Vicksburg was basically the Saratoga of the Civil War, except if the British had won Saratoga. It secured the Union's control of the whole Mississippi, uniting the Midwest with New Orleans, while cutting the Confederacy in half.
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After July 4, 1863, once Grant had won at Vicksburg & Lee lost at Gettysburg, the war was effectively over in military & diplomatic terms. The South could not force a victory or obtain foreign help. Its only remaining option was for Lincoln to lose the 1864 election.
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Naturally, in order to pursue that course, the Democrats selected the South's greatest weapon: George McClellan.
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Lee was undoubtedly a brilliant general, more tactically clever than Grant. He understood the psychology of a rebel army. But Lee couldn't win on the road. Basically all of Grant's victories were on the road, many of them deep in enemy territory.
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Key elements of Lee's wins: know the terrain better than the opponent, have men fighting on their home ground, have better cavalry recon, choose the better ground. All went against him in Gettysburg.
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David McCullough on Washington Roebling, the man who built the Brooklyn Bridge, & his role at Gettysburg:pic.twitter.com/IrRvJlp64y
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Split the South in half
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Both overshadowed the Mass 54th on James Island.
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Grant’s bold move to barge the army past the Vicksburg guns may have been the single most important decision in the war.
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