Vicksburg Is the Key

by Shea, William L.

• ISBN13: 9780803293441
• ISBN10: 0803293445
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-11-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

The struggle for control of the Mississippi River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to armored ram, played a role, and military engineers practiced their art on a scale never before witnessed in modern warfare. Union commanders such as Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and Porter demonstrated the skills that would take them to the highest levels of command. When the immense contest finally reached its climax at Vicksburg and Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Here was the true turning point of the Civil War.This fast-paced, gripping narrative of the Civil War struggle for the Mississippi River is the first comprehensive single-volume account to appear in over a century. Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River tells the story of the series of campaigns the Union conducted on land and water to conquer Vicksburg and of the many efforts by the Confederates to break the siege of the fortress. William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel present the unfolding drama of the campaign in a clear and readable style, correct historic myths along the way, and examine the profound strategic effects of the eventual Union victory.William L. Shea is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He is the co-author of Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. Terrence J. Winschel is a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. His books include Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign.

Author Biography

William L. Shea is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He is the coauthor of Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. Terrence J. Winschel is a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. His books include Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
List of Maps	ix
Series Editors' Introduction	xi
1. The River and the War	1	(16)
2. Gibraltar on the Mississippi	17	(16)
3. On to Vicksburg	33	(13)
4. The First Onslaught	46	(14)
5. Dark Winter	60	(16)
6. Detour in Louisiana	76	(14)
7. River of No Return	90	(16)
8. The Odds Are Overpowering	106	(11)
9. The Shriek of an Eagle	117	(10)
10. Indecision, Indecision, Indecision	127	(13)
11. A Grand and Appalling Sight	140	(13)
12. Outcamp the Enemy	153	(8)
13. Too Weak to Save Vicksburg	161	(9)
14. The Glorious Fourth	170	(9)
15. No Longer a Point of Danger	179	(8)
16. The Mississippi Is Opened	187	(18)
Epilogue	205	(8)
Notes	213	(8)
Bibliographical Essay	221	(2)
Index	223