The successful joint operations of U.S. land and naval forces played a significant role in determining the outcome of the Vicksburg campaign, and therefore the Civil War, this nation’s greatest struggle to define itself.

Vicksburg sits high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Jefferson Davis described it as “the nailhead that held the South’s two halves together.” President Lincoln recognized the importance of capturing Vicksburg, saying, “See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket. We can take all the northern ports of the Confederacy, and they can defy us from Vicksburg. It means hog and hominy without limit, fresh troops from all the states of the far South, and a cotton country where they can raise the staple without interference. I am acquainted with that region and know what I am talking about, and, as valuable as New Orleans will be to us, Vicksburg will be more so.”

Anaconda Plan
Army and Navy Cooperation
Besieged City

Anaconda Plan
Union General Winfield Scott proposed a plan to achieve a Northern victory. It was called the “Anaconda Plan” as it would strangle the Confederacy by cutting it off from external markets and sources of material. It included blockading Southern coasts and securing control of the Mississippi River. The term "Anaconda" was a derisive name, originally coined by the press mocking the General-in-Chief Winfield Scott for how long the plan would take to implement.

After two unsuccessful attacks against Vicksburg in May 1863, Grant concluded that Vicksburg could not be taken by storm. He later wrote, “I now determined upon a regular siege, to ‘outcamp the enemy,’ as it were, and to incur no more losses.” Vicksburg was cut off from supplies and communications. Grant’s plan included tunneling beneath Vicksburg’s garrison to place charges of black powder and destroy fortifications.  

Army and Navy Cooperation
The success of Grant’s operations depended on an unprecedented cooperation of the Army and the Navy.  Grant relied on the gunboats and ironclads for firepower and the transports to move men and supplies.

Besieged City
Through constant bombardments into the besieged city, surrender terms were finally sought by Confederate General John C. Pemberton. On July 3, General Grant and Pemberton met beneath an oak tree  near the Third Louisiana redan [fortification], to discuss terms of surrender. Grant wanted unconditional surrender. Pemberton did not agree. The two parted without agreement. Later that evening, Grant sent word to Pemberton that he would parole the Confederate forces. At 10:00 am, on July 4, 1863, the weary Confederates put down their weapons and marched out of their fortifications to be paroled. All men had to sign a parole stating that they would not take up arms against the U.S. until exchanged. 

On learning of Vicksburg’s surrender, President Lincoln wrote, “The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.”  The Union victory at Vicksburg weakened the Confederacy by splitting it in half and isolating the Southern states of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.  The North was also strengthened when the Mississippi was opened by reducing economic pressure on the Midwest and Plains states.

For the Confederacy, the surrender of Vicksburg, Robert E. Lee’s loss at Gettysburg and the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana, signaled the beginning of the end of the Confederacy and the Civil War.