Vicksburg

Archival Summary & Scope

Winner of the Fletcher Pratt Literary Award, Daniel M. & Marilyn W. Laney Book Prize, and an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award.

Donald L. Miller's "superb account" (The Wall Street Journal) delves into the Vicksburg Campaign, the Civil War's longest and most decisive military effort. This critical Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River blocked Union shipping, prompting a year-long struggle led by Ulysses S. Grant and Admiral David Porter. Miller masterfully combines military and social history in this "elegant…enlightening…well-researched and well-told" (Publishers Weekly) narrative. He details the dramatic siege and capture of Vicksburg, alongside the profound social revolution it ignited: tens of thousands of enslaved people fled to Union lines, over twenty thousand joined the army, and others seized plantations, fundamentally altering the region's economy and society. The campaign solidified Grant's reputation, marking what he considered the war's most important battle—one that effectively sealed the Confederacy's fate. This "model work" (Civil War Times) offers "probing intelligence and irresistible passion" (Booklist) into a pivotal moment in American history.