USA: Civil War: American Civil War, aka the War Between the States:

The siege of Vicksburg

Mike Calnan has joined the elect who keep WAIS going with their donations. Mike lives in V icksburg, Mississippi, a name which resonates in history. For WAISers unfamiliar with the historyof the American Civil War, here is what Wikipedia says: During the Civil War, Vicksburg was the site of the Battle of Vicksburg, an important battle in which the Union defeated the Confederacy and gained control of the entire Mississippi River. The battle, also known as the Siege of Vicksburg, consisted of a long siege brought about by the fact that the city is located on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and thus was largely impregnable to invaders.  Because of the city's location on the Mississippi River, its reputation in the nineteenth century often rested on the river's prodigious steamboat traffic. Between 1881 and 1896, the Anchor Line, a prominent steamboat company operating on the Mississippi River from 1859 to 1898, operated a steamboat called the City of Vicksburg, named for the city. On 12 March 1894, the popular soft drink Coca-Cola was bottled for the first time in Vicksburg by Joseph Biedenharn.

RH: The siege of Vicksburg  takes us to our Learning History project. There is ample evidence that the South views the Civil War differently from the North.  Can Mike tell us what the attitude of the people of Vicksburg is toward the most tragic event in their city's history?  I am surprised that Wikipedia does not even mention General Grant.  This is taken from an official account of the siege, which lasted from May 18 to July 4, 1863: In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. This was the culmination of one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. With the loss of Pemberton's army and this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Grant's successes in the West boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies.

RH: As we have seen in our exchanges about the sieges of Gerona and Zaragoza in Spain by Napoleon's forces, the besieged emerge as heroes in subsequent historical accounts.  Is this true of those besieged in Vicksburg? Does the whole South remember the siege of Vicksburg?  What do local textbooks say?

I must confess that I did not know that Vicksburg had the honor of introducing the world to Coca Cola. Now American imperialism is denounced as Cocacolonization- Is Vicksburg still the capital of this empire? Is Joe Biedenbarn a local hero?  We impatiently await Mike's answer to these questions.