7 historic July 4th events in US history
The siege of Vicksburg ends – July 4, 1863
The Fourth of July also marks the anniversary of when the Confederate garrison at the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrendered to Union soldiers under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant.
Grant had begun his siege of Vicksburg in May of 1863, as the city was a crucial point for travel along the Mississippi River, making its conquest necessary for future Union Army movement in the South.
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“With the loss of Confederate General John C. Pemberton’s army after the siege at Vicksburg and a Union victory at Port Hudson five days later, the Union controlled the entire Mississippi River and the Confederacy was split in half,” explains the American Battlefield Trust.
“Together with the Union victory at Gettysburg just a day before, Vicksburg marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Union army.”
