On May 18, 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant achieved the objective he had sought for months. Union troops surrounded Vicksburg on three sides, and on its west side, Admiral David Porter’s warships controlled the waters of the Mississippi. For three months Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton had watched as Grant flailed about in the floodplain on various unsuccessful bayou expeditions. Then beginning April 30, 1863, in just three weeks, Grant’s Army marched 180 miles, fought and won 5 battles, and finally surrounded Vicksburg itself, trapping 31,000 Confederates. Of all the tributes Grant received, the one he appreciated most came from his friend, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman. “Until this moment I never thought your expedition a success,” Sherman told Grant. “I never could see the end clearly until now. But this is a campaign. This is a success if we never take the town.”
Today’s episode was written by J. A. Henderson.
Major Henderson holds a Masters of Arts in International Relations from The University of Oklahoma, and recently completed a Masters of Military Arts and Sciences from the United States Army’s Command and General Staff College, where his thesis focused on operational level leadership. He previously wrote episode 6 of season 28, Lieutenant General Sir Jeffrey Amherst and the Conquest of New France.
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