The Confederate fortress at Vicksburg along the banks of the Mississippi river was considered to be one of the most important defensive positions in the whole of the Confederacy. The Confederate commanders believed that it would be very difficult for their Union counterparts to capture the fortress of Vicksburg. The Confederate commanders were also aware that the capture of Vicksburg by the Union forces would have dire military and strategic consequences for them.
General Grant’s Plan
The Union commander in the Mississippi river region in early 1863 was General Ulysses S. Grant, and he developed an audacious master plan to successfully capture the fortress of Vicksburg. General Grant was certainly aware of the formidable firepower available to the Confederate defenders of the fortress of Vicksburg, hence the need to develop a cunning master plan to defeat those defenders. General Grant believed that the Union forces had to attempt something bold in order to smash the resistance of the Confederate states.
Sailing To Victory
Making a direct frontal assault against the fortress of Vicksburg would almost certainly have ended in disastrous failure. General Grant came up with a straightforward strategy, to sail the Union forces down the Mississippi river in enough numbers to successfully overcome the defenders of the fortress and town of Vicksburg. Union naval forces succeeded in transporting 23,000 Union troops with artillery, munitions, and supplies along the Mississippi river. Such a force was deemed to be adequate by General Grant to capture it’s over all objectives.
Disaster for the Confederates
Once the Union forces commanded superbly by General Grant took the Confederate town of Jackson the writing was effectively on the wall for the defenders of Vicksburg. The Confederate commander of Vicksburg John Pemberton was forced to surrender to the Union forces on the 4th July 1863.
For the Confederate States the loss of Vicksburg was a very serious set back indeed. General Grant's master plan had brilliantly succeeded in cutting the Confederate States in half and gained control of the Mississippi river.
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