Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
The Campaign Against Vicksburg explained
Grant details the strategic importance of Vicksburg, the initial movements of his campaign, the challenges of supply lines, the employment of freedmen to harvest crops, and the setback caused by the capture of Holly Springs by Confederate c
What happens
Grant details the strategic importance of Vicksburg, the initial movements of his campaign, the challenges of supply lines, the employment of freedmen to harvest crops, and the setback caused by the capture of Holly Springs by Confederate cavalry under Van Dorn.
Themes in this chapter
The Horrors and Cost of War
Grant reflects on the destruction of supplies at Holly Springs and the necessity of living off the land, highlighting the material and human costs of the campaign.
Slavery and Racial Justice
The chapter details the organization of freedmen to harvest crops, creating a self-sustaining system that provided wages and care, an early step toward emancipation and economic independence.
Leadership and Humility
Grant acknowledges his own learning from the Holly Springs loss, noting that the experience taught him valuable lessons about supply and logistics.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
Author and commander of the Union forces; plans and leads the campaign against Vicksburg, orders the collection of forage, and organizes the employment of freedmen.
- William T. Sherman
Commands the right wing at Memphis; meets with Grant at Columbus and is ordered to join the main force with two divisions.
- James B. McPherson
Commands the left wing of Grant's army during the advance.
- John C. Pemberton
Confederate commander opposing Grant; fortified at the Tallahatchie and later retreats in a near panic.
- Henry W. Halleck
General-in-chief; sends a dispatch confirming Grant's command over all troops in his department.
- John A. McClernand
Mentioned as a potential separate commander for an expedition against Vicksburg, which Grant views with concern.
- Edwin M. Stanton
Secretary of War; mentioned in the context of instructions regarding the employment of freedmen.
Key passages
“Vicksburg was important to the enemy because it occupied the first high ground coming close to the river below Memphis.”
Vicksburg's strategic value lay in its position on high ground near the Mississippi, controlling river traffic and rail connections.
Grant explains the geographic and military significance of Vicksburg.
“I gave him all the assistants and guards he called for. We together fixed the prices to be paid for the negro labor, whether rendered to the government or to individuals.”
Grant provided Chaplain Eaton with full support, and together they set wages for freedmen working on government or private plantations.
Describes the practical organization of freedmen labor under Grant's authority.
“This taught me a lesson which was taken advantage of later in the campaign when our army lived twenty days with the issue of only five days’ rations by the commissary.”
The experience of foraging after Holly Springs showed Grant that his army could subsist on local resources, a tactic used later in the campaign.
Grant reflects on the tactical lesson learned from the loss of supplies.
