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Battle of Vicksburg Timeline

(May 18, 1863 – July 4, 1863)

The Battle of Vicksburg was a decisive Civil War campaign in which Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant besieged and captured the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Lasting from May 18 to July 4, 1863, the Union victory split the Confederacy in two and secured Union control of the Mississippi River. Less

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Legacy and Memory

Grant's Canal site preserved at Vicksburg

Jun 28, 1862

At the Grant's Canal site, now part of Vicksburg National Military Park, the Union Army attempted to build a canal to let their ships bypass Confederate artillery fire guarding the river at Vicksburg before the successful 1863 campaign.

Image source: Grant's Canal

Grant's Canal site preserved at Vicksburg

USS Cairo sinks in the Yazoo River

Dec 12, 1862

The Union ironclad gunboat USS Cairo sank on December 12, 1862, on the Yazoo River after striking a naval mine. Its restored hulk is now displayed at Vicksburg National Military Park as a key artifact of the campaign.

Image source: USS Cairo

USS Cairo sinks in the Yazoo River

Vicksburg National Military Park established

Feb 16, 1899

Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the siege battlefield, including 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles of historic trenches and earthworks, a 16-mile tour road, a walking trail, two antebellum homes, 144 emplaced cannons, the restored gunboat USS Cairo, and the Grant's Canal site.

Image source: Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg National Military Park established

Claim that Vicksburg silenced Fourth of July disputed

Jul 4, 1907

A popular claim held that Vicksburg did not celebrate Independence Day again until World War II, but this is inaccurate: large Independence Day celebrations were held in the city as early as 1907.

American Battlefield Trust preserves Vicksburg land

Jan 1, 1990 - Jun 30, 2023

The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved more than 46 acres of the Vicksburg battlefield through mid-2023, protecting ground where the 1863 siege unfolded.

Command Changes

McClernand receives permission pending relief

Jan 1, 1863

Grant had received permission to relieve Major General John A. McClernand, his politically ambitious subordinate, in January 1863. He chose to wait for an unequivocal provocation before acting, keeping the controversial general in command during the early campaign.

Image source: Siege of Vicksburg

McClernand receives permission pending relief

Edward Ord takes over XIII Corps

Jun 18, 1863

Following McClernand's dismissal on June 18, 1863, Major General Edward Ord assumed command of the XIII Corps during the siege of Vicksburg. Ord had recovered from an October 1862 wound he sustained at Hatchie's Bridge and led the corps through the remainder of the campaign.

Image source: E. O. C. Ord

Edward Ord takes over XIII Corps

McClernand relieved of command during the siege

Jun 18, 1863

Having waited for an unequivocal provocation since January 1863, Grant finally relieved McClernand on June 18, after the general published a self-congratulatory order without permission. McClernand's XIII Corps was turned over to Edward Ord, who had recovered from an October 1862 wound sustained at Hatchie's Bridge.

Image source: John A. McClernand

McClernand relieved of command during the siege

McClernand given a remote Texas command

May 1, 1864

In May 1864, McClernand would be given a command in a remote area of Texas, effectively sidelined from major operations following his relief during the Vicksburg campaign.

Aftermath and Paroles

Louisiana regiments exchanged in 1863 and 1864

Jan 1, 1863 - Dec 31, 1864

When the captured 26th, 27th, 29th, and 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiments were exchanged in 1863 and 1864, many of the paroled soldiers failed to report for duty and remained at their homes, illustrating how the parole system strained Confederate manpower.

Paroled Louisianians fail to report for duty

Jan 1, 1863 - Dec 31, 1864

Many of the paroled soldiers of the 26th, 27th, 29th, and 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiments failed to report for duty after being exchanged, remaining at their homes instead of returning to Confederate service.

Surrender paired with Gettysburg seen as war turning point

Jul 4, 1863

The Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863 is sometimes considered, combined with General Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg the same day, the turning point of the American Civil War. Together the twin Union victories shattered Confederate hopes of foreign recognition and split the Confederacy along the Mississippi.

Confederate soldiers paroled after the surrender

Jul 6, 1863

Rather than sending thousands of prisoners north, Grant paroled Pemberton's surrendered army. Most of the men who were paroled on July 6, 1863 were later exchanged and received back into the Confederate Army, beginning their long road back to the fighting fronts.

Confederacy protests validity of the paroles

Jul 6, 1863

The Confederate government protested the validity of the Vicksburg paroles on technical grounds, arguing the surrendered soldiers had not been properly exchanged, which complicated efforts to return them to duty.

Image source: American Civil War prison camps

Confederacy protests validity of the paroles

Paroled soldiers exchanged at Mobile Harbor

Aug 4, 1863

Most of the men who had been paroled on July 6, 1863 were exchanged and received back into the Confederate Army on August 4, 1863, at Mobile Harbor, Alabama, allowing them to rejoin Confederate forces elsewhere in the war.

Paroled veterans reach Chattanooga

Sep 1, 1863

The exchanged Vicksburg veterans were back in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by September 1863, where they reinforced Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee ahead of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga campaigns.

Vicksburg veterans fight in Battles for Chattanooga

Nov 1, 1863

Some of the former Vicksburg defenders fought in the Battles for Chattanooga in November 1863, facing the Union armies they had opposed on the Mississippi just months earlier.

Image source: Chattanooga campaign

Vicksburg veterans fight in Battles for Chattanooga

Parole dispute referred to General-in-chief Grant

Apr 1, 1864

The parole dispute was referred to Grant who, in April 1864, was general in chief of the army, leaving the fate of the paroled Vicksburg prisoners in limbo while exchange negotiations stalled.

Prisoner exchanges suspended

Apr 2, 1864 - Dec 31, 1864

Because of disputes like the one over the Vicksburg paroles, formal prisoner exchanges broke down, and exchanges wouldn't resume until January 1865, leaving many captured soldiers confined through the war's final years.

Veterans oppose Sherman's invasion of Georgia

May 1, 1864

Former Vicksburg defenders also fought against Sherman's invasion of Georgia in May 1864, serving in the Confederate armies that contested the Atlanta campaign.

Image source: Atlanta campaign

Veterans oppose Sherman's invasion of Georgia

Exchanges resume in January 1865

Jan 1, 1865

Exchanges resumed in January 1865, allowing remaining prisoners of war, including some formerly paroled at Vicksburg, to be formally swapped between the two sides as the war neared its end.

Campaign Maneuvers

Grant crosses the Mississippi at Bruinsburg

Apr 30, 1863

Ulysses S. Grant crossed the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg at Bruinsburg, beginning his final campaign against the city. The unopposed crossing placed the Union army on the same side of the river as Vicksburg, setting the stage for a rapid drive northeast through Mississippi.

Union victory at Port Gibson

May 1, 1863

After crossing the Mississippi south of Vicksburg, Grant won a battle at Port Gibson, defeating Confederate forces and securing his beachhead. The victory forced the Confederates to abandon their defensive positions and opened the road inland toward Jackson.

Union victory at Raymond

May 12, 1863

Driving northeast from Bruinsburg after crossing the Mississippi, Grant won another battle at Raymond, pushing aside Confederate resistance and clearing the way for an advance on Jackson, the Mississippi state capital.

Image source: Battle of Raymond

Union victory at Raymond

Grant captures Jackson, Mississippi

May 14, 1863

On May 14, 1863, Grant captured Jackson, the Mississippi state capital, seizing the rail hub that supplied Vicksburg. The capture of Jackson forced General Pemberton to withdraw westward toward Vicksburg, isolating his army from reinforcements and supplies.

Image source: Jackson expedition

Grant captures Jackson, Mississippi

Pemberton withdraws westward

May 15, 1863

Following Grant's capture of Jackson on May 14, 1863, General John C. Pemberton was forced to withdraw westward with his Confederate army. His retreat set up the clashes at Champion Hill and Big Black River Bridge and ultimately drove him into the defenses of Vicksburg.

Siege Operations

Siege of Vicksburg begins

May 18, 1863 - Jul 4, 1863

The siege of Vicksburg, lasting from May 18 to July 4, 1863, was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Grant's army invested the city, subjecting its defenders to bombardment, entrenchment warfare, and starvation until Pemberton's surrender.

Assaults on Vicksburg's defenses repulsed

May 19, 1863 - May 22, 1863

In the opening days of the siege, Grant ordered frontal assaults against Vicksburg's fortifications on May 19 and May 22, 1863. Both attacks were bloodily repulsed by Pemberton's entrenched defenders, convincing Grant to settle into a formal siege rather than continue costly assaults.

Union besiegers dig trenches around Vicksburg

May 23, 1863 - Jul 3, 1863

After failed assaults, Grant's troops dug approach trenches ever closer to the Confederate lines. For more than forty days the defenders endured constant shelling, sniper fire, and dwindling rations as the noose tightened around the city.

Pemberton asks Grant for terms

Jul 3, 1863

With his men starving and his lines breached, Pemberton sent a note to Grant on July 3, 1863, asking for terms of surrender. The two commanders met between the lines that afternoon and arranged for the surrender to take place the following morning.

Confederate surrender at Vicksburg at 10:00 AM

Jul 4, 1863

The Confederate surrender took place at 10:00 AM on July 4, 1863, ending the siege. Combined with General Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, it is sometimes considered a decisive turning point of the Civil War, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Key Facts

  1. Vicksburg's location on high bluffs above the Mississippi River made it a critical Confederate stronghold controlling river traffic.
  2. Union General Ulysses S. Grant led the Vicksburg Campaign, crossing the Mississippi and winning battles at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, and Big Black River Bridge before besieging the city.
  3. The siege lasted 47 days, during which Confederate civilians sheltered in caves and endured severe food shortages.
  4. Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered his army of about 30,000 men on July 4, 1863, the same day as the Union victory at Gettysburg.
  5. The fall of Vicksburg gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two.

Source

This Battle of Vicksburg timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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