064 - Taking Down The Citadel: The Siege of Vicksburg

About this episode: 

In the first days of the American Civil War, Winfield Scott, the then 74-year-old Union General-in-Chief, advised a strategy that he believed was key in putting down the Southern rebellion.  Derisively tabbed the “Anaconda” Plan, Scott believed: one, the Border States had to be held and used as avenues for invasion; two, Southern ports should be blockaded and, third, to split the Confederacy, the Mississippi River should become a Union highway.  This is the story of the incredible campaign that made Scott’s third element reality.  This is the story of Ulysses S. Grant’s campaign and siege of Vicksburg.

                        

Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

David G. Farragut

John Alexander McClernand

John C. Pemberton

Earl Van Dorn

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Stephen D. Lee

 

Additional Resources:

Assaults on Vicksburg - May 22nd, 1863

 

Operations against Vicksburg and Grant's Bayou Operations - November 1862 through April 1863

 

Get The Guide:

Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.

 

Subscribe to the Threads from the National Tapestry YouTube Channel here

 

Thank you to our sponsor, The Badge Maker - proudly carrying affordable Civil War Corps Badges and other hand-made historical reproductions for reenactors, living history interpreters, and lovers of history.

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Producer: Dan Irving