In October 1862, Grant, who had won the sobriquet of "Unconditional
Surrender" at Fort Donelson and had rallied his army from near defeat at
bloody Shiloh, was placed in command of the Department of the Tennessee
with headquarters at Memphis; his objective--to clear the Mississippi
River. The same month, Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, a West Pointer, born
and raised in Pennsylvania, who had served with Grant in the Mexican
War, was placed in command of the Confederate troops defending the
Mississippi; his objective--to keep the Southern supply line open and
prevent loss of the river. Vicksburg would be the focus of military
operations for both commanders.
The first full-scale expedition against Vicksburg was initiated in
December 1862, with Grant pushing southward through the State of
Mississippi to strike Vicksburg from the rear as Maj. Gen. William
Tecumseh Sherman, with an army of 32,000 men aboard 60 transports,
proceeded down river from Memphis. Grant anticipated that his advance
would pull Pemberton's army away from Vicksburg, permitting Sherman to
make a lodgment on the bluffs immediately north of the city against a
greatly reduced garrison. On December 20, Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, with
a striking force of 3,500 Confederate cavalry, swung in behind the Union
line of march, capturing and burning $1,500,000 of military goods at
Grant's supply base in Holly Springs. Unwilling to wage a campaign
without a base of supply, Grant abandoned his campaign and returned to
Memphis.
Sherman made his assault on December 29 at Chickasaw Bayou, 5 miles
north of Vicksburg. The land here was a low, swampy shelf lying between
the Yazoo River and the bluffs. The few dry causeways over which the
Federal infantry could advance were completely covered by Confederate
rifle and artillery fire from the bluffs 200 feet above. The Union Army
lost nearly 2,000 men against Confederate casualties of less than 200.
Tersely, Sherman reported his defeat: "I reached Vicksburg at the time
appointed, landed, assaulted and failed."
[Illustration: GRANT'S FIRST MOVE AGAINST
VICKSBURG
_DECEMBER 1862_]
Grant's advance was halted and turned back when Van Dorn's cavalry
raid destroyed the huge Union supply base at Holly Springs.
Sherman assaulted the bluffs at Chickasaw Bayou, 5 miles north of
Vicksburg and was repulsed.
[Illustration: _The Confederate ironclad ram _Arkansas_ engaging the
combined Union fleets at Vicksburg._ From _Battles and Leaders of
the Civil War_.]
_The Bayou Expeditions: Grant Moves Against Vicksburg--and Fails_
By the end of January, Grant had arrived at the Union encampment at
Milliken's Bend, 30 miles north of Vicksburg, and assumed leadership of
the operations against Vicksburg. His army, numbering about 45,000, was
divided into three corps under General Sherman, Maj. Gen. John
McClernand, and Maj. Gen. James Birdseye McPherson. Cooperating with the
army, and providing aid without which the bayou expeditions would not
have been possible, was the Western Flotilla under Porter. This fleet
consisted of 11 ironclads, 38 wooden gunboats, rams, and sundry
auxiliary craft mounting over 300 guns and carrying a complement of
5,500. The war in the West now hinged upon the effectiveness of this
combined land and naval force. Under Grant's direction it maneuvered
over hundreds of miles of river and bayou seeking to outflank Vicksburg.
The capture of the city would result not from great battles but from a
war of movement.