Posted on Jan 9, 2018
The Fall of Vicksburg: Turning Point of the Civil War
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I agree with this assessment. Once the Confederacy was effectively split in half (the culmination of the Anaconda plan proposed by General Scott in 1861) it could no longer sustain itself. Thoughts?
The Fall of Vicksburg: Turning Point of the Civil War
Posted from owlcation.comPosted in these groups: 
Civil War
Civil War
Posted 7 y ago
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Ron Chernow, in his biography of Grant, spells out in compelling detail why the fall of Vicksburg was the turning point in the war. Combined with the fall of Gettysburg at the same time, it was all over but the waiting. People think Gettysburg first when it comes to the defining battle of the war, but that’s more a function of publicity (good movie) vs fact.
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LTC Orlando Illi
True. It was just a matter of time as the South's agrarian economy could never match the North's manufacturing advantage. Once the South was split in two after Vicksburg - the South's fate was sealed.
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I agree... I fortunately grew up in Raymond MS a site for a battle on the way to Vicksburg. I went to Vicksburg growing up routinely on school field trips and trips with the family. They went from Jackson, Raymond, Champions Hill, Edwards and then on in to Vicksburg. The union forces had both ends of the river and essentially controlled it. If they could lock down Vicksburg, they could control supplies coming into the confederacy up and down the river...especially up the river from the Gulf. The final 47 day siege effectively ended the Confederacy but squeezing it out. It worked. If you are ever that way or want to make a special trip that whole area is rich in history and sites all the way from Natchez up to Vicksburg and back down again. I grew up there and rarely if ever, when I am that way do I not stop in and see the park. It is very humbling to see actually how close the fighting came within one another.
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LTC Orlando Illi
I was TDY to Waterways Experimentation Station in Vicksburg, MS once for a week for a series of meetings. I was able to tour the Vicksburg Battlefield. It was impressive - especially the guns on the bluff overlooking the river. AS I said we were there for a week and every morning at the hotel the waitress would ask me if I wanted grits with my breakfast and I said no. The last day - I asked why Sherman burned down Atlanta and she looked at me with her southern accent and said "...well Sir, ahm sure I don't know..."; to which I replied - so Yankees would not have to eat grits. Needless to say she was not amused - but smiled at me (sort of). I did leave her a $10.00 tip though....
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Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
LTC Orlando Illi - I am surprised you didn't have to fight your way out of there at breakfast...LOL!!! I am sure her words after you left was "at least the Damn Yankee left a good tip...BLESS HIS HEART."
I worked for the Corps Of Engineers at the downtown office in the Hydraulics branch as a Co-op student. Enjoyed it very much.
I worked for the Corps Of Engineers at the downtown office in the Hydraulics branch as a Co-op student. Enjoyed it very much.
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