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Surrender Interview Site
| By the end of June, General Pemberton realized he was facing a desperate situation.
The hope of relief by General Johnston's army had quickly disappeared. Over 10,000
soldiers in Pemberton's Army of Vicksburg were incapacitated due to illness, wounds and
malnutrition. His supplies and munitions were at critically low levels. He learned that
Grant was preparing for another massive assault on the Confederate works in early July. |
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| After a meeting with his division commanders, Pemberton concluded that surrender was
inevitable. On the morning of July 3, 1863, Pemberton gave orders to display a white flag
of truce and sent representatives to deliver a message to General Grant. His proposal was
for a meeting to discuss surrender terms. Grant agreed and at 3:00pm Generals Grant and
Pemberton met under the shade of an oak tree midway between the opposing lines. They could
not reach agreement, but discussions among subordinate commanders and an exchange of notes
between Grant and Pemberton late in the day brought about agreement for final terms of
surrender. The next morning, July 4, the Confederate defenders marched out of their
trenches stacked their arms and were paroled. After 47 days, the siege of Vicksburg was
over.
Historic photograph
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Last update: Friday, November 05, 1999
http://www.nps.gov/vick/other/srndr_s.htm
Editor: G. Zeman |
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