Vicksburg, 1863

I found this book to be quite readable and easy to follow. I also appreciated the way the author took the time when mentioning someone new, took the time to give some background on the person. I will be looking forward to picking up some other books by Mr. Groom.

For someone who wants to read about one of the most significant turning points of the Civil War, but not get buried in details, this book is perfect. Groom takes you back to 1863 and sets the stage for the siege of Vicksburg in this book. He doesn't spend a lot time with the battles and all the details of the commanders, positions of troops, etc. - but keeps your interest and allows both the civil war buff and non-buff to gain a perspective of that famous battle and its implications to the future of the war. This is a fun read - I see with other reviews that this book contains some errors - but I would point out that unless you are writing or teaching about the Civil War, these errors will not matter to you. This book is not dry, but instead a very good read and introduces you to some interesting characters including the women who wrote some of the famous diaries of this period. I highly recommend Vicksburg, 1863 by Winston Groom.

I've never had much interest in the Civil War, but found this book to be very enlightening. The first perhaps third is spent introducing many of the prominent historical figures, but done one at a time and with some depth, so that in later reading it is easy to remember their characters. The importance of Vicksburg is made clear, and the actual siege is developed in the latter part of the book. I found it an easy and interesting read, and highly recommend it to anyone. You don't have to be a historian to enjoy it.

If you prefer a fine photograph to an excellent painting, Winston Groom's Vicksburg 1863 might not be your book. Groom, born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Mobile, Alabama, writes a nuanced, rich, and many layered account of the fall of Vicksburg to Union forces. In proposing his theory that the fall of Vicksburg was a deeper blow to the South than the same day (July 4th, 1863) defeat of Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg, Groom verbally paints this almost unknown epic with all the richness that a well-wielded brush and a lushly daubed pallet can bring, and none of the rigidity that a pixel or silver-iodide based photo demands. Groom does much more than simply portray famous/infamous personalities, provide dates of combat, report casualty numbers, and detail geographic migrations of troops. How? Let me count a few of the ways. Providing well chosen biographical nuggets and quotes, Groom brings to vibrant life the major players of the Vicksburg drama. William T. Sherman,U.S. Grant, Admiral (Damn the torpedoes!)Farragut, Jefferson Davis, General Joseph Johnston, General Pemberton (defender of Vicksburg)and a host of lesser known, but nonetheless fascinating, participants in this struggle leap into holographic focus in Groom's proof that the pen can be mightier than the camera. While it may be true that a picture is worth a thousand words, it is also true that Vicksburg 1863 is worth more than thousands of photos (of note is that Groom does include several pages of stunning Civil War photography). The ability to paint historical figures fully fleshed is a treasured, but not unique, gift. To move from good to fascinating, Vicksburg 1863 must offer more. And it does. Feminists, and others who prefer to think of history as more than a collection of dates of famous battles and wars, frequently lambaste the term "history" as being synonymous with "His story" as in history is almost invariably described from a man's point of view. With Vicksburg 1863, Groom did not accomplish anything that will cause Gloria Steinem to sing him hosannas, but he might well get a respectful nod from her. By liberally quoting women, particularly from the diaries of Kate Stone and Emma Balfour, one gains fascinating access to the conditions that people lived through during times of battle. One sees the attempts to conquer Vicksburg, and its eventual fall, through the eyes of women, men, soldiers and civilians, young boys and girls, and even from the point of view of pets and livestock. Groom's approach moves the reader well beyond concerns about victory and defeat, slavery versus abolition, states rights versus federalism, and well into the contemplation of war as folly and needless destruction. Groom does this all without a detectable tinge of moralism or preachiness. He reports the story, you get to make your own conclusions. Any five star book of the historical genre has a responsibility to the reader to provide some "Holy Cow! Who woulda' thunk??" fa

A talented Southern storyteller gives his version of the Vicksburg campaign. This book should serve to inform, or remind, readers of the importance of the six-month effort by the North to take the city that controlled shipping on the Mississippi River. Winston Groom provides his take on almost everything that occurred from the present day vantage point of one who at heart wishes the South might have somehow acted in a way that did not lead to its ultimate abject defeat. He seems to think the North provoked the war (I know the South fired the first shots); he does not see why the hard war of General Sherman was necessary (I do); or why North and South could not simply come to a political compromise when the war turned bad for the South (I think because of the evil of slavery combined with a refusal by Southern leadership to accept the primacy of the federal union). To me a most interesting and telling fact is contained in a minor foot note on page 155: After the Civil War, the city of Vicksburg did not officially celebrate The Fourth of July until 1945. While I do not agree with all of Mr. Groom's political and social observations, I do think his book is entertaining and well written. The vivid descriptions of the numerous land battles and naval engagements make for compelling reading, while the many generals and admirals are brought to life. Mr. Groom's book should help serve to refocus attention to the major and hard fought Union victory of July 4, 1863 at Vicksburg from the still headline battle of the same time, Gettysburg. While the few bloody days at Gettysburg remain the subject of enormous public attention, Vicksburg is the campaign (and Grant the general) that determined the Civil War's military outcome.