Michael Ballard provides a concise yet thorough study of the 1863 battle that cut off a crucial river port and rail depot for the South and split the Confederate nation, providing a turning point in the Civil War. The Union victory at Vicksburg was hailed with as much celebration in the North as the Gettysburg victory and Ballard makes a convincing case that it was equally important to the ultimate resolution of the conflict.

Michael B. Ballard is university archivist and coordinator of the Congressional and Political Research Center at Mississippi State University. He is author of ten books, including Pemberton: A Biography and A Long Shadow: Jefferson Davis and the Final Days of the Confederacy.