the occupation duties of Grant after the fall of Vicksburg. Because there was much to be done at Vicksburg, Grant made use of the available black population, using them as laborers. He also positioned guards to control entry into and exit from Vicksburg, and detailed one regiment to preserve law and order in the city. The chapter also describes Nathaniel Banks's campaign to strike Port Hudson.Less

The Vicksburg Postmastership

John Roy Lynch

John Hope Franklin (ed.)

in Reminiscences of an Active Life: The Autobiography of John Roy Lynch

This chapter explores the appointment of J. W. Bourne as postmaster of Vicksburg. The appointment was to be made immediately after the adjournment of the national convention, which no doubt would ... More

This chapter explores the appointment of J. W. Bourne as postmaster of Vicksburg. The appointment was to be made immediately after the adjournment of the national convention, which no doubt would have been done if Secretary John Sherman had been nominated for the presidency. But since General James A. Garfield, who was a Sherman man, had been nominated, James Hill thought that the political obligations he had incurred in the interest of Secretary Sherman could be paid just the same. Consequently, he went to Washington upon the adjournment of the national convention to have his friend Bourne appointed postmaster at Vicksburg. The term of the postmaster there had expired.Less

“… Entire Master of His Profession”

Paul Hardin Kapp, Todd Sanders, and William Seale

in The Architecture of William Nichols: Building the Antebellum South in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi

In this chapter the author recounts Nichols’s last years. From 1846 until 1848, Nichols moved to northwestern Mississippi and completed his last large-scale project: the planning and building of the ... More

In this chapter the author recounts Nichols’s last years. From 1846 until 1848, Nichols moved to northwestern Mississippi and completed his last large-scale project: the planning and building of the University of Mississippi in Oxford. His later designs, the Chickasaw Female Academy in Pontotoc, the Yazoo County Courthouse in Yazoo City, and his final design, the Lexington Female Academy in Lexington, were quite modest. He did design one last grand residence, Shamrock, a brick, three story, square-built Greek Revival in Vicksburg. Still designing, Nichols died in 1853 and was buried among strangers in an Odd Fellows Cemetery in Lexington, Mississippi, nearly 900 miles away from the shores of North Carolina where his journey in America had begun fifty-three years earlier.Less

Behind the Lines

Earl J. Hess

in The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi

During the winter months of 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman sought to improve the Union position in Mississippi by tearing up the network of railroads centering on Meridian. This would disrupt ... More

During the winter months of 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman sought to improve the Union position in Mississippi by tearing up the network of railroads centering on Meridian. This would disrupt Confederate shipment of provisions from the state to their major armies and prevent the enemy from moving westward to Vicksburg and other Mississippi River towns.Less

On to Vicksburg!

Barbara Brooks Tomblin

in The Civil War on the Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River

After securing New Orleans, Farragut’s squadron steamed up the Mississippi River, securing Baton Rouge and Natchez. Under pressure from the Navy Department to open the river, Farragut declined to go ... More

After securing New Orleans, Farragut’s squadron steamed up the Mississippi River, securing Baton Rouge and Natchez. Under pressure from the Navy Department to open the river, Farragut declined to go back and attack Mobile and pressed on to Vicksburg, accompanied by troops under the command of General Williams. Despite a bombardment by Porter’s mortar schooners, the city of Vicksburg held out, so on June 28 Farragut attempted to run his squadron past the enemy batteries. The flagship Hartford and others made it, but the Brooklyn, Kennebec, and Katahdin fail to run the gauntlet.Less

Final Push to Victory

Barbara Brooks Tomblin

in The Civil War on the Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River

Grant’s siege of Vicksburg continued, supported by Porter’s mortars, gunboats, and naval guns sent ashore. General Alfred Ellet’s men and the Raine were ordered to defend Goodrich’s Landing from a ... More

Grant’s siege of Vicksburg continued, supported by Porter’s mortars, gunboats, and naval guns sent ashore. General Alfred Ellet’s men and the Raine were ordered to defend Goodrich’s Landing from a rebel attack, and the Romeo arrived to assist. The siege and bombardment of Vicksburg finally forced the Confederates to ask for terms, and on July 4, 1863, the rebel stronghold surrendered. Port Hudson also fell to the Union, and the Mississippi River was finally open to Union navigation, cutting the Confederacy in two.Less

. Union Soldiers React to Slaves, Slavery, Freedmen, and Colored U.S. Troops During the Vicksburg Campaign

Michael B. Ballard

in Of Times and Race: Essays Inspired by John F. Marszalek

This chapter examines how Mississippi slaves and white Union soldiers interacted during the Vicksburg campaign. It looks at how white federal troops, particularly those under Ulysses S. Grant, ... More

This chapter examines how Mississippi slaves and white Union soldiers interacted during the Vicksburg campaign. It looks at how white federal troops, particularly those under Ulysses S. Grant, treated freedmen and colored troops, and shows that blacks escaping slavery were not always welcomed by whites. The chapter also discusses white soldiers’ attitudes regarding emancipation and the issue of racism during the march into Mississippi, and demonstrates how African Americans went from one type of slavery to another during the Vicksburg campaign.Less