A Boost for the Union A boost for the North came when President Lincoln finally found a general as good as Confederate general Robert E. Lee. His name was Ulysses S. Grant.
Uylsses S. Grant Like Lee, Grant had been educated at West Point and had fought in the war with Mexico. When the Civil War began, Grant offered his services to the Union army. His quick decisions in battle led to Union victories. Northerners liked to say that Grant’s initials stood for Unconditional Surrender!
Battle of Vicksburg Vicksburg, Mississippi, was an important city for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. On May 19, 1863, Ulysses S. Grant attacked Vicksburg with the intent to take over the city. The Union navy had already prevented other regiments from joining the Confederates at Vicksburg, but the Southern city held strong. Grant, however, did not stop there.
Battle of Vicksburg Grant settled down to a six-week siege, surrounding the city, cutting off supply lines, firing upon Vicksburg continually, and moving in so close that, at some points, Union and Confederate soldiers held their lines within shouting distance. By mid-June 1863, 80,000 Union troops camped on the Mississippi River bluffs above the city. To escape, Vicksburg residents left their homes for caves in the city's hills. The Union soldiers called this maze of dugouts "Prairie Dog Village." The people of the village were starving and tired but still held on to hope.
Surrender at Vicksburg By the forty-fourth day, with no supplies coming into town, the editor of Vicksburg's Daily Citizen was reduced to printing the news on wallpaper. He wrote that Ulysses S. Grant wished to celebrate the Fourth of July "dining in Vicksburg." Little did the writer know that on July 4, 1863, the Confederates would surrender.
Battle of Vicksburg Vicksburg proved to be a key victory for the North. It gave the Union control of the Mississippi River which weakened the Confederacy by cutting it into two parts. As a result of winning at Vicksburg, President Lincoln gave Grant command of all Union troops.
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