USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Vicksburg’s strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a critical win for both the Union and the Confederacy. The Confederate surrender there ensured Union control of the Mississippi River and cleaved the South in two.

Detailed explanation-2: -The capture of New Orleans on April 29, 1862 gave Union forces under Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut and Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler control of the Confederacy’s largest port on the Mississippi River.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Union originally wanted to reunite the country, but after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the Union goal changed to include the abolition of slavery. The Confederacy had the same goal throughout the war: to incorporate all slave states and secede from the Union, survive, and defend its territory.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Confederacy lost a major city, and the lower Mississippi soon became a Union highway for 400 miles to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Detailed explanation-5: -The largest city in the South at the time of the war, New Orleans provided thousands of troops and supplies to the Confederate cause. The city’s location at the mouth of the Mississippi River made it a strategic port for both the Union and Confederate militaries.