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83-693: Just four days after Mississippi's secession, on the evening of 13 January 1861, the steamboat was fired upon by cannon used by militia defending Vicksburg. Tyler served in the Western Flotilla from June 1861 to 1 October 1862, fighting for the Mississippi River. Soon after being commissioned, Tyler participated in the attack on the Confederate forces in Hickman and Columbus in Kentucky, doing battle with

166-497: A 20-pounder Parrott rifle in a casemate of railroad iron. The targeted foundry was destroyed on June 25 and the next day a second Parrott gun was added to the battery, which continued to harass the defenders until the garrison's surrender. Additional Confederate activity in Louisiana occurred on June 29 at Goodrich's Landing when they attacked a plantation and an army training center run by former slaves. The Confederates destroyed

249-590: A breakthrough by concentrating their mass on a narrow front. They were driven back in the face of heavy rifle fire. Blair's brigades under Cols. Giles A. Smith and T. Kilby Smith made it as far as a ridge 100 yards from Green's Redan, the southern edge of the Stockade Redan, from where they poured heavy fire into the Confederate position, but to no avail. Tuttle's division, waiting its turn to advance, did not have an opportunity to move forward. On Sherman's far right,

332-533: A combined sea and land campaign. Following that expedition, the gunboat resumed a patrol routine on the Mississippi until late April. On the 29th, she joined another expedition up the Yazoo, and it resulted in the fall of the important fortifications on Haynes Bluffs on 1 May. That operation was the gunboat's last major role in the reduction of Vicksburg which surrendered to Union forces on 4 July 1863. On 6 Jun 1863, Tyler

415-611: A command in a remote area of Texas . Another command change occurred on June 22. In addition to Pemberton in Vicksburg, Grant had to be aware of Confederate forces in his rear under the command of Joseph E. Johnston . He stationed one division in the vicinity of the Big Black River Bridge and another reconnoitered as far north as Mechanicsburg; both acted as covering forces. By June 10, the IX Corps , under Maj. Gen. John G. Parke ,

498-503: A complete encirclement of the Confederate defenses. Pemberton's outlook on escape was pessimistic, but there were still roads leading south out of Vicksburg unguarded by Union troops. Grant sought help from Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck , the Union general-in-chief. Halleck quickly began to shift Union troops in the West to meet Grant's needs. The first of these reinforcements was a 5,000-man division from

581-408: A last resort of sustenance for many adults. During the siege, Union gunboats lobbed over 22,000 shells into the town and army artillery fire was even heavier. As the barrages continued, suitable housing in Vicksburg was reduced to a minimum. A ridge, located between the main town and the rebel defense line, provided lodging for the duration. Over 500 caves, known locally as "bombproofs", were dug into

664-484: A potentially difficult encounter with Sherman until it was too late for the Vicksburg garrison, and then fell back to Jackson. Sherman would pursue Johnston and recapture Jackson on July 17. Throughout the siege Union and Confederate forces kept busy in a supporting role on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River. Lt. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith , commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department , received

747-495: A regular siege—to 'out-camp the enemy,' as it were, and to incur no more losses." When the Federal troops started to dig in, they built complicated defenses that soldiers at the time called "ditches." These went all the way around the city and got closer and closer to the Confederate defenses. With their backs against the Mississippi and Union gunboats firing from the river, Confederate soldiers and citizens alike were trapped. Pemberton

830-458: A show of weakness. Finally he relented, and the Confederates held their fire while the Union recovered the wounded and dead on May 25, soldiers from both sides mingling and trading as if no hostilities existed for the moment. After this truce, Grant's army began to fill the 12-mile (19 km) ring around Vicksburg. It soon became clear that even 50,000 Union soldiers would not be able to effect

913-572: A siege. On May 25, Lt. Col. John A. Rawlins issued Special Orders No. 140 for Grant: Corps Commanders will immediately commence the work of reducing the enemy by regular approaches. It is desirable that no more loss of life shall be sustained in the reduction of Vicksburg, and the capture of the Garrison. Every advantage will be taken of the natural inequalities of the ground to gain positions from which to start mines, trenches, or advance batteries. ... Grant wrote in his memoirs, "I now determined upon

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996-471: A something too fearful to describe. Daniel A. Ramsdell, Ransom's Brigade Sherman ordered two more assaults. At 2:15 pm, Giles Smith and Ransom moved out and were repulsed immediately. At 3 pm, Tuttle's division suffered so many casualties in their aborted advance that Sherman told Tuttle, "This is murder; order those troops back." By this time, Steele's division had finally maneuvered into position on Sherman's right, and at 4 pm, Steele gave

1079-524: A telegraph from Pemberton on May 9 requesting that he move against Grant's communication lines along the Mississippi River. Grant had established important supply depots at Milliken's Bend, Young's Point, and Lake Providence, all within Smith's jurisdiction, but Smith failed to recognize the importance of Pemberton's situation. It was not until June when Smith finally took action on Pemberton's request, directing Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor to "do something" in support of

1162-586: A year to remove it. Those efforts occupied Tyler intermittently for the ensuing 13 months. Her first action of the Vicksburg Campaign came in mid-July when she joined the ironclad USS  Carondelet and the USS ; Queen of the West in probing the Yazoo River above Vicksburg in search of the incomplete Confederate ironclad ram CSS Arkansas which had eluded capture at Memphis and sought refuge far up

1245-521: Is completely invested. My position is so strong that I feel myself abundantly able to leave it so and go out twenty or thirty miles with force enough to whip two such garrisons. Ulysses S. Grant, writing to George G. Pride, June 15, 1863 Pemberton was boxed in with plentiful munitions but little food. The poor diet was telling on the Confederate soldiers. By the end of June, half were sick or hospitalized. Scurvy , malaria , dysentery , diarrhea , and other diseases cut their ranks. Shoe leather became

1328-650: The Battles for Chattanooga in November and against Sherman's invasion of Georgia in May 1864. The Confederate government protested the validity of the paroles on technical grounds and the issue was referred to Grant who, in April 1864, was general in chief of the army. The dispute effectively ended all further prisoner exchanges for most of the remainder of the war except for hardship cases. Exchanges wouldn't resume until January of 1865. When

1411-674: The CSS Jackson . In November 1861, Tyler escorted troops transports for an assault on Belmont, Missouri . Along with USS  Lexington , Tyler bombarded Columbus until forced by a Confederate counterattack to cover the withdrawal of the Union troops. In February 1862, Tyler assisted in General Ulysses S. Grant 's advance up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers , helping in the capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson , securing western Kentucky for Federal forces. Between assaults on

1494-537: The Mississippi state capital, on May 14, 1863, forcing Pemberton to withdraw westward. Attempts to stop the Union advance at Champion Hill and Big Black River Bridge were unsuccessful. Pemberton knew that the corps under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman was preparing to flank him from the north, and so had no choice but to withdraw or be outflanked. Pemberton burned the bridges over the Big Black River and devastated

1577-645: The Western Gunboat Flotilla and sometimes as the Mississippi Flotilla . It received its final designation when it was transferred to the Union Navy at the beginning of October 1862. The squadron was created on May 16, 1861, and was controlled by the Union Army until September 30, 1862. John Rodgers was the first commander of the squadron and was responsible for the construction and organization of

1660-562: The public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . The entry can be found here . Western Flotilla The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War . It was initially created as a part of the Union Army , although it was commanded by naval officers, and was then known as

1743-554: The Big Black River and crossed on May 18. Johnston sent a note to his general, Pemberton, asking him to sacrifice the city and save his troops, something Pemberton would not do. Pemberton, a Northerner by birth, was probably influenced by his fear of public condemnation if he abandoned Vicksburg. Pemberton, trying to please Jefferson Davis, who insisted that Vicksburg and Port Hudson must be held, and to please Johnston, who thought both places worthless militarily, had been caught in

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1826-580: The Confederacy's ability to maintain its war effort. This action, combined with a siege that led to the surrender of the downriver Port Hudson to Major General Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9, yielded command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces, which held it for the rest of the conflict. The Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863 is sometimes considered, combined with General Robert E. Lee 's defeat at Gettysburg by Major General George Meade

1909-409: The Confederate lines on June 25, while an infantry attack made by troops from Logan's XVII Corps division followed the blast. The 45th Illinois Regiment (known as the "Lead Mine Regiment"), under Col. Jasper A. Maltby , charged into the 40-foot (12 m) diameter, 12-foot (3.7 m) deep crater with ease, but were stopped by recovering Confederate infantry. The Union soldiers became pinned down and

1992-468: The Confederate transport Albert Robb and burned another Southern ship, Dunbar . After Shiloh and the capture of Island No. 10 on the Mississippi, the North shifted the emphasis of its war in the west to conquering that mighty river in an effort to divide the Confederacy in two. Fort Pillow fell on 4 June and Memphis, Tennessee fell on 6 June. Vicksburg, Mississippi was the next obstacle, and it took more than

2075-527: The Confederates were being reinforced, and he requested a diversion on his right from McPherson's corps. Grant initially refused the request, telling McClernand to use his own reserve forces for assistance; Grant was mistakenly under the impression that McClernand had been lightly engaged and McPherson heavily, although the reverse was true. McClernand followed up with a message that was partially misleading, implying that he had captured two forts—"The Stars and Stripes are flying over them."—and that another push along

2158-463: The Confederates with help from gunboats, although at heavy cost; the defenders lost 652 to the Confederate 185. The loss at Milliken's Bend left the Confederates with no hope for relief other than from the cautious Johnston. We have our trenches pulled up so close to the enemy that we can throw hand grenades over into their forts. The enemy do not dare show their heads above the parapet at any time, so close and so watchful are our sharpshooters. The town

2241-652: The Department of the Missouri under Maj. Gen. Francis J. Herron on June 11. Herron's troops, remnants of the Army of the Frontier , were attached to McPherson's corps and took up position on the far south. Next came a three division detachment from XVI Corps led by Brig. Gen. Cadwallader C. Washburn on June 12, assembled from troops at the nearby posts of Corinth, Memphis, and LaGrange. The final significant group of reinforcements to join

2324-457: The Tennessee brought five corps to the siege: Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton 's Confederate Army of Mississippi inside the Vicksburg line consisted of four divisions, under Maj. Gens. : Grant wanted to overwhelm the Confederates before they could fully organize their defenses and ordered an assault against the Stockade Redan for May 19. Troops from Sherman's corps had a difficult time approaching

2407-463: The Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi , led by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton , into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi , leading to the successful siege and Confederate surrender. Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River; therefore, capturing it completed

2490-559: The Tennessee River in support of Grant's advance southward along the river's banks through western Tennessee. In the Battle of Shiloh , when Confederate forces under General Albert Sydney Johnston surprised Grant's troops in southwestern Tennessee near Pittsburg Landing and began pushing them back into the river, Tyler and Lexington brought their guns to bear when the Confederates attempted to protect their right flank by anchoring it on

2573-452: The Vicksburg garrison. Taylor commanded the District of Western Louisiana and developed a three-pronged campaign against Grant's three supply depots. All three of Taylor's assaults were defeated at the Battle of Milliken's Bend , the Battle of Young's Point , and the Battle of Lake Providence . In response to the growing Confederate activity in the area, Grant decided to dispatch troops from

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2656-477: The Vicksburg trenches across the river. The presence of Maj. Gen. John G. Walker's Confederate division on the Louisiana side was of particular concern; its presence could possibly aid any Confederate attempt to escape from Vicksburg. Therefore, Brig. Gen. Alfred W. Ellet 's Mississippi Marine Brigade and Joseph A. Mower 's brigade from Sherman's corps were ordered to the vicinity of Milliken's Bend. Mower and Ellet were to cooperate against Walker's division, which

2739-409: The Yazoo. The falling waters of the Yazoo forced Arkansas downriver; but, by then, she was virtually complete and ready for battle. On 15 July, the Union probe and the falling river brought Tyler and her colleagues into a collision with Arkansas . After a brisk exchange of cannonades, Carondelet was disabled. Only Tyler , abandoned by Queen of the West , remained to suffer the full onslaught of

2822-492: The air the confederate fortifications in our front were completely crowded with the enemy, who with an answering cry of defiance, poured into our ranks, one continuous fire of musketry, and the forts and batteries in our front and both sides, were pouring in to our line, an unceasing fire of shot and shell, with fearful results, as this storm of fire sent us, intermixed with the bursting shells and that devilish rebel yell, I could compare to nothing but one of Dante's pictures of Hell,

2905-467: The attack on Fort Donelson and then joined with Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of the Mississippi for a joint attack on Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River . Charles H. Davis relieved Foote and proceeded to take Fort Pillow on the Mississippi. The U. S. Ram Fleet , commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr. , accompanied the squadron during the First Battle of Memphis . After the capture of Memphis

2988-511: The campaign, around the Battle of Arkansas Post . He had received permission to relieve McClernand in January 1863 but waited for an unequivocal provocation; McClernand was relieved on June 18. Grant so carefully prepared his action that McClernand was left without recourse. McClernand's XIII Corps was turned over to Maj. Gen. Edward Ord , who had recovered from an October 1862 wound sustained at Hatchie's Bridge . In May 1864, McClernand would be given

3071-432: The captured 26th , 27th , 29th , and 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiments were exchanged in 1863 and 1864, many of the paroled soldiers failed to report for duty and remained at their homes. Those Louisianans who returned to active duty were never again used in combat. Surrender was formalized by an old oak tree, "made historical by the event". In his Personal Memoirs , Grant described the fate of this luckless tree: It

3154-414: The countryside as he retreated to the well-fortified city of Vicksburg. The Confederates evacuated Hayne's Bluff, which was subsequently occupied by Sherman's cavalry on May 19, and Union steamboats no longer had to run the guns of Vicksburg, now being able to dock by the dozens up the Yazoo River . Grant could now receive supplies more directly than by the previous route, which ran through Louisiana, over

3237-600: The day that Vicksburg surrendered, the gunboat brought her guns to bear on an attacking Confederate force near Helena, Arkansas . For the remainder of the war, she participated in the invasion of Arkansas, operating principally on the White River . Her last major combat with the Confederates came on 24 June 1864 far up the White River near Clarendon, Arkansas , when she engaged the Southern shore batteries which damaged and captured

3320-451: The defenders rolled artillery shells with short fuses into the pit with deadly results. Union engineers worked to set up a casemate in the crater in order to extricate the infantry, and soon the soldiers fell back to a new defensive line. From the crater left by the explosion, Union miners worked to dig a new mine to the south. On July 1, this mine was detonated but no infantry attack followed. Pioneers worked throughout July 2 and 3 to widen

3403-801: The defenses and at about 2 pm, Sherman's division under Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair tried again, but only a small number of men were able to advance even as far as the ditch below the redan. The assault collapsed in an exchange of rifle fire and hand grenades lobbing back and forth. The failed Union assaults of May 19 damaged troop morale, deflating the confidence the soldiers had felt after their string of victories across Mississippi. They were also costly, with 157 killed, 777 wounded, and eight missing, versus Confederate casualties of eight killed and 62 wounded. The Confederates, assumed to be demoralized, had regained their fighting edge. Grant planned another assault for May 22, but this time with greater care; his troops would first reconnoiter thoroughly and soften up

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3486-432: The defenses with artillery and naval gunfire. The lead units were supplied with ladders to ascend the fortification walls. Grant did not want a long siege, and this attack was to be by the entire army across a wide front. Despite their bloody repulse on May 19, Union troops were in high spirits, now well-fed with provisions they had foraged. On seeing Grant pass by, a soldier commented, " Hardtack ". Soon all Union troops in

3569-488: The division of Brig. Gen. Frederick Steele spent the morning attempting to get into position through a ravine of the Mint Spring Bayou. McPherson's corps was assigned to attack the center along Jackson Road. On their right flank, the brigade of Brig. Gen. Thomas E. G. Ransom advanced to within 100 yards of the Confederate line, but halted to avoid dangerous flanking fire from Green's Redan. On McPherson's left flank,

3652-455: The division of Brig. Gen. Peter J. Osterhaus was assigned the Square Fort. Carr's men achieved a small breakthrough at the 2nd Texas Lunette and requested reinforcements. By 11 am, it was clear that a breakthrough was not forthcoming and that the advances by Sherman and McPherson were failures. Just then, Grant received a message from McClernand, which stated that he was heavily engaged,

3735-494: The division of Maj. Gen. John A. Logan was assigned to assault the 3rd Louisiana Redan and the Great Redoubt. The brigade of Brig. Gen. John E. Smith made it as far as the slope of the redan, but huddled there, dodging grenades until dark, when they were recalled. Brig. Gen. John D. Stevenson 's brigade advanced in two columns against the redoubt, but their attack also failed when they found their ladders were too short to scale

3818-399: The ferocity of the Union fire, fewer than a dozen civilians are known to have been killed during the siege. One of Grant's actions during the siege was to settle a lingering rivalry. On May 30, General McClernand wrote a self-adulatory note to his troops, claiming much of the credit for the soon-to-be victory. Grant had been waiting six months for him to slip, ever since they clashed early in

3901-464: The fleet. Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote relieved Rodgers and encouraged the army commander in the west, Major General Henry W. Halleck , to authorize an expedition down the Tennessee River against Fort Henry . Operating in conjunction with Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the District of Cairo , Foote subdued Fort Henry before Grant's troops could take their positions. Foote led the squadron in

3984-499: The following table: Command temporarily passed to Alexander Pennock before Samuel P. Lee assumed command. Lee was in command until the squadron was discontinued on August 14, 1865. Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War . In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of

4067-584: The fortification. Brig. Gen. Isaac F. Quinby 's division advanced a few hundred yards, but halted for hours while its generals engaged in confused discussions. On the Union left, McClernand's corps moved along the Baldwin Ferry Road and astride the Southern Railroad of Mississippi. The division of Brig. Gen. Eugene A. Carr was assigned to capture the Railroad Redoubt and the 2nd Texas Lunette;

4150-497: The fortress city had fallen and, with the surrender of Port Hudson on July 9, the Mississippi River was firmly in Union hands and the Confederacy split in two. President Lincoln famously announced, "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea." Union casualties for the battle and siege of Vicksburg were 4,835; Confederate were 32,697, of whom 29,495 had surrendered. The full campaign, since March 29, claimed 10,142 Union and 9,091 Confederate killed and wounded. In addition to

4233-501: The gunboat Queen City . The beginning of 1865 found her still on the White River but by April she was at Memphis. The Tyler was pressed into rescue duty with a volunteer crew to assist in the steamboat Sultana disaster, north of Memphis on 27 April 1865, as her regular complement had recently been discharged. In June, Tyler moved to Mound City, Illinois where she remained until sold at auction there on 17 August 1865. [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from

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4316-609: The initial crater to be large enough for an infantry column of four to pass through for any future assault. However, events the following day negated the need for any further assaults. On July 3, Pemberton sent a note to Grant regarding the possibility of negotiations for peace. Grant, as he had done at Fort Donelson , first demanded unconditional surrender . He then reconsidered, not wanting to feed 30,000 Confederates in Union prison camps, and offered to parole all prisoners. Considering their destitute and starving state, he never expected them to fight again; he hoped they would carry home

4399-585: The line included: Fort Hill, on a high bluff north of the city; the Stockade Redan , dominating the approach to the city on Graveyard Road from the northeast; the 3rd Louisiana Redan; the Great Redoubt; the Railroad Redoubt , protecting the gap for the railroad line entering the city; the Square Fort (Fort Garrott); a salient along the Hall's Ferry Road; and the South Fort. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant 's Union Army of

4482-751: The line would achieve victory for the Union Army. In fact, more than a dozen members of the 22nd Iowa Infantry Regiment had secured a tenuous foothold in a portion of the fortification known as the Railroad Redoubt, and forced Confederate defenders back from that point, though the Iowans could not advance further. Although Grant once again demurred, he showed the dispatch to Sherman, who ordered his own corps to advance again. Grant, reconsidering, then ordered McPherson to send Quinby's division to aid McClernand. As our line of battle started and before our yell had died upon

4565-408: The meantime, Tyler saw action in two other operations. The first was to open Arkansas to invasion and the second was in support of the slow strangulation of Vicksburg. In mid-January, she joined other units of the squadron in escorting Army transports to Fort Hindman which guarded Arkansas Post on the invasion route to Little Rock . Federal forces carried that fort finally on 9 January 1863 after

4648-533: The men under his command, Pemberton turned over to Grant 172 cannons and 50,000 rifles. Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River; therefore, capturing it completed the second part of the Northern strategy, the Anaconda Plan . The successful ending of the Vicksburg campaign significantly degraded the ability of the Confederacy to maintain its war effort. This action, combined with

4731-522: The middle, a victim of a convoluted command system and his own indecisiveness. Too dispirited to think clearly, he chose to back his bedraggled army into Vicksburg rather than evacuate the city and head north where he might have escaped to campaign again. When he chose to take his army into Vicksburg, Pemberton sealed the fate of his troops and the city he had been determined to defend. As the Union forces approached Vicksburg, Pemberton could put only 18,000 troops in his lines. Grant had over 35,000, with more on

4814-503: The morning of May 22, the defenders were bombarded again for four hours before the Union attacked once more along a 3-mile (5 km) front at 10 am. Sherman attacked once again down the Graveyard Road, with 150 volunteers (nicknamed the forlorn hope detachment) leading the way with ladders and planks, followed by the divisions of Blair and Brig. Gen. James M. Tuttle , arranged in a long column of regiments. They hoped to achieve

4897-526: The order to charge against the 26th Louisiana Redoubt. They had no more success than any of Sherman's other assaults. In McPherson's sector, Logan's division made another thrust down the Jackson Road at about 2 pm, but met with heavy losses and the attack was called off. McClernand attacked again, reinforced by Quinby's division, but with no success. Union casualties for the day totalled 502 killed, 2,550 wounded, and 147 missing, about evenly divided across

4980-452: The plantations and captured over a hundred former slaves before disengaging in the face of Ellet's Marines. Confederate raids such as these were disruptive and caused damage, but they were only minor setbacks and demonstrated that the Confederates could cause only momentary disturbances in the area. Late in the siege, Union troops tunneled under the 3rd Louisiana Redan and packed the mine with 2,200 pounds of gunpowder. The explosion blew apart

5063-402: The position under rifle and artillery fire from the 36th Mississippi Infantry , Brig. Gen. Louis Hébert 's brigade. They had to negotiate a steep ravine protected by abatis and cross a 6-foot-deep (1.8 m), 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) ditch before attacking the 17-foot-high (5.2 m) walls of the redan. This first attempt was easily repulsed. Grant ordered an artillery bombardment to soften

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5146-442: The powerful Southern warship. Recognizing the futility in attacking her adversary unsupported, Tyler reluctantly retreated with Arkansas in pursuit. After a running fight all the way down the Yazoo, the two warships reached the Union fleet lying near the confluence of the two rivers. Tyler sought refuge among the fleet while Arkansas ran through it, delivering salvo after salvo into the aggregate of ships, and moored safely under

5229-555: The previous day, the war's turning point . It cut off the Trans-Mississippi Department (containing the states of Arkansas , Texas and part of Louisiana ) from the rest of the Confederate States, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two for the rest of the war. Lincoln called Vicksburg "the key to the war". After crossing the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg at Bruinsburg and driving northeast, Grant won battles at Port Gibson and Raymond and captured Jackson ,

5312-518: The protection of the Vicksburg shore batteries. During the first phase of the siege of Vicksburg , Tyler participated in the joint Army-Navy expedition up the Yazoo River to establish a landward advance on the Confederate stronghold. That expedition lasted from 7 December 1862 until 3 January 1863. Though the expedition showed no immediate fruits, the land campaign, in conjunction with the waterborne attacks, eventually brought Vicksburg to her knees. In

5395-433: The river bank. The two ships delivered a devastating enfilading fire that forced the Southern right flank to fall back. Grant's troops took advantage of the withdrawal to mount a general advance supported by naval ordnance. Thus, victory ensued where debacle seemed imminent. Grant said of this battle, "in this repulse much is due to the presence of the gunboats." On 19 April 1862, Tyler moved farther south where she captured

5478-472: The river crossing at Grand Gulf and Bruinsburg, then back up north. Over half of Pemberton's army had been lost in the two preceding battles and many in Vicksburg expected General Joseph E. Johnston , in command of the Confederate Department of the West , to relieve the city—which he never did. Large numbers of Union troops were on the march to invest the city. They repaired the bridges over

5561-414: The second part of the Northern strategy, the Anaconda Plan . When two major assaults against the Confederate fortifications, on May 19 and 22, were repulsed with heavy casualties, Grant decided to besiege the city beginning on May 25. After holding out for more than 40 days, with their supplies nearly gone, the garrison surrendered on July 4 . The Vicksburg campaign's successful ending significantly degraded

5644-570: The squadron during the disastrous Red River Campaign of 1864, and when the waters of the river dropped, the fleet was almost lost. The engineering abilities of Colonel Joseph Bailey , who supervised the construction of Bailey's Dam , helped save the fleet. During the Red River Campaign, the Mississippi Squadron was composed of 10 ironclads, 3 monitors, 11 tin-clads, 1 timber-clad, 1 ram and various support vessels, including vessels in

5727-525: The squadron was transferred to the control of the U.S. Navy. The transfer included the Ram Fleet, by then reconstituted as the Mississippi Marine Brigade . Davis aided Grant's unsuccessful first campaign against Vicksburg. Rear Admiral David D. Porter relieved Davis in command and led the squadron at Arkansas Post and during the successful Vicksburg Campaign and siege of the city. Porter led

5810-492: The states of Arkansas , Louisiana , and Texas from the rest of the Confederate States, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two for the duration of the war. The Union victory also permanently severed communication between the Trans-Mississippi Department and the balance of the Confederacy. Folk tradition holds that the Fourth of July (Independence Day) holiday was not celebrated by Vicksburg until World War II . This claim

5893-541: The stigma of defeat to the rest of the Confederacy. In any event, shipping that many prisoners north would have occupied his army and taken months. Pemberton officially surrendered his army on July 4. Most of the men who were paroled on July 6 were exchanged and received back into the Confederate Army on August 4, 1863, at Mobile Harbor, Alabama . They were back in Chattanooga, Tennessee , by September and some fought in

5976-413: The surrender of Port Hudson to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9, yielded command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces, who would hold it for the rest of the conflict. The Confederate surrender at 10:00 AM on July 4, 1863, is sometimes considered, when combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee 's July 3 defeat at Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George Meade , the turning point of the war . It cut off

6059-470: The three corps. Confederate casualties were not reported directly, but are estimated to have been under 500. Grant blamed McClernand's misleading dispatches for part of the poor results of the day, storing up another grievance against the political general who had caused him so many aggravations during the campaign. Shelby Foote wrote that Grant "did not regret having made the assaults; he only regretted that they had failed." Grant reluctantly settled into

6142-453: The two forts, Tyler joined USS  Conestoga and Lexington moving along the Tennessee River, destroying an important railroad bridge and capturing three Confederate gunboats, most notably the CSS Eastport which was converted into an ironclad for Union service. After participating in the two-day action which culminated in the surrender of Fort Donelson, Tyler resumed operations on

6225-405: The vicinity were yelling, "Hardtack! Hardtack!" The Union served hardtack, beans, and coffee the night of May 21. Everyone expected that Vicksburg would fall the next day. Union forces bombarded the city all night, from 220 artillery pieces and with naval gunfire from Rear Adm. David D. Porter 's fleet in the river. While causing little property damage, they damaged Confederate civilian morale. On

6308-467: The way. However, Pemberton had the advantage of terrain and fortifications that made his defense nearly impregnable. The defensive line around Vicksburg ran for approximately six and a half miles (10 km), based on terrain of varying elevations that included hills and knobs with steep slopes which would require an attacker to ascend them under fire. The perimeter included many gun pits, forts, trenches, redoubts , and lunettes . The major fortifications of

6391-435: The yellow clay hills of Vicksburg. Whether houses were structurally sound or not, it was deemed safer to occupy these dugouts. People did their best to make them comfortable, with rugs, furniture, and pictures. They tried to time their movements and foraging with the rhythm of the cannonade, sometimes unsuccessfully. Because of the citizens' burrowing, the Union soldiers gave the town the nickname of "Prairie Dog Village". Despite

6474-499: Was but a short time before the last vestige of its body, root and limb had disappeared, the fragments taken as trophies. Since then the same tree has furnished as many cords of wood, in the shape of trophies, as the 'True Cross'. The surrender was finalized on July 4, Independence Day , a day Pemberton had hoped would bring more sympathetic terms from the United States. Although the Vicksburg campaign continued with some minor actions,

6557-400: Was determined to hold his few miles of the Mississippi as long as possible, hoping for relief from Johnston or elsewhere. A new problem confronted the Confederates. The dead and wounded of Grant's army lay in the heat of Mississippi summer, the odor of the deceased men and horses fouling the air, the wounded crying for medical help and water. Grant first refused a request of truce, thinking it

6640-467: Was located near Island 82, Arkansas, on the Mississippi river and under direction of Capt. Picket. Tyler received surprise delivery of steamboat Lady Walton , originally commandeered by the Confederacy for food transport, but which now flew under a flag of truce. This reception was the result of several Arkansas citizens executing a long-meditated attempt to undermine the Confederacy. Tyler resumed her support for Army troops upriver invading Arkansas. On

6723-408: Was stationed in the vicinity of Richmond, Louisiana. Richmond was also an important supply line providing Vicksburg with food from Louisiana. On June 15, Ellet and Mower defeated Walker and destroyed Richmond . Ellet's men returned to De Soto Point and constructed an artillery battery targeting an iron foundry recasting spent Union artillery shells . Construction was begun on June 19, which placed

6806-493: Was the 8,000-man strong IX Corps from the Department of the Ohio, led by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke , arriving on June 14. With the arrival of Parke, Grant had 77,000 men around Vicksburg. In an effort to cut Grant's supply line, Confederates in Louisiana under Major General John G. Walker attacked Milliken's Bend up the Mississippi on June 7. This was largely defended by recently enlisted United States colored troops . They repulsed

6889-420: Was transferred to Grant's command. This corps became the nucleus of a special task force whose mission was to prevent Johnston, who was gathering his forces at Canton , from interfering with the siege. Sherman was given command of this task force and Brig. Gen. Frederick Steele replaced him at XV Corps. Johnston eventually began moving to relieve Pemberton and reached the Big Black River on July 1, but he delayed

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