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The Vicksburg Campaign #1
The Vicksburg Campaign: Vicksburg is the Key Vol. 1
769 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1995
46 people want to read
About the author
Edwin C. Bearss
90 books24 followersA specialist in the American Civil War, Edwin Cole Bearss was employed by the National Park Service, where he worked as their chief historian from 1981 until 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 24, 2020
This set is being reprinted by Savas Beatie, complete with a new Foreword by former Vicksburg chief historian and award-winning author Terry Winschel, in the spring of 2021.
This set opened my eyes back in the late 1980s to the breadth and depth of this mammoth and sprawling multi-state campaign by exposing its sheer complexity. No one else was writing about it, which is rather incredible when you think about it.
It is the definitive study of the overall campaign--no other single study comes close to this one--even though the bulk of the actual cites are to the Official Records. The bibliography is much more extensive than the notes. Bearss (who has a photographic memory and walked every yard of ground related to the campaign), just . . . wrote about it based on what he learned on the ground and had studied for decades. He has forgotten more than most historians ever learned.
I have long thought one of its premier values is demonstrating the vastness of these multiple operations, which in turn allow you to find more nuggets that interest you and dig deeper.
This set opened my eyes back in the late 1980s to the breadth and depth of this mammoth and sprawling multi-state campaign by exposing its sheer complexity. No one else was writing about it, which is rather incredible when you think about it.
It is the definitive study of the overall campaign--no other single study comes close to this one--even though the bulk of the actual cites are to the Official Records. The bibliography is much more extensive than the notes. Bearss (who has a photographic memory and walked every yard of ground related to the campaign), just . . . wrote about it based on what he learned on the ground and had studied for decades. He has forgotten more than most historians ever learned.
I have long thought one of its premier values is demonstrating the vastness of these multiple operations, which in turn allow you to find more nuggets that interest you and dig deeper.
January 29, 2024
The first volume of Ed Bearss' three-volume study of the Vicksburg Campaign is required reading for any Civil War buff. Unlike the set piece battles of the Eastern Theater, the Vicksburg Campaign is massive in scale, geography, and diversity of fighting methods. In this volume, General Ulysses Grant fails to outflank John C. Pemberton's Confederate forces northeast of Vicksburg, foreclosing the land route to the city holding the key to the Mississippi River. Not easily deterred, Grant slips into amphibious operations along the bayous and waterways surrounding Vicksburg, hoping (but failing, at least for now) to crack open the Confederate defenses.
A magisterial read, chock full of unit histories, battle details, and snippets of the war from the perspective of the frontline soldiers, sailors, and civilians.
A magisterial read, chock full of unit histories, battle details, and snippets of the war from the perspective of the frontline soldiers, sailors, and civilians.
April 19, 2023
Bearss gives us a very detailed chronicle of the many operations against Vicksburg before the start of Grant’s final successful campaign, based largely on the Official Records. This covers everything: both federal operations and the rebel defense, as well as related raids and naval operations.
This is perfect for a detailed descriptions of who did what, when, and where—which is exactly what I happened to need in trying to follow the campaign day by day—but it can tend to miss the forest for the trees. I would look elsewhere for high-level analysis of the strategic or political significance of these operations. What we get here is how Grant, Pemberton, and others tried to secure Vicksburg, but not much on why or how much it mattered.
This is perfect for a detailed descriptions of who did what, when, and where—which is exactly what I happened to need in trying to follow the campaign day by day—but it can tend to miss the forest for the trees. I would look elsewhere for high-level analysis of the strategic or political significance of these operations. What we get here is how Grant, Pemberton, and others tried to secure Vicksburg, but not much on why or how much it mattered.
February 25, 2022
At first, my impression was a ponderous volume, but as I continued reading, it became exceedingly interesting. Not only is it well written, but because of its unique presentation multiple viewpoints are presented. It is actually a fun read with divergent views creating greater insight.
February 6, 2016
Edwin Bearss' all-encompassing approach to the history of the Vicksburg Campaign is pretty damn awe-inspiring in many ways, but it's also primarily for the Civil War junkie and certainly flawed.
Seeing as the three-volume set totals about 2,200 pages and was printed by an Ohio bookshop (albeit an awesome one, now defunct), it's pretty obvious that casual readers need not apply.
"Vicksburg is the Key," Volume I, tackles all aspects of the Union's early probes and plans to capture Vicksburg. And wow, the Feds threw everything including the kitchen sink at the Rebels, most of these forays failures.
Bearss' book is particularly brilliant in chronicling the details needed to make a war: supplying, equipping and transporting armies, and planning on numerous fronts to make it all happen. The war wasn't just fighting.
Here we have General Ulysses Grant's many-pronged approach in detail: first trying the overland approach to Vicksburg (stymied), then attempting four different water approaches to outflank the Rebels, all failures. Bearss lays out each of these campaigns within a campaign in its entirety; most of them overlap chronologically, but he relates them one at a time. This actually works well.
The prologue suggests this project was done in one hell of a hurry. Bearss says the idea started in 1983. He mentions tight deadlines, and this 700-plus page volume was published in 1985 (the other two by 1986). Granted, Bearss had produced some unpublished works on Vicksburg in the 1960s, and I'm sure those were made part of this work. Perhaps the rush is part of the reason why the three books are so incredibly single-source heavy. One could imagine a subtitle of: "A history of the Vicksburg Campaign based on the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion." At least for footnote purposes, the 128-volume O.R. is hugely relied upon (they are, of course, the Bible for the Civil War anyway). The fact that Bearss, a longtime Vicksburg park historian and a former Chief Historian of the National Park Service, probably knows more about the campaign than anyone alive (he's 92 as of this writing) soothes this complaint somewhat, however. I have not the slightest doubt he knows intimately what he's writing about, and perhaps citing the O.R. so heavily was through convenience. The lengthy bibliography suggest a lot of sources were used in this project.
There aren't though, as many quoted passages from participants as I normally like.
Also on the minus side, there are a good five fewer maps than there should be and the existing ones are ordinary. In one of them, a key landmark and focus of fighting in the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, an Indian mound, is completely left off the map, though readers can deduce where it is. There are some significant places whose locations I still don't know precisely. I suspect Bearss wrote expecting maps to cover more of his bases.
Bearss also doesn't go out of his way to make things clear; sometimes, I think, that's the result of a total expert assuming more of his audience than he should.
The last 100 pages or so, chronicling, in part, Rebel partisans' effort to disrupt the Union in north Mississippi and Tennessee, is a slog, ending the book on a sour note that helps deny it a fourth star.
I can't stress enough what a good job Bearss does in approaching the Vicksburg Campaign from all angles, including cavalry raids led by Earl Van Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest on Grant's supply lines, and the Union navy's attempts to scoot past the Mississippi River Rebel batteries.
By the way, for the most part, this first volume covers November 1862 to March 1863.
Overall: extremely valuable, amazing in its depth, but imperfect. The three-volume set is out of print and likely to cost you, used, twice the original already-pricey $125 or so, but it belongs in any (very) serious Civil War library.
Seeing as the three-volume set totals about 2,200 pages and was printed by an Ohio bookshop (albeit an awesome one, now defunct), it's pretty obvious that casual readers need not apply.
"Vicksburg is the Key," Volume I, tackles all aspects of the Union's early probes and plans to capture Vicksburg. And wow, the Feds threw everything including the kitchen sink at the Rebels, most of these forays failures.
Bearss' book is particularly brilliant in chronicling the details needed to make a war: supplying, equipping and transporting armies, and planning on numerous fronts to make it all happen. The war wasn't just fighting.
Here we have General Ulysses Grant's many-pronged approach in detail: first trying the overland approach to Vicksburg (stymied), then attempting four different water approaches to outflank the Rebels, all failures. Bearss lays out each of these campaigns within a campaign in its entirety; most of them overlap chronologically, but he relates them one at a time. This actually works well.
The prologue suggests this project was done in one hell of a hurry. Bearss says the idea started in 1983. He mentions tight deadlines, and this 700-plus page volume was published in 1985 (the other two by 1986). Granted, Bearss had produced some unpublished works on Vicksburg in the 1960s, and I'm sure those were made part of this work. Perhaps the rush is part of the reason why the three books are so incredibly single-source heavy. One could imagine a subtitle of: "A history of the Vicksburg Campaign based on the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion." At least for footnote purposes, the 128-volume O.R. is hugely relied upon (they are, of course, the Bible for the Civil War anyway). The fact that Bearss, a longtime Vicksburg park historian and a former Chief Historian of the National Park Service, probably knows more about the campaign than anyone alive (he's 92 as of this writing) soothes this complaint somewhat, however. I have not the slightest doubt he knows intimately what he's writing about, and perhaps citing the O.R. so heavily was through convenience. The lengthy bibliography suggest a lot of sources were used in this project.
There aren't though, as many quoted passages from participants as I normally like.
Also on the minus side, there are a good five fewer maps than there should be and the existing ones are ordinary. In one of them, a key landmark and focus of fighting in the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, an Indian mound, is completely left off the map, though readers can deduce where it is. There are some significant places whose locations I still don't know precisely. I suspect Bearss wrote expecting maps to cover more of his bases.
Bearss also doesn't go out of his way to make things clear; sometimes, I think, that's the result of a total expert assuming more of his audience than he should.
The last 100 pages or so, chronicling, in part, Rebel partisans' effort to disrupt the Union in north Mississippi and Tennessee, is a slog, ending the book on a sour note that helps deny it a fourth star.
I can't stress enough what a good job Bearss does in approaching the Vicksburg Campaign from all angles, including cavalry raids led by Earl Van Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest on Grant's supply lines, and the Union navy's attempts to scoot past the Mississippi River Rebel batteries.
By the way, for the most part, this first volume covers November 1862 to March 1863.
Overall: extremely valuable, amazing in its depth, but imperfect. The three-volume set is out of print and likely to cost you, used, twice the original already-pricey $125 or so, but it belongs in any (very) serious Civil War library.
June 6, 2017
Volume I of the 3-volume set.
The definitive study of the Vicksburg Campaign, by Edwin C, Bearss, Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service.
My original set was destroyed (along with several other books) while waiting for my bookshelves in the study to be built, after moving into our new house.
The publisher (Morningside Books, Dayton, OH) is defunct; so, when I found a single complete set the last time we took the Scout Troop to Vicksburg National Military Park in 2014, I snapped it up - possibly purchasing the last complete set that existed "in the wild."
The definitive study of the Vicksburg Campaign, by Edwin C, Bearss, Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service.
My original set was destroyed (along with several other books) while waiting for my bookshelves in the study to be built, after moving into our new house.
The publisher (Morningside Books, Dayton, OH) is defunct; so, when I found a single complete set the last time we took the Scout Troop to Vicksburg National Military Park in 2014, I snapped it up - possibly purchasing the last complete set that existed "in the wild."
October 17, 2025
Ed Bearss was the chief historian of the National Park Service. This is the first of his magnum opus on the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign. Bearss focuses on the strategy and tactics of the campaign as well as an analysis of command decisions. I only gave it four stars because Bearss, a disabled combat veteran of WW2, uses many modern military verbiage which doesn’t really help in understanding Civil War period language. Otherwise, it is first rate.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews