![]() ![]() Grant tried to cross the river at Grand Gulf, south of Vicksburg, but his gunboats failed due to strong Confederate defensive works and determined resistance. By spring, Grant decided to march his army of 45, 000 men down the Louisiana side of the Mississippi, cross the river below Vicksburg, and attack the city from the south or east. Despite Grant’s large riverboat flotilla and supporting warships, all failed, including an effort to bypass the Vicksburg batteries by digging a canal. Grant next tried a series of amphibious operations aimed at forcing the city’s surrender. 29, when he sent Sherman toward Vicksburg by way of Chickasaw Bayou, where he was defeated. Vicksburg was protected by heavy gun batteries along the riverfront, swamps and bayous to the north and south and by a ring of forts mounting 172 guns that guarded all land approaches. Grant failed in a direct attack on Dec. General John C, Pemberton, who with about 50,000 scattered Confederate troops, was expected to keep the river open. Grant who was ordered to clear the Mississippi of Confederate resistance, and Lt. In October 1862, Vicksburg became the focus of military operations for Maj. ![]() For 47 days in 1863 Vicksburg and her people were entangled in a siege that changed the course of America’s history. From her strategic location on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, Vicksburg became a fortress. ![]()
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