Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federal Army of the Gulf surrounds Port Hudson, one of the last Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Banks then orders a assault against strong enemy defenses that proves futile.
Federal army and navy forces initiate a siege of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, and the Confederate army within the city soon finds itself trapped with no way of resupplying or reinforcing.
Men of the Federal Army of the Potomac return to their camps at Falmouth, Virginia, sullen but hopeful after the Chancellorsville defeat. Meanwhile, the generals direct their resentment toward their commander.
Ulysses S. Grant resolves to send his Federals against the Confederate defenses outside Vicksburg once more.
Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federal Army of the Gulf finally begins advancing on the Confederate stronghold of Port Hudson, Louisiana, after conducting a series of ancillary operations.
Robert E. Lee submits a request to President Jefferson Davis to reorganize his Confederate army before launching his second northern invasion.