“You have heard that I was incompetent, and a traitor; and that it was my intention to sell Vicksburg. Follow me, and you will see the cost at which I will sell Vicksburg. When the last pound of beef, bacon, and flour, the last grain of corn, the last cow and hog and horse and dog shall have been consumed, and the last man shall have perished in the trenches, then and only then will I sell Vicksburg.” Despite the obvious hyperbole, the words boosted morale.5
PEMBERTON QUOTE ON MAY 18, 1863
