About the Topic:
Vicksburg was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented Union forces from using the river for shipping between the Union controlled Midwest, New Orleans, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Union navy tried alone to take Vicksburg, which sat on a high bluff overlooking the river, but it failed. It took both Grant’s army and Admiral David Dixon Porter‘s navy to successfully invade Vicksburg, forcing the city to surrender.
Donald Miller tells the full story about the year-long campaign to win the city. In the course of the campaign, tens of thousands of slaves fled to the Union lines, where more than 20,000 became soldiers. Others seized the plantations where they had been forced to work, destroying the economy of a large part of Mississippi and creating a social revolution.
Grant’s success at Vicksburg -- which he himself called “the most important battle of the war” because it sealed the fate of the Confederacy -- solidified his reputation as the Union’s most capable general.
About the Speaker:
Donald L. Miller is the John Henry McCracken Professor of History Emeritus at Lafayette College and is the author of 10 books, which include not only Vicksburg; Grant's Campaign That Broke the Confederacy, but also Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, which is being made into a television series by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and others.
Mr. Miller has also hosted, co-produced, or served as historical consultant for more than 30 television documentaries, including the series, A Biography of America, on PBS. In addition, he has appeared on numerous PBS programs in the American Experience series, as well as on programs on the History Channel.
Other books Mr. Miller has authored include the prize-winning City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America; The Story of World War II in the Pacific; and D-Days in the Pacific. He has also written articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other publications.
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