Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River (review)

Civil War historians have long noted the critical importance of the Vicksburg campaign in the demise of the Confederacy. Yet few writers have traversed the limitless expanse of events and personalities to produce an accessible monograph on the topic. Magisterial in its breadth and depth, Edwin Bearss's The Vicksburg Campaign remains the definitive study but many are intimidated by its weighty three volumes. The Vicksburg campaign—like the siege of Richmond and Petersburg—tends to overawe those of us not blessed with Bearss's encyclopedic knowledge, his eye for detail, or his narrative aplomb. But veteran historians William L. Shea and Terrence L. Winschel embraced the challenge and produced an excellent overview of this crucial episode, especially since, as the subtitle suggests, they place the victory at Vicksburg within the larger context of the Union's often strenuous, at times disastrous, but ultimately victorious efforts to seize control of the Mississippi River.

From the invasion of Kentucky in 1861 to the fall of Port Hudson in 1863, the authors unravel the complex interplay of events and personalities in an engaging, well-written narrative. One of the more interesting aspects is their examination of the "brown water" war and its role in Union victory along the Mississippi. Moreover, their discussion of topography and the Confederacy's decision to construct fixed fortifications along the Mississippi underscores the difficulties faced in defending this vital waterway. The best chapters cover Ulysses S. Grant's relentless attempts to subdue the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy." Undoubtedly, their depiction of the Chickasaw Bayou debacle will fuel the argument that fighting battles was not William T. Sherman's strong suit. Finally, they note the importance of the capture of Port Hudson, which truly allowed the Mississippi to flow "unvexed to the sea" and capped a victorious month for Union arms in both major theaters.

Some problems mar the work, however, though not fatally. After describing the battle between the Union Western Flotilla and Confederate gunboats at Plum Point on 10 May 1862, the authors note that this engagement occurred three days before the battle of Shiloh (April 6-7). A more important criticism involves the lack of attention to the strategic and political impact of events along the Mississippi. Conventional wisdom has it that Vicksburg's fall cut the Confederacy in half, isolated the Trans-Mississippi region, and severed the vital supply line from the west, conclusions the authors support. However, as Albert Castel's recent challenge to these traditional assertions has shown (North & South, November 2003), a more thorough investigation of the strategic, political, and psychological impact of the Vicksburg campaign could have strengthened the interpretive thrust of the work.

These points aside, Vicksburg Is the Key is an excellent book and a valuable addition to the literature, something we have come to expect from these authors and from the University of Nebraska's "Great Campaigns of the Civil War" series. The book makes the struggle to control the "Father of Waters" accessible to all interested readers and is the sort of study refugees from Bearss's formidable tomes can embrace.