Pemberton: Defender of Vicksburg

by John C. Pemberton

This is the first biography of the "Defender of Vicksburg," General John C. Pemberton. A Philadelphia native, Pemberton resigned from the United States Army in 1861 to fight on the side of the South, influenced by his Virginia-born wife and by his years of service in the Southern states before the Civil War. He was made a Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army and assigned to defend Vicksburg and the Mississippi River.

Written by Pemberton's grandson and based on research in official records and family papers, this book brings to light long-neglected facts revealing the tragedy of errors that led to Vicksburg's fall. It is, in the words of historian Douglas Southall Freeman, "the fairest, as well as the fullest study of the tragedy from the viewpoint of the principal Confederate actor."

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

John Clifford Pemberton was a career United States Army officer who participated in the Seminole Wars and the Mexican–American War. Even though he was of Northern birth and the fact that his two younger brothers both fought for the Union, he later served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He was forced to surrender at the Siege of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, allowing the Union Army to gain control of the entire Mississippi River - a major strategic loss for the Confederacy.
After his exchange as a prisoner on October 13, 1863 he returned to Richmond, but he did not obtain a new assignment an he finally resigned as a general officer on May 9, 1864. Three days later he was made a lieutenant colonel of artillery and commanded the artillery of the defenses of Richmond until January 9, 1865. He was then appointed inspector general of the artillery, a position he held until he was captured in Salisbury, North Carolina, on April 12.
After the war, he lived on his farm near Warrenton, Virginia for 10 years, after which he returned to Pennsylvania. Five years later he died in Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County and was buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.