During the Vicksburg Campaign, Gen. U.S. Grant Sends Supplies to Aid the White River Expedition, Hoping It Would Help Split the Confederacy and Secure Control of the Mississippi

He orders the Army Quartermaster, “You will furnish coal and every facility for all boats descending the river for Gen. McClernand’s or Gen. Gorman’s commands.”

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Grant’s letters relating to the Vicksburg Campaign are rarities, as we’ve had but two in our close to four decades in this field

The Vicksburg Campaign of 1862-1863 was perhaps the most important of the Civi War. The target was Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of...

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During the Vicksburg Campaign, Gen. U.S. Grant Sends Supplies to Aid the White River Expedition, Hoping It Would Help Split the Confederacy and Secure Control of the Mississippi

He orders the Army Quartermaster, “You will furnish coal and every facility for all boats descending the river for Gen. McClernand’s or Gen. Gorman’s commands.”

Grant’s letters relating to the Vicksburg Campaign are rarities, as we’ve had but two in our close to four decades in this field

The Vicksburg Campaign of 1862-1863 was perhaps the most important of the Civi War. The target was Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. If Union forces could capture Vicksburg, it would divide the Confederacy irreparably and secure Union shipping on the river, thus both hobbling the rebels while guaranteeing Union supply lines on the Mississippi.

Events affecting the Vicksburg Campaign started in the spring of 1862 when the Confederates lost Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee, huge victories for the then virtually unknown General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant became a hero in the North and was recognized as an up and coming man. The Confederates also lost Memphis and New Orleans, at about the same time, making Vicksburg the key remaining point of their defense of the Mississippi River. The capture of Vicksburg would now yield the North control of the entire course of the river, protect its supply routes while depriving the Confederates of theirs, and perhaps more importantly enable the Union to isolate those Confederate states that lay west of the river from those in the east. Vicksburg was ideally suited for defensive purposes, however: it was situated on high bluffs along the river and was protected on the north by a maze of swampy bayous. The Confederates’ batteries on the bluffs could outgun any Union ships on the river.

There followed two campaigns to take Vicksburg. The first began in November 1862. At that point, Union forces controlled the Mississippi River and used the tributaries to transport men and weapons, enabling them to win a series of victories in the west. Despite repeated Union efforts, the stretch around Vicksburg remained firmly in Confederate hands.

On November 3, Grant began moving his men along the Mississippi east bank to reach, and capture, Vicksburg. Hampered by fires, swamps, mosquitoes and snakes, his army made slow progress. Meanwhile, General William T. Sherman, led a second advance towards the Chickasaw Bayou crossings. Grant and Sherman were both repulsed by Confederate forces led by General Earl Van Dorn, who also cut off the Union supply lines at Holly Springs. The Union forces were unsuccessful in further attempts in January 1863, This ended the first campaign for Vicksburg. But Union General John A. McClernand did succeed in taking the Arkansas Post on January 11. This opened opportunities for Union forces in Arkansas, which Grant wanted to follow up to buttress the Union focus on Vicksburg.

The White River expedition in Arkansas followed. Conducted in support of operations against Vicksburg, this expedition helped Federal forces maintain control of the strategically valuable Memphis and Little Rock Railroad between DeValls Bluff and Little Rock. Shortly after the capture of Arkansas Post, Brigadier General Willis A. Gorman – commander of the District of Eastern Arkansas – moved his command from St. Charles toward DeValls Bluff onboard the gunboat USS St. Louis. By a rapid advance on January 17, Gorman surprised two companies of Confederate infantry and forced them to flee. An additional assault upon the Confederate rear defeated and captured most of the remaining Rebel force, as well as the town of DeValls Bluff. The spoils of this victory included two eight-inch Columbia siege guns with carriages, ninety Enfield rifles, twenty-five prisoners, and control of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad between DeValls Bluff and Little Rock.

Shortly after Gorman’s occupation of Des Arc, Arkansas, McClernand (under authority of Grant) ordered Gorman to transfer Brigadier General Clinton B. Fisk’s brigade to McClernand’s command, in accord with standing orders to prioritize the operations underway against Vicksburg. By January 19, the the White River expedition was over. It had been a modest Union success.

The very day the Arkansas Post was taken, Grant ordered the Navy to assist in the White River expedition, hoping it would strengthen his position vis a vis the taking of Vicksburg. Autograph letter signed, Headquarters Dept. of the Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn., January 11, 1863, to Capt. A.R. Eddy. “You will furnish coal and every facility for all boats descending the river for Gen. McClernand’s or Gen. Gorman’s commands.” January 11, 1863, the date of this letter, is considered the end of the first offensive to take Vicksburg. The recipient was Regular Army Quartermaster Asher R. Eddy.

With Spring, Grant renewed the Union offensive against Vicksburg. By the middle of April he was ready, and ordered Admiral David Porter to run by Vicksburg’s batteries with supplies and troop transports. Overcoming Confederate resistance at Port Gibson, Grant advanced. Learning that Confederate General John Pemberton’s forces blocked his route, Grant swerved east, overcoming Confederate forces and cutting their supply lines to Vicksburg. In May of 1863, Grant marched towards the final goal of his campaign: Vicksburg. Taking this Southern stronghold would allow the Union to control the Mississippi River and boost Northern morale. After a series of battles, Grant’s troops forced Pemberton’s Confederate army to retreat into the defenses surrounding Vicksburg. Vicksburg was well defended with rifle pits and fortifications as well as steep ravines that made it easy for Confederate forces to beat back Union assaults. Unable to force his army into the city, Grant ordered troops to prepare for a siege.

During the next two months, Union forces rained cannon fire down upon Vicksburg. The Confederates suffered in the unbearable summer heat and were forced to ration their few remaining supplies. Quickly, Union troops dug tunnels under the fortifications and detonated explosives that devastated the city. Still, the determined Confederate defenders held out. In the Battle of Milliken’s Bend, the rebels were defeated by newly formed black regiments, many of which were formerly enslaved men from local plantations. Their victory was praised by Grant and President Lincoln and paved the way for the recruitment for the U.S. Colored Troops. This integration would later shape the policies and approaches to emancipation. Fearful of a final assault and close to starvation, Confederate generals decided to hear out Grant’s terms of surrender. They rejected Grant’s first response of unconditional surrender. Realizing his army could not support prisoners, he offered to let Confederate soldiers go with signed promises that, until exchanged, they would stop fighting the Union.

With the fall of Vicksburg, the North gained unrestricted access to the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy’s supply and communication lines, splitting the would-be nation. An ecstatic President Lincoln celebrated the victory after months of relative inaction and Grant was appointed Chief of Armies, giving him complete control over Union forces.

War date letters of Grant have become increasingly hard to find, and those relating to the Vicksburg Campaign are rarities. We’ve had but two in our close to four decades in this field, and the last was well over a decade ago.

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