By July, the Army of Vicksburg had held the line for 6 weeks, but its
unyielding defense had been a costly one. Pemberton reported 10,000 of
his men so debilitated by wounds and sickness as to be no longer able to
man the works, and the list of ineffectives swelled daily from the twin
afflictions of insufficient rations and the searching fire of Union
sharpshooters. Each day the constricting Union line pushed closer
against the Vicksburg defenses, and there were indications that Grant
might soon launch another great assault which, even if repulsed, must
certainly result in a severe toll of the garrison. (Grant had actually
ordered a general assault for July 6, 2 days after the surrender.)
General Pemberton, faced with dwindling stores and no help from the
outside, saw only two eventualities, "either to evacuate the city and
cut my way out or to capitulate upon the best attainable terms."
Contemplating the former possibility, he asked his division commanders
on July 1 to report whether the physical condition of the troops would
favor such a hazardous stroke. His lieutenants were unanimous in their
replies that siege conditions had physically distressed so large a
number of the defending army that an attempt to cut through the Union
line would be disastrous. Pemberton's only alternative, then, was
surrender.
[Illustration: _The Union ironclad gunboat _Cairo_, sunk by a
Confederate "torpedo" (mine) near Vicksburg._ From _Photographic
History of the Civil War_.]
_David and Goliath of the Union fleet, photographed at Vicksburg
after the surrender:_
[Illustration: _A patrol boat, the "tinclad" _Silver Lake_._]
[Illustration: _The powerful ironclad ram _Choctaw_._ From
_Photographic History of the Civil War_.]
Although not requested, Pemberton also received the verdict of his army
in a message from an unknown private, signed "Many Soldiers." Taking
pride in the gallant conduct of his fellow soldiers "in repulsing the
enemy at every assault, and bearing with patient endurance all the
privations and hardships," the writer requested his commanding general
if he would "Just think of one small biscuit and one or two mouthfuls of
bacon per day," concluding with the irrefutable logic of an enlisted
man, "If you can't feed us, you had better surrender us, horrible as the
idea is."
[Illustration: _Maj. Gen. M. L. Smith, commanding the Confederate
left at Vicksburg._ Courtesy Library of Congress.]
[Illustration: _Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, commanding the Union
XVII Corps._ Courtesy Library of Congress.]
On July 3, white truce flags appeared along the center of the
Confederate works. A few hours later, Grant and Pemberton met beneath an
oak tree, on a slope between the lines, to arrange for the capitulation
of Vicksburg and its army of 29,500. It had been 14 months since
Farragut's warships had first engaged the Vicksburg batteries, 7 months
since Grant's first expedition against the city, and 47 days since the
beginning of the siege. On the morning of July 4, 1863, while Northern
cities celebrated Independence Day, Vicksburg was formally surrendered.
The Confederate troops marched out from their defenses and stacked their
rifles, cartridge boxes, and flags before a hushed Union Army which
witnessed the historic event without cheering--a testimonial of their
respect for the courageous defenders of Vicksburg, whose line was never
broken.
Into the city which had defied him for so long, and which nearly proved
the graveyard rather than the springboard of his military career, rode
General Grant. At the courthouse, where the Stars and Bars had floated
in sight of the Union Army and Navy throughout the siege, he watched the
national colors raised on the flagstaff, and then proceeded to the
waterfront. With every vessel of the Navy sounding its whistle in
celebration, he went aboard Porter's flagship to express gratitude for
the work of the fleet.