Vicksburg: The Bloody Siege that Turned the Tide of the Civil War

by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.

Vicksburg is a dramatic account of the Confederate Army's attempts to capture the fortress of Vicksburg from October 1862 to July 1863 in depth, with a particular emphasis on the generalship of John C. Pemberton, the commander of the Confederate Army of Mississippi. On July 4, 1863, Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg and the Army of Mississippi to Ulysses S. Grant. Pemberton was immediately denounced as a poor general, whose incompetence and indecision cost the South control of the impregnable fortress. Some Southern newspapers were especially harsh, pointing out that Pemberton was a Northerner (he was born in Philadelphia) and suggesting that treachery was behind the fall of "the Confederate Gibraltar." He was thoroughly lambasted as being a bungling fool, a poor leader and a hopeless general. Historians have generally followed suit. Forgotten in all of this is the fact that Grant attempted to take or bypass Vicksburg nine times. In five of these attempts, he was fought to a standstill and sometimes convincingly defeated by none other than John C. Pemberton, who was outnumbered 2 to 1 and sometimes more. This is the incredible story of the Fall of Vicksburg.

Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction

380 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2018

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles van Buren

 Interesting reappraisal of the conduct of the Vicksburg campaign

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition

Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: June 4, 2018
Publisher: Regnery History
Language: English
ASIN: B078XKY6JT
418 pages

I received a copy of this book for Christmas. I admit that I am predisposed to like anything written by Mitcham who is one of my favorite authors of WW2 history, particularly his works about Erwin Rommel. I remember that when I first read , Rommel’s Desert War: Life & Death of the Afrika Korps. I was hoping that Mitcham was a tenured professor as he held some views about history that were definitely at odds with the main stream of historical writing and teaching at the time. He was tenured. Even so, it is probably a very good thing that he waited until his retirement to publish civil war history. Many of his views still clash with those of the politically correct academics of modern education.

In this book, he has written a refreshing history of the Vicksburg campaign which does not ignore the Southern point of view of both the campaign and the war itself. However, he is not in lock step with many traditional Southern views of the campaign. He offers an excellent reappraisal of General Pemberton's conduct of the campaign which puts much of the blame for the loss of Vicksburg not on Pemberton but on Joseph Johnston.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Vicksburg campaign and how it affected the defeat of the Confederacy.

[Mark Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique Vicksburg book: completely from the Confederate perspective. As expected, Johnston rightly takes most of the blame. But Pemberton is given a pretty convincing rehabilitation. Some readers may be surprised to learn that widespread Union arson, looting and violence against southern civilians began LONG before Sherman’s March to the sea.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a solid grasp of the facts of Vicksburg and writes from the southern perspective. It’s chock full of details and insights about the South. The attacking on political correctness caught me somewhat off guard in the intro but in consideration is would be fascinating to have my students respond to that!

[Rick Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! I visited Vicksburg in 2004 and had very little knowledge of the associated battles and siege. I spent less than a day there and after reading Mitcham's book I want to return. He has done a fabulous job interweaving the strategic, tactical, and human interest aspects all together into one narrative.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read from a Southern perspective. Excellent book.

[Ron Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vicksburg - The Bloody Siege that turned the Tide of the Civil War is a thought-provoking book written by Samuel Mitcham. The author gives a disclaimer in the Introduction of the book allowing the reader that the views of this book was written in the perspective of the South. He explains to the reader that he will not rewrite history and update what happen to satisfy current preconception of politically correctness of the day. As a history geek I knew that the Battle of Vicksburg fell Just before the Battle of Gettysburg, I forgot it happened on July 4th. Pemberton choose this date trusting that the date might give more compassion on the terms of surrender for his troops. Dr. Mitcham provides extensive facts and tales that support that General Pemberton had surmounting odds to be successful at Vicksburg. Pemberton didn’t have the needed supplies to support his troops however, he was still able to hold onto Vicksburg as he realized the importance to keep the South in the war. Pemberton’s opposing General U S Grant is looked upon as a war hero and Pemberton is currently considered a bumbling fool however, it seems Pemberton needed a much better publicity consultant. History is not kind and very unfair when you look at what really happened thanks to all the research supplied by Dr. Mitcham. I am now searching for my next history gem to read I will definitely be looking for another book written by Dr. Mitcham.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of books on the Civil War, a lot of things that I find tend to be written in similar ways to tell the stories & mostly from one set of perspectives. Samuel Mitcham, Jr's "Vicksburg: The Bloody Siege that Turned the Tide of the Civil War" is a book written from the perspective of the Confederacy & explains this pivotal turning point in a very unique way. The book covers all of the sieges of the city & focuses on the main players in this battle as well as providing other insights into mistakes made on both the Union & Confederate side of things along w/ giving this reader a deeper understanding of some of the intricacies of Confederate politics as well. This book to me is a must read for anyone with an interest in not only the Civil War but the Siege of Vicksburg as well.

[D Mackellar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting change to read a book based on the southern perspective. Well written but the snide remarks almost made me give up about 25% into reading it. While I have no doubt the book is well researched, some of the statements in it seem inaccurate. Overall worth a read.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book about the battle for Vicksburg good reading it was turning of the Civil War because we now had access to the Mississippi and also the winning gave Lincoln a reason to win

[Jeff Cherpeski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lots of southern apologetics. Couldn't finish.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I’ve been wanting to learn more about this pivotal battle. The author does an excellent job - it reads like an excellent thriller.