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From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: 18 May 1863, The siege of Vicksburg commences .. sorry if you get a duplicate, sending to several mailing lists
Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 07:00:10 -0700

On this day, Union General Ulysses S. Grant surrounds Vicksburg, the last
Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, in one of the most
brilliant campaigns of the war.

Beginning in the winter of 1862-63, Grant made several attempts to capture
Vicksburg. In March, he marched his army down the west bank of the
Mississippi, while union Admiral David Porter's flotilla ran past the
substantial batteries that protected the city. They met south of the city,
and Grant crossed the river and entered Mississippi. He then moved north to
approach Vicksburg from its more lightly defended eastern side. In May, he
had to split his army to deal with a threat from Joseph Johnston's Rebels in
Jackson, the state capital that lay 40 miles east of Vicksburg. After
defeating Johnston's forces, Grant moved toward Vicksburg.

On May 16, Grant fought the Confederates under John C. Pemberton at
Champion's Hill and defeated them decisively. He then attacked again at the
Big Black River the next day, and Pemberton fled into Vicksburg with Grant
following close behind. The trap was now complete and Pemberton was stuck in
Vicksburg, although his forces would hold out until July 4.

In the three weeks since Grant crossed the Mississippi in the campaign to
capture Vicksburg, Grant's men marched 180 miles and won five battles. They
took nearly 100 Confederate artillery pieces and nearly 6,000 prisoners, all
with relatively light losses.

AND

18 May 1861, Arkansas admitted to the Confederate States of America


Sally Rolls Pavia

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• 18 May 1863, The siege of Vicksburg commences .. sorry if you get a duplicate, sending to several mailing lists by "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>