Winner of the Civil War Round Table of New Yorkâs Fletcher Pratt Literary Award
Winner of the Austin Civil War Round Tableâs Daniel M. & Marilyn W. Laney Book Prize
Winner of an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award
âA superb accountâ (The Wall Street Journal) of the longest and most decisive military campaign of the Civil War in Vicksburg, Mississippi, which opened the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy, freed tens of thousands of slaves, and made Ulysses S. Grant the most important general of the war.
Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented the Union from using the river for shipping between the Union-controlled Midwest and New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. The Union navy tried to take Vicksburg, which sat on a high bluff overlooking the river, but couldnât do it. It took Grantâs army and Admiral David Porterâs navy to successfully invade Mississippi and lay siege to Vicksburg, forcing the city to surrender.
In this âelegantâŠenlighteningâŠwell-researched and well-toldâ (Publishers Weekly) work, Donald L. Miller tells the full story of this year-long campaign to win the city âwith probing intelligence and irresistible passionâ (Booklist). He brings to life all the drama, characters, and significance of Vicksburg, a historic moment that rivals any war story in history. In the course of the campaign, tens of thousands of slaves fled to the Union lines, where more than twenty thousand became soldiers, while others seized the plantations they had been forced to work on, destroying the economy of a large part of Mississippi and creating a social revolution. With Vicksburg âMiller has produced a model work that ties together military and social historyâ (Civil War Times).
Vicksburg solidified Grantâs reputation as the Unionâs most capable general. Today no general would ever be permitted to fail as often as Grant did, but ultimately he succeeded in what he himself called the most important battle of the warâthe one that all but sealed the fate of the Confederacy.