Vicksburg Surrenders, Splitting the Confederacy in Two
Grant's siege starves out Pemberton's garrison and hands the Union the Mississippi River
Quick facts
- Location
- Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Union commander
- Ulysses S. Grant
- Confederate commander
- John C. Pemberton
- Result
- Union victory; Confederate garrison paroled
What happened
After an earlier failed attempt in the winter of 1862-63, Ulysses S. Grant renewed his campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi in the spring of 1863, maneuvering his army south of the city, crossing the Mississippi River, and driving Confederate General John C. Pemberton's forces back into Vicksburg's defenses by mid-May. Grant's army dug fifteen miles of siege trenches around the city and settled in to starve the garrison out rather than risk more costly direct assaults. After holding out more than 40 days on dwindling rations, Pemberton opened surrender talks; Grant initially demanded unconditional surrender but reconsidered and offered to parole the roughly 29,000 Confederate defenders instead. Pemberton, hoping Independence Day might bring softer terms from a sentimental Union public, surrendered on July 4, 1863, one day after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg.
Why it matters
Vicksburg's fall gave the Union full control of the Mississippi River, cutting Texas, Arkansas, and most of Louisiana off from the rest of the Confederacy and splitting the rebellion in two. Coming the day after Gettysburg, it made the first week of July 1863 the war's decisive turning point.
How we know
The National Park Service's Vicksburg National Military Park history documents the siege and surrender negotiations from Grant's and Pemberton's own official reports.
Sources
- Vicksburg National Military Park, National Park Service. Surrender (July 4) · Reputable sourcenps.gov · The domain "nps.gov" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- American Battlefield Trust. Vicksburg Battle Facts and Summary · Reputable sourcebattlefields.org · The domain "battlefields.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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