Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi

The newer research on the Civil War suggests that it was won in the west and that the action in the east is not what caused the end of the war. Vicksburg was the crucial campaign in the west and while this book can get bogged down in details it does a very good job of providing information. The challenge of taking this city on a hill and the importance of the navy are all well explained here. A look at what happened to the south as the war progressed is not readily apparent but if read in between the lines it is easy to see what happened. The analysis about the importance of opening up the Mississippi to union forces is very good and brings new light on a subject that needs a lot more exploring and debate.

I like this book for several reasons.Number one, Mr Ballard is very sincere and called everything by its name.When it comes to describing generals and soldiers on either side of the conflict,he tells it like it is.Number two, the way Mr Ballard describes the military campaign in all its details it's terrific which helped me understand the imporatnce of every battle and the strategies involved.The only flaw in the book is really a minor one which is that sometimes the author gives too many details in things that i dont think are not that important.BUt ,in general, it's a very good book!

This is a good book for anyone interested in studying on the Civil War. As the author mentions, this campaign to capture Vicksburg is a rather unknown period of the war and this is a good book on this campaign. It has its plusses and its minuses. On the positive side, it covers the campaign in detail with a number of human interest stories. The experiences of the citizens and soldiers who lived in Vicksburg, e.g. living in caves, the casualties, the experiences of soldiers in the hospitals (for example, he goes through the procedure that a doctor used to remove a leg - interesting although somewhat gruesome but it highlights the suffering). He is an apparent fan of Pemberton (although he recognizes his mistakes well) and not a fan of Joe Johnston (but I haven't found a Civil War writer who is...). He covers them well and also the top Union generals: Grant, Sherman and McClernand, including Grant's supposed bouts with alcohol and the feud between McClernand and Grant. This is a balanced coverage. On the minuses side, I found myself getting confused at times about what was really happening. For example, the coverage of the battles including the maps which are very confusing, which ramble about this unit and that unit going this way and that. The early book with this Confederate general and that Confederate general doing this and that is also confusing and may cause you to get you to get frustrated with the book, but stick with it. At one point, he has Pemberton in Vicksburg and needing to go to Vicksburg in the same paragraph. So, I read it again, and... huh. But then the story picks up when Grant tries one approach versus another to reach Vicksburg and decides on approaching it from the South. This is very interesting showing the chess moves between Grant, Pemberton and Johnston which Grant ultimately won. This is a good book, on a period that should be covered more. It may be confusing because unlike Gettysburg, where each writer can read the other books and build on them, there are few sources. So, I recommend it.

The Vicksburg seige campaign of 1862-1863 has had a few good books written on it, one for instance being Edwin Bearss 3 volumes. But for the general reader desiring only one volume, this latest one from Civil War America, Gary Gallagher editor, from Chapel Hill should be a welcome issue. The author certainly has credentials. The campaign has been of interest to him since his first trip to the battlefield from his childhood home in north-central Mississippi. He still looks forward to each visit yet today to the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy." And when one marries his wife on Fort Hill, it is safe to say Vicksburg runs through this man's entire being. Battles and campaigns of the Western Theater of Operations can yet today receive little notice from even the most serious reader of the civil war. It sometimes seems the only army in the field was the Army of the Potomac. And with a new book by Jeffry D. Wert soon to arrive on "Lincoln's Sword," the books keep rolling out. And when thinks of the attention Gettysburg has received, one must think in the 1000s where Gettysburg books are concerned. Yet most readers know that the area of the Army of the Potomac was not the sole area of combat involved. And recently we have been given some very good works on the Western Theater. Such books as the recent "Days of Glory" by Larry J. Daniel, "That Body of Brave Men" by Mark W. Johnson, and the earlier two volume work, "Army of the Heartland" by Thomas Lawrence Connelly, are only three that grace my civil war bookshelf. And it is to be remembered that U.S. Grant too came from this very area. Though some may have questions of General Grant, it does seem a fact that under his generalship the Army of the Potomac began to win battles. A prevailing feeling today is that neither North nor South may have seen Gettysburg to have the importance we now place on it. Southern newspapers of the time did not view it necessarily as the end of the war. Neither did the North. Yet each area realized immediately just what value Vicksburg held, and what an extreme cost it was for the South to have lost control of the Mississippi. And Ben Butler is still reviled in that area today! Being from Ohio, I have great interest in movement of the OVI and Ohio cavalry units, and that places my reading quite often in this Western Theatre. There are many things of interest in this book. Even the seasoned reader will find enjoyment here. And though the Vicksburg campaign ended, many of the southern men fought on. Though they were paroled after surrender at Vicksburg, many were later at Chattanooga to face General Grant once again! Semper Fi.

Ballard has written an informative account of the Vicksburg campaign and believes that the Union won through superior generalship and naval power. According to Ballard Grant and his subordinates acted as a team while the Confederate side was hindered by constant infighting between Johnston and Pemberton. Moreover,Pemberton was unable to react to Grant's moves, but Grant was looking for new innovative moves to distract and outflank the Confederates. Naval power also played a key role in helping Grant transport troops and block reinforcements from entering Vicksburg. The only drawback to this book is that Ballard doesn't mention new research by Terrence Winschel,Timothy Smith, and others in his book. Otherwise this book is destined to be a classic account of the Vicksburg campaign.