Siege of Vicksburg begins and ends
- When
- 1863
- Where
- Vicksburg
- Episodes
- 3
The Siege of Vicksburg was a major military action in the American Civil War, lasting from May 18 to July 4, 1863. Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant besieged the city after initial assaults failed. Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered on July 4, giving Union forces control of the Mississippi River.
Episodes
- Beginning of the Siege
The siege officially began on May 18, 1863, following Grant's maneuvers and the withdrawal of Confederate forces from Jackson.
- Failed Assaults
Two major Union assaults on Confederate fortifications on May 19 and 22 were repulsed with heavy casualties.
- Confederate Surrender
Confederate forces surrendered on July 4, 1863, ending the 47-day siege and granting Union control of the Mississippi River.
Background and detail
Background. Vicksburg was a key Confederate river-port in Warren County, Mississippi. Union forces under Grant maneuvered to capture it. After winning battles at Port Gibson and Raymond, Grant forced Pemberton to withdraw westward. The siege began on May 18, 1863, as the final major action of the campaign.
Failed Assaults. Grant initially attempted to take the city by force. Two major assaults against Confederate fortifications on May 19 and 22 were repulsed with heavy casualties. Consequently, Grant decided to besiege the city beginning on May 25, shifting from direct attack to encirclement.
Surrender and Aftermath. The Confederate surrender occurred on July 4, 1863. This event, combined with other Union victories, is considered a turning point. Most paroled men were exchanged in August 1863. The area remained under Union military occupation until the end of the war in 1865.
People involved
- Ulysses S. Grant · Union Major General
- John C. Pemberton · Confederate Commander
Sources
- Siege of Vicksburg Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-03
- Ulysses S. Grant Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06
- Vicksburg, Mississippi Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.