The Vicksburg campaign

the long version

"Sam" Grant had his faults, but he was always willing to fight, and often able to win. Frustrated by a tactical stalemate in Virginia, in 1863 the Union embarked upon a strategy of strangling the Confederate supply line on the Mississippi. Ulysses S. Grant was a natural choice to lead the army of tough Westerners and ex-slaves from Louisiana that were available for the task. Central to the Union strategy was the capture of the Confederate-held Mississippi town of Vicksburg. - Jacket flap.