Vicksburg
On July 4, 1863 Confederate Lt. General John C. Pemberton surrendered the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi to Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively surrendering control of the Mississippi River. The Confederacy was cut in two.
At 8 a.m. on July 3 Chaplain R. L. Howard of the 124th Illinois Infantry located near the Shirley House noticed "a white flag away to our left on the rebel works. Soon another appeared, and another and, directly, one in front of us. The firing ceased, and all was still, the first time since May 25th, thirty-nine days. Soon greybacks began to show themselves all along the lines. Heads first, cautiously, then bodies, and we straightened up too, in many places only a few yards from them. The works were mounted and we looked each other in the face, the line of motley and the line of blue. How eager we all were to see, and what did it all mean?" A few hours later Grant and Pemberton met beneath an oak tree on a slope between the lines to begin negotiations for the surrender of the 29,500-man garrison. No accord was forthcoming at this meeting. Following an exchange of communications, an agreement was reached early the next morning. It had been 14 months since Farragut's warships had first engaged the Vicksburg batteries, seven months since Grant's first expedition against the city, and 47 days since the appearance of the Federal army on the city's eastern approaches. On the morning of July 4, 1863, while Northern cities celebrated Independence Day, the Army of Vicksburg was formally surrendered. The Confederate troops marched out from their defenses and stacked their rifles, cartridge-boxes, and flags before a generally hushed Union army which witnessed the historic event with little cheering—a testimonial of respect for the courageous defenders of Vicksburg, whose line was never broken.
There is a rather good animated history of the Vicksburg campaign available at this website. Wikipedia entry on the campaign is here. Coupled with the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg by the Army of the Potomac commanded by George Gordon Meade on July 3rd, Vicksburg was a decisive turning point in the war.
By BubbaB, Thursday, 5 July , 2007 @ 12:53 pm
Gaius, I have always heard that Gettysburg was effectively a draw, in spite of the fact that the Confederacy lost more men. Meade committed so many tactical blunders that he was held in contempt by the other generals… Am I wrong?
By Gaius, Thursday, 5 July , 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Depends on the definition. The Confederates retreated - which is one definition of defeat. But the invasion of the North was called off as well. So the battle, regardless of what you call it, effectively defeated Lee’s planned course of action.
Meade wasn’t bad as Army of the Potomac generals went. Grant kept him in command after all and is reported to have respected him as a commander. Meade had only taken command of the army three days before Gettysburg but is generally credited with very skillfully deploying the troops under his command. He was roundly slammed for not pursuing Lee, however, and the press hated him.
By Chris, Friday, 6 July , 2007 @ 9:04 am
Lincoln, too, faulted Meade for not pursuing Lee. In hindsight, his decision made sense, because Lee was always dangerous on defense, and Meade’s cavalry had been savaged in useless fighting.
In strategic terms, Gettysburg was a sound defeat for the South, since Lee’s stated aim was to take the war to the North in order to unburden the South from supplying his army, and to force the Army of the Potomac to stand and fight, where he would presumably destroy it and march on Washington.
Lee’s invasion lasted less than two months. The Army of Northern Virginia was forced to cede the battlefield to the Army of the Potomac. Lee could hardly afford the casualties he absorbed, and he ended up back where he had started with a much smaller force. Furthermore, Lee’s aura of invincibility had been removed, both in the minds of his opponents and some of his subordinates.
All in all, a resounding strategic defeat, which I would suspect that Lee recognized.
By Chris, Friday, 6 July , 2007 @ 8:08 pm
Gaius, I should have read your comment more closely, because you said pretty much the same thing.