Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River

Great Campaigns of the Civil War

by William L. Shea, Terrence J. Winshel

The struggle for control of the Mississippi River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to armored ram, played a role, and military engineers practiced their art on a scale never before witnessed in modern warfare. Union commanders such as Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and Porter demonstrated the skills that would take them to the highest levels of command. When the immense contest finally reached its climax at Vicksburg and Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Here was the true turning point of the Civil War.

 

This fast-paced, gripping narrative of the Civil War struggle for the Mississippi River is the first comprehensive single-volume account to appear in over a century. Vicksburg Is the The Struggle for the Mississippi River tells the story of the series of campaigns the Union conducted on land and water to conquer Vicksburg and of the many efforts by the Confederates to break the siege of the fortress. William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel present the unfolding drama of the campaign in a clear and readable style, correct historic myths along the way, and examine the profound strategic effects of the eventual Union victory.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, American History, Nonfiction, Civil War Western Theater, Military History

242 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

William L. Shea is professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

Reviews

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise, readable and well-written history of the Vicksburg campaign.

Shea emphasizes the advantages Union forces enjoyed in terms of mobility. Shea maintains a good pace and begins with the campaign against New Orleans, and discusses how afterwards the Union was able to move on Port Hudson and finally Vicksburg, the last bastion of Confederate strength on the river. Shea also discusses Grant’s evolution as a military commander, and this was one of the most interesting parts of the book. Shea also does a fine job providing background on Vicksburg, its strategic and psychological impotence, and all of the commanders. Shea emphasizes argues that the campaign was a “defining experience” for a number of commanders on both sides. While Grant is an obvious example, Shea also stresses how Pemberton, Johnston, and Van Dorn were not up to the task given Vicksburg’s strategic importance, and Jefferson Davis’s poor judge of character did not help.

Unfortunately, there is little discussion of the experience of Vicksburg’s civilian population, the role of the media, or on questions of policy. There is also little discussion of the various factors that made Vicksburg such an important victory. Still, a readable, engaging and very accessible history of an important campaign.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, clearly written overview and analysis of the Vicksburg campaign. The authors do a nice job setting the stage for the campaign, discuss naval operations, Grant's campaign efforts, and include a discussion of Banks' campaign in Louisiana and capture of Port Hudson.

[Mtbike40 · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we visited the Vicksburg battlefield last month I asked the ranger to recommend one of the books that he though gave a good coverage of the Vicksburg battle and the events leading up to the siege on the city. This is the one that he recommended to me.

I am glad that I took his recommendation. I liked this book because the author gave a great overview of why control of the Mississippi river was important. There was great information about the events that led up to the battle at Vicksburg. The writing style of the author was very engaging and I kept wanting to read further.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik kocht dit boek rond mijn verjaardag in 2015, met in mijn achterhoofd reeds een vakantie in het volgende jaar. De route lag nog niet helemaal vast, maar ik zou Vicksburg bezoeken met mijn vader, in een road trip door het Zuiden. En met dit boek zou ik me vast kunnen inlezen.

"Much can be learned from books about the long and costly struggle for the Mississippi River, but there is no substitute for for standing in the places where men fought for their beliefs," valt te lezen in Epilogue, bladzijde 211. Hoewel ik het daar deels mee eens ben (niet voor niets ben ik meermaals naar Amerika gereisd om allerlei steden en slagvelden te bezoeken), het lezen van boeken zorgt voor de broodnodige context om te weten wat er heeft plaatsgevonden op de plekken waar je staat.

Jammer genoeg is het daar in 2015 niet van gekomen, want dit boek is een kort maar duidelijk en inhoudelijke geschiedenis van de veldslagen en campagnes, de problemen en de successen rondom het veroveren van Vicksburg en het uiteindelijk vrijgeven van de Mississippi-rivier voor de Unie. Het had me tijdens mijn vakantie meer kennis en inzicht gegeven over de stad en het park.

Ditmaal nam ik me voor het uit te lezen vóór 4 juli, de dag waarop John C. Pemberton, de Zuidelijke generaal, de stad overgaf aan Ulysses S. Grant, 160 jaar geleden. En zoals valt af te leiden aan deze korte beschouwing, dat is me gelukt.

[Matt Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on the Vicksburg campaign that I have read. It presents this very complex campaign in a way that is engaging, even captivating, and understandable. The authors weave the various aspects of the war for the Mississippi, from Fort Henry to Port Hudson, in a uniquely understandable way. I've always felt that the Vicksburg campaign was a jigsaw puzzle, one that I could not quite understand how all the pieces fit. This book makes the final picture clear, without losing the depth of characters, battles, related campaigns, and other relevant factors. Not surprising, Grant's tenacity and determination are highlighted by the authors. But they also paint McClernand in a more positive light than is usually done, which I appreciated, and they hold no punches when it comes to the utter defeatism of Joseph E. Johnston. Frankly, this is one of the best Civil War books I've read. I can't wait to visit the area in March!

[W.T. Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written overview of a broad series of campaigns that culminated in the north’s capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson to secure the Mississippi River in the Civil War. The authors do a good job of framing the objectives, strategies, tactics, successes, and failures on both sides. It is a balanced book and has served me well as a guide and historical context for an upcoming visit to Jackson and Vicksburg.

[Alexis(Andra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book this book at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Although a very concise military history, it also uses personal memoirs of the leaders, residents, and soldiers who fought. The title is a quote from Lincoln. I learned why it was the key , as well as the triumphs and failures of Grant of the Union, and Pemberton of the Confederacy. Battle deaths were horrific . Excellent .

[Greg Thiele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally well written and full of great insights, this may be the best single volume on the Vicksburg campaign available. In addition, the book also explains how actions West of the Mississippi River and at Port Hudson impacted Union efforts to take Vicksburg.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a decent read. It spent WAY more time going into detail about the lead up to the siege of Vicksburg than it did the actual siege. And the description of the Confederate capitulation was short and anticlimactic.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!

[hamptonenglish10 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant Jones
Ms Brooks
Academic English 10
7 January, 2013
The book I read, Vicksburg is the Key: The Struggle for the Misissippi River by William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel details the campaign in the Civil War to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi by Major General Ulysses S. Grant mainly taking place between December 1862 and July 1863. One of the major points of the North's strategy in the Civil War was to regain control of the Mississippi River, which would effectively split the confederacy in two. Prior to the war, Grant graduated low from West Point military academy, resigned from the army, had several failed business endeavors and suffered from alcoholism. However, after rejoining the military in the civil war and becoming a commander, things changed for him. Grant managed to win the Union several victories at Forts Henry and Donelson and at the Battle of Shiloh, both in 1862. After New Orleans and several other cities were taken by the North, the Union had won a significant portion of the Western Confederacy and were a lot closer to completing their goal of capturing the Mississippi. Yet there was one Confederate stronghold left on the river, the “Gibraltar of the West,” Vicksburg. Grant would team up with the Union Navy to try and defeat the commander of Southern forces at Vicksburg, John C. Pemberton, although Vicksburg proved to be a harder nut to crack then the other southern towns. Several assaults were made against the city, , but none were successful. However, eventually Grant was able to move south of the city, and cross the river to the east. From there he led a series of successful operations, pushing the Confederates back until he eventually put the city of Vicksburg under siege.
Vicksburg is The Key is a historical non-fiction book. I know this because it is truthful account of something that had actually happened in the past, almost 150 years prior to the books release in 2003. One of the interesting facts and stories I learned from reading it was that one time the Union Navy created a fake ironclad ship out of a wooden raft in under 12 hours to scare off a Confederate force that was trying to re-float a Union wreckage. Believe it or not, it actually worked, the Confederates left and gave the Union time to burn the remnants before the enemy could recover them. Another interesting thing is that in the West, there were actually many successful Union Calvary raids such as one by Alvin Hovey in November of 1862. Many people often praise western Confederate Calvary man Nathan Forrest for his raids, but not much is made of the union. Overall, however, I found the fact that Vicksburg was so hard to conquer rather interesting, because I had previously been under the misconception that the Union campaign in the West was a nearly uninterrupted string of victories. The Union suffered several major shortcomings in the Vicksburg campaign, like the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.
I enjoyed reading Vicksburg is the Key, I found to be an interesting book that did a good job of summing up one of the War's most hard-fought campaigns in roughly 200 pages. I would definitely recommend the book to my classmates if they are interested in history, or especially the history of the Civil War. However, I do think the book could be read and understood by someone who is not a history nerd as it is short and does not assume that you know everything going in. It stalls at some points, and that is why it only gets four stars from me, but overall it was a very good book and I am glad I read it.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River, written by William Shea and Terrence Winschel, reflects Abraham Lincoln's view that (page 1) "The Mississippi is the backbone of the rebellion. . . .[I:]t is the key to the whole situation." And central to the Confederate strategy to hold the Mississippi after 1862 was Vicksburg, "The Gibraltar of the West." This book does a serviceable job of explaining the Vicksburg Campaign and the context in which that campaign took place.

It begins by laying out the Civil War in the West, and the efforts by the Union to assert control over the Mississippi, from the taking of New Orleans to the success of John Pope at Island # 10. Confederate strategists came to realize the value of Vicksburg as Union forces moved upriver from New Orleans and downriver from island # 10 and Memphis. Vicksburg was transformed into a bastion to control the river from high atop the steep hill overlooking the Mississippi River.

The book proceeds by describing Grant's original plan, with him heading to Vicksburg overland and Sherman by the great river. After one of Carl Van Dorn's few great successes in destroying the Union base at Holly Springs, forcing Grant to retreat, Sherman ran into a stout defense alone and was repulsed. Thereafter, the book discusses the various failed "experiments" that Grant carried out, trying to figure a way to get at Vicksburg without what would surely be a sanguinary frontal assault on the bluffs.

Finally, Grant marched down the west bank of the Mississippi, crossed over at Hard Times, and began one of the most well implemented campaigns of the Civil War. First, Grant prevented General Joe Johnston from reinforcing General John Pemberton, Commander of the Vicksburg forces. Johnston was pushed out of Jackson. Thereupon, second, Grant turned to take on a mobile force sent to defeat Grant by Pemberton. At Champion Hill, Grant's forces won the day. After another reverse at the Big Black River, Pemberton's forces retreated to Vicksburg. After a futile attack on the city's works, Grant settled in for a siege. On July 4th, 1863, the defending forces surrendered to Grant. At that point, and with the later surrender of Port Hudson to Union General Nathaniel Banks, Lincoln could note that the Father of Waters flowed unvexed to the sea.

The triumph of Grant was a key turning point in the Civil War. This book does a solid job in describing the events leading up to the opening of the Mississippi River as a Union stream. It provides useful maps to clarify the geography and the nature of the campaign.

[Rock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's just the genre, but I find it laughable that the intro to this book claims that it attempts to place the military events within a cultural and historical context. There is next to no mention of anyone not immediately connected with one of armies or navies fighting in the western riverine battles. As I implied, I'm not familiar with civil war histories. The author seems to do a good job describing the events and the motivations and strategy behind them, but it seems pointless to isolate them as though they didn't have a tidal wave of cultural and economic forces pushing them along.

[Matthew Eng · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more recent works on the Mississippi River. I used this book as a valuable tool for my Masters Thesis research.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book that gives a good overview of the Vicksburg campaign.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very smoothly-written summary to the Vicksburg campaign; a great introduction to the subject.

[Kosar7480 · Rating 3 out of 5]

More concise than the Groom book about Vicksburg.

[Tony 08 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Petit opus sur cet épisode méconnu en France mais capital au cours de la guerre de sécession...contemporain de Gettysburg.
Précis, détaillé, l'ouvrage est fort lisible et captivant sur ce sujet.