Vicksburg 1863: Grant Clears the Mississippi

Osprey Campaign #26

by Alan Hankinson

The 1863 Vicksburg campaign was to prove decisive to the outcome of the American Civil War. Known as the 'Gibraltar of the West', Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. In a masterly campaign Grant used riverboats and steamers to land his army south of the city. He then defeated the armies of Generals 'Joe' Johnston and John C. Pemberton. Pemberton allowed his force to become bottled up in Vicksburg and after an epic 47-day siege he was forced to surrender the remnants of his force to Grant on 4 July 1863, one day after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg.

Genres: American Civil War, Military History, History, Civil War, Civil War Western Theater, American History

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1993

Reviews

[John Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

15/20.

[John Matthew IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy to read introduction to the Vicksburg campaign. It is heavily reliant on Grant's memoirs.

Great maps and graphics.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other books in the Osprey Campaign series, this book gives a brief overview of the Vicksburg campaign but doesn't go into a lot of detail. However, the book also seems to spend far more time on Grant than the other commanders. It also skips over a large segment of the combat operations following the May 22nd assault; for example, the mine exploded June 22nd was covered in a few period engravings rather than actual text. I also didn't understand the purpose of the illustrations covering soldiers on both sides (such as the ones on page 14 and 18); they seem more appropriate for Osprey's Men-at-Arms series.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume of Osprey Campaings series is one of the better ones, simply because the format suits the scope of the campaign. Structure of the booklet follows the familiar fomula - introduction in form of overall situation, followed by short analysis of commanders and troops and finally the cliff-note version of the events during the campaign. As always, the graphics material in form of color maps, illustrations of uniforms and a plenitude of contemporary illustrations, is outstanding and could be the prime reason for getting this book.

[Sean Chick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Error ridden repetition of the usual facts about the campaign almost entirely from the North's point of view.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

*_*
Una colección estupenda.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid short survey of the Vicksburg campaign. Supported w/ maps, drawings, and photos it serves as a decent place to start learning about the campaign.