Bradley Bodkins

Decisive Battles in Mississippi during the Civil War

The Civil War is a war that forever changed and shaped the United States. The war
changed the lives of every American and freed the millions of slaves in the south. It was a war
that was unlike any war that the United States had ever seen before. The war is so influential that
it still affects Americans almost one hundred and fifty years after the war ended. Mississippis
Civil War: A Narrative History by Ben Wynne is a book about how the war was fought and its
effects here in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi had many qualities that made it an important
state for the Confederacy and a valuable military target for the Union. Railroads, The Gulf Coast,
large plantations, and the Mississippi River all were reasons that made Mississippi an important
part of the Civil war. Wynne describes Mississippi during the Civil War and he also talks about
many battles that take place in Mississippi. Three of the most important battles are, the battle for
Corinth Mississippi, the battle for Vicksburg, and Finally the Meridian Campaign.
Corinth Mississippi was a very important city in the south leading up to and during the
Civil war. Wynne notes the cities importance because of its location in the northeastern part of
the state; it was very close to the Tennessee and Alabama state lines. This means that it was close
enough to that it was important not only to Mississippi but the Tennessee and Alabama as well.
Wynne also shows how the city was important to the entire Confederacy because of the two
major railroads that ran through the city. The Mobile and Ohio went through the city from north
to south, and the Memphis and Charleston went through the city from east to west. The railroads
were a necessity for both the Union and the Confederacy during the war. Railroads were the
quickest way to move troops and supplies. These factors made the city a major asset to the
Confederacy and a valuable target to capture for the Union.
The first battle involving the city was actually a battle not fought in Mississippi, which
was the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. Wynne says that this battle was fought to stop the Unions

advance in the western part of the Confederacy. The leadership of the Confederacy could see that
Grant and Buell were moving south to Mississippi. The Battle of Shiloh happened from April 6th
to April 7th it was fought in Tennessee near Pittsburg Landing. Wynne says that it was a
Confederate success but it was a hard won Confederate success. The Confederate army then
retreated to the city of Corinth. While the battle was successful in slowing down the Union
forces, if only for a month, the Union was soon approaching the City of Corinth. This time the
Confederate general Beauregard called for the city to be abandoned. This order resulted in a four
day evacuation using the railroad system. Wynne says that the Confederates pulled off this
evacuation by pretending that the railroad cars were in fact bringing more troops instead of
moving troops out. The City of Corinth was now in Union hands and the Confederacy had lost a
major asset to their military. A later attempt to take back the city resulted in further failure for the
Confederacy. The fall of the city of Corinth Mississippi the author noted destabilized the western
confederacy, which is why the battles surrounding the fall of Corinth is one of the most
important series of battles in the Civil War.
The next battle important Battle to mention is the Battle for Vicksburg. Vicksburg
Mississippi is important to the Confederacy because of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi
River was important because whoever controlled the river had the ability to move troops and
supplies with the water. Vicksburg was an important city in the protection of the Mississippi river
because of the high bluffs that the city sits on and it is located on a major bend in the river. These
factors made the city almost impossible to take directly from the western side of the city. Wynne
states that there were many plans to try and avoid the problem for the Union that was Vicksburg
Mississippi. One of the plans that the author mentions was a plan made up by Grant to dig a mile
long cannel an divert a part of the river, thereby avoiding the city entirely. It seemed clear that to
complete the Anaconda Plan and eventually win the war Vicksburg needed to be captured.

What Wynne says that Grant ended up doing is moving troops across the river south of
Vicksburg and then attacking from the south west. He at the same time he distracted and divided
the Confederate army by having Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson lead his cavalry unit through
the state. Wynne says that this worked as planned because the Confederate General Pemberton
sent Confederate troop after the raiders but they never were actually able to catch up to Grierson
and the raid was successful. With all of this done Grant crossed the river, marched to Jackson to
insure no reinforcement would come to aid Vicksburg when he finally attacked. Grant eventually
surrounded the city and with the help of the Navy formed a blockade around the city. Grant
would lay siege to the city for more than one month with Vicksburg finally officially
surrendering on July 4th 1863. The loss of Vicksburg meant that the Confederacy no longer had
control of the Mississippi river, this is what many believe was the turning point of the war.
Wynne even calls the chapter about the events surrounding Vicksburg The Turning Point, 1863.
This shows how important the fall of Vicksburg was to the outcome of the war.
The last major campaign to talk about is Shermans march to Meridian. This was a
campaign Wynne says that was planned after Vicksburg by General William Tecumseh Sherman.
The plan was to sweep across the state and eliminate the last of the Confederate resistance in
Mississippi. Wynne says that Grant gave his blessing to Sherman for his plan to remove the
confederate resistance. This is an important campaign because it meant that Mississippi was
almost completely under federal control. Wynne says that the Meridian campaign was a
rehearsal for General Shermans famous total war and March to the Sea.
The campaign started out of Vicksburg on February 3. The Meridian Campaign was very
similar to Shermans later total war work. Wynne quotes one Union solder saying that all that
was left in Shermans path after he crossed was fire and famine. Shermans Meridian campaign
left many Mississippians very mad and they would stay mad for long after the war was over.

The Meridian campaign meant that Mississippi would be in Union control until after the war was
over. This shows that the Meridian Campaign was an important event in the history of the Civil
War.
I think that Ben Wynnes book is one of the best books I have ever read on the Civil war.
It may just be because I can relate to the places and events because they are so close to where I
live and where I grew up. Also I enjoy the way that he words the book it is a very comfortable
read. He writes in a way that conveys the information that in also entertaining. Some history
books just list the information and it is a very dry reading experience. But this book makes me
feel that I am just reading the script from a really good documentary. This is one of the best
school books that I have read, it really showed me a more intricate view of the Civil War in
Mississippi. Most of what I have been taught about Mississippi and the Civil War was Vicksburg
and the fact that Jefferson Davis was from Mississippi. Wynnes book was very intriguing and
showed me the importance of Mississippi during the Civil War.