Grant Wins the War
Decision at Vicksburg
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- $31.99
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- $31.99
Publisher Description
Vicksburg is the key. . . . Let us get Vicksburg, and all that country is ours.--President Abraham Lincoln, 1862
In a brilliantly constructed and powerfully rendered new account, James R. Arnold offers a penetrating analysis of Grant's strategies and actions leading to the Union victory at Vicksburg. Approaching these epic events from a unique and well-rounded perspective, and based on careful research, Grant Wins the War is fascinating reading for all Civil War and military history buffs.
Acclaim for Grant Wins the War
Nicely details the coordination of Union military and naval operations and the boldness and genius of General U. S. Grant that brought Union victory, and he offers an excellent discussion of the technology and tactics of siege warfare. . . . a good drums-and-bugle account of an important event.--Library Journal
A particular strength of this work is its demonstration that modern weapons left no shortcuts to victory, and little room for command virtuosity.--Publishers Weekly
Throughout, Arnold backs up his assessments with solid facts and sound reasoning, engagingly presented. He has produced a useful and enjoyable brief history of the Vicksburg campaign, helpful to scholars and general readers alike.--Journal of Military History
Powerfully and persuasively argues that the Union victory at Vicksburg in 1863 was in fact the actual turning point of the Civil War.--Helena (Mont.) Independent Record
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
More than any other element, Union control of the Mississippi River, according to Arnold (Presidents Under Fire), determined the outcome of the Civil War. The capture of the port of Vicksburg was essential, for without Vicksburg, supplies from the Arkansas and Red River valleys could no longer reach a beleaguered Confederacy. The key to the siege of Vicksburg was Grant's brilliant campaign of maneuvers waged against the city during April, May and June of 1863--and that campaign began at the vicious battle of Champion's Hill on May 16. Confederate General John Pemberton's failure to break through the Union lines condemned his army, like that of Napoleon III at Sedan in 1870, to fall back into fortifications it could not hold. Grant triumphed, the author explains, by unobtrusively doing the right things at the right time, and by recognizing and correcting his own errors with a self-awareness rare in high command. Far from being the head-down "butcher" of legend, Grant appears in these pages as a master of the field, able to inspire his troops, compensate for the shortcomings of subordinates still learning their craft and cooperate with his naval counterparts in an early example of "jointness." A particular strength of this work is its demonstration that modern weapons left no shortcuts to victory, and little room for command virtuosity. Henceforth, a successful general would be one who knew how to take pains and use time. Grant learned that lesson at Vicksburg and spent two years applying it, until the Confederate army had been destroyed.
