Grant at Vicksburg

On May 22, 1863, Ulysses S. Grant declared in a letter to the commander of the Union fleet that “the nature of the ground about Vicksburg is such that it can only be taken by a siege.” The 47-day siege of Vicksburg resulted in the eventual surrender of the city and fulfilled a major strategic goal for the Union. Michael B. Ballard offers the first in-depth exploration of Grant’s thoughts and actions during this critical operation, providing a never-before-seen portrait of the general in the midst of one of his most notable achievements.