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Vicksburg: Grant's Campaign That Broke the Confederacy Kindle Edition

by Donald L. Miller (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 632 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
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The award-winning “superb account” of the longest and most decisive military campaign of the Civil War (The Wall Street Journal).

Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented the Union from using the river for shipping between the Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico. Sitting on a high bluff, Vicksburg successfully repelled naval attacks. It took Grant’s army and Admiral David Porter’s navy to finally invade Mississippi and force the city to surrender. In this “elegant . . . enlightening . . . well-researched and well-told” work, Donald L. Miller tells the full story of this year-long campaign (Publishers Weekly).

Miller brings to life all the drama, characters, and significance of Vicksburg, a historic moment that rivals any war story in history. In the course of the campaign, tens of thousands of slaves fled to the Union lines. More than twenty thousand became soldiers, while others seized the plantations they had been forced to work on, creating a social revolution. With Vicksburg “Miller has produced a model work that ties together military and social history” (Civil War Times).

Winner of the Civil War Round Table of New York’s Fletcher Pratt Literary Award

Winner of an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award

Winner of the Austin Civil War Round Table’s Daniel M. & Marilyn W. Laney Book Prize
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  1. Print length
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  2. Language
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  4. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  5. Publication date
    October 29, 2019
  6. File size
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A superb account of both military leadership and soldierly warfare. . . . Books like Vicksburg are exactly what Thomas Hardy had in mind when he wrote that ‘war makes rattling good history.’” (John Steele Gordon The Wall Street Journal)

“Carefully researched and written with sizzling and persuasive prose, Miller has found the way to write both military and emancipation history in one profound package. Never have headquarters, slave quarters, and the ultimate purpose of the war been so seamlessly and brilliantly demonstrated.” (David W. Blight, Sterling Professor of History, Yale University, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom )

"Miller does an excellent job of illustrating Grant's growth as a commanding general. . . . Well-written and narrative-driven, Donald Miller has provided a book that offers a thoughtful reconceptualization of the Vicksburg Campaign by taking a broad chronological approach and pairing military and political affairs." (John McMillan Civil War Times)

“Miller has compiled the best single-volume treatment of the Vicksburg Campaign. His riveting narrative is well researched and highly informative. . . . A tour de force.” (ARMY magazine)

"Miller has crafted an insightful and striking look at the actions of General Grant at a turning point not only of the Civil War but also of American history. This is a great book and one that Civil war enthusiasts should read.” (Greg A. Romaneck Civil War Courier)

“The fullest and best history of the Vicksburg campaign.” (James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom )

“[Vicksburg] was the most satisfying Union campaign of the war, and Miller chronicles it with aplomb. An expert, detailed account that should remain the definitive account for quite some time.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

"This is a magnificent book, certainly one of the very best ever written about the Civil War. It has breadth and depth, and it is written in a way that makes the reader truly understand not only the battle and siege of Vicksburg, not only the Civil War, but war itself." (John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide )

"Authoritative, complete, engaging, and enjoyable. . . . Brings to the reader all the rich and crucial history of Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg campaign. . . . Vicksburg will become a Civil War standard." (Jonathan R. Allen LearnCivilWarHistory.com)

“Miller deftly conjures the campaign's uncertainty and drama—the surprises that lay around every bend of the region's forbidding terrain and swampy waterways. At the heart of his story is U.S. Grant, who emerges here as a master of maneuver and improvisation, and a hero made human and real. This is military history at its best.” (Elizabeth R. Varon, author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War )

“Elegant. . . . Enlightening. . . . Well-researched and well-told.” (Publishers Weekly)

“This superbly written narrative is a portrait of America’s greatest soldier, warts and all, an accounting of Grant’s moral evolution on the slave question, of his many tactical gambles and errors, as well as his strategic triumph in the decisive campaign of America’s most important war. We also meet ordinary soldiers, hear the iron dice roll, smell swamps and river lands that impede key logistics in the far-flung Western theater, feel the summer heat and thickly humid air. Most remarkably, we are guided up and down the Mississippi over the course of the greatest amphibious campaign of the 19th century.” (Cathal J. Nolan, author of The Allure of Battle, winner of the 2018 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History )

“Grant has had his biographers over the years, but in Miller he has finally found a writer who captures him in his completeness as a man and a military leader, overcoming heavy odds and repeated failures to win the decisive campaign of the war.” (Rob Citino, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National World War II Museum )

"Miller provides important context for the final siege of Vicksburg by explaining why the city was vital to control of the Mississippi. . . . He superbly integrates events in Washington, keeping primary attention on those in the field of battle and emphasizing the role of freedmen in the victory. . . . Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

About the Author

Donald L. Miller is the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History Emeritus at Lafayette College and author of ten books, including Vicksburg, and Masters of the Air, currently being made into a television series by Tom Hanks. He has hosted, coproduced, or served as historical consultant for more than thirty television documentaries and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07P5GMZSP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (October 29, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 29, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 53786 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 680 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 632 ratings

About the author

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Donald L. Miller

Donald L. Miller

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Donald L. Miller is the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History at Lafayette College. He hosted the series A Biography of America on PBS and has appeared in numerous other PBS programs in the American Experience series, as well as in programs on the History Channel. He is the author of eight previous books, among them the prize-winning City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America, The Story of World War II, and D-Days in the Pacific.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
632 global ratings
More than Vicksburg
5 Stars
More than Vicksburg
As president of the Civil War Round Table of Gettysburg, my primary interest is the eastern theatre; I thought I knew what I needed to know about Vicksburg, but the publishers had been kind enough to send a copy, so I gave it a shot. Wow. What a great book! This is really the story of Grant and the river, back to when he was first sent to Cairo. Farragut and Porter figure as prominently as Sherman. Another theme of great interest: Grant as functional emancipator. The book reads wonderfully. This will have a treasured place in my Civil War library.
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Top reviews from the United States

Brian V. Hunt
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
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Donald L. Miller knows how to take the dry facts of history and turn them into a compelling narrative that brings history to life. As a writer and researcher, I'm astonished and awed at the depth of research that went into this work. That Miller also has the ability to craft a sense of place and time, and pace it like a thriller is a marvel. I could hardly put the book down during the entire read and I learned so much fascinating detail about the Civil War's most important campaign that I didn't previously know.

It is not hyperbole to call this a masterpiece. Few historians can create a work that defines an event but I suspect this book will be one that lasts in the literature surrounding Vicksburg. Well done, sir.
6 people found this helpful
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Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Vicksburg narrative with insight into how slave society was destroyed
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2020
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Donald Miller has written a very readable account of, what I think, is the most important campaign of the Civil War. It was important because it cut the Confederacy in half and opened the Mississippi to northern trade all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Miller argues that Union operations in this key cotton state created a social revolution that destroyed plantation slavery.

As he narrates Ulysses S. Grant’s campaign from beginning to end, Miller paints a picture of a very complicated operation in which Union forces fought the terrain as much of the rebels, and sometimes the terrain was an even more difficult opponent. Without repeating the details of Miller’s book, he reviews actions from the initial attempts against the rebels’ northern flank, attempts to get around Vicksburg by building a canal, and additional routine probes in the north. He goes into riverboat operations and Army-Navy cooperation that was key to the Union’s eventual victory. It also follows Grant’s decision-making processes and the pressures he had; you realize that Grant was a great general. All this is known to anyone familiar with the Vicksburg campaign.

Miller’s biggest contribution is how he addresses Union moves that led to the freedom of thousands of slaves either because soldiers freed them directly or because the ex-slaves crossed into Union lines or followed marching soldiers. At the same time, the Union began organizing African American regiments which began protecting Union supply lines and providing engineering labor and organizing slave communities behind the lines. He argues all this led directly to the permanent destruction of the state’s slave economy and destroyed Mississippi’s plantation society.

All in all, a very good book. Even if you’re familiar with the overall events of the Vicksburg campaign this will add to your knowledge.
7 people found this helpful
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Mark S Ehrlich
5.0 out of 5 stars Most Important Victory of the Civil War
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
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Excellent account of the battle that broke the Confederacy in two, and Grant's unshakable will to conquer it.
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Vincent Lombardi
4.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of detail
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2019
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Well written
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Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars I never knew....
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023
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I'm an avid reader of military history - but never really understood Grants Vicksburg campaign, as well as his journey as a commander. This was an excellent book, very well written - greatly appreciated the written words and humor of these 19th century hard men - "I'd beat your boots off...."
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Matt Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Yet Detailed Account of a Complex Campaign
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2020
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Donald Miller's book is outstanding. He fits together complex pieces, spread across a wide distances of space and time, to convincingly demonstrate the critical importance of the Vicksburg Campaign, and Grant's pivotal role (both his good and bad decisions) in planning and executing it. This is not simply a rehash of countless other examinations of the campaign. Rather, it is detailed without being boring, engaging while remaining solidly based in facts, and provides new insights and considerations for the reader. My only minor quibble is that I wish more text was devoted to Porter's running the Vicksburg gauntlet on April 16, Grierson's raid, and a deeper dive into the failure of Johnston to provide aid. All are of course discussed, but I would like to see more from Miller's expert analysis. If you care about the Civil War, Grant, or just want to read a masterful account of one of the world's great military campaigns, I highly recommend this book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars Plus
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019
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I have read many books on the Civil War and have visited many of the battlefields in the Eastern theater. During a recent river cruise, I was able to visit Fort Donelson and Shiloh.

Recently my wife and I completed a road trip from Texas that included a visit to Vicksburg, a site I had long wanted to visit.

I now wish I had had the opportunity to read this book before my visit. It is by far one of the best books I have read covering a Civil War campaign.

Not only does it cover the details of the siege itself, but it puts it in the proper context starting with Grant’s assignment at Cairo, IL. It also includes the political and personal aspects which are so much part of any military activity.

Thank you Mr. Miller for returning to this project and finishing the book. It will be long remembered.
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Mossy123
5.0 out of 5 stars The best history of the Vicksburg Campaign currently available!
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
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It took me a while to begin reading Mr Miller's fine study of Grant and Vicksburg. I figured I'd read it all before, plus reading about Grant's myriad efforts to invest Vicksburg throughout 1862 is just a bummer. But I'm a Grant guy, so I got at it. I'm glad I did. Miller has many character profiles I've never read before, for instance: Gen Joe Johnston. If you're like me I've always assumed Johnston was a great general because ahh, he's a great general. Miller challenges that assertion with examples of his habit of wimping out. Interesting! I've always been slow to criticize Grant, but Miller provides examples of his luck at Donelson and Shiloh that don't necessarily challenge his greatness but certainly makes one realize he was blessed with good fortune - Grant certainly took advantage of his luck, too! I really enjoyed this book. If you're a history buff you will, too.
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Top reviews from other countries

Helen Musson
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2024
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Brillliant!
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N. Cain
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly excellent book
Reviewed in Australia on August 12, 2022
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A brilliant work on the Vicksburg campaign, offering a thorough account of the military maneuvers as well as the social revolution they sparked. Good maps throughout. Highly recommended
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Gerry Brooks
5.0 out of 5 stars American civil war
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2020
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Text very good maps not so good, this books needs to be read with a suitable map to hand
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C. Mason
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Happy Recipient
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2020
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This was a gift - the recipient is delighted with it and says it’s very well written.
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