The Decision Was Always My Own: Ulysses S. Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign, argues Timothy B. Smith, is the showcase of Ulysses S. Grant’s military genius. From October 1862 to July 1863, Grant tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate river city. His final, daring move allowed him to land an army in Mississippi and fight his way to the gates of Vicksburg. He captured the city and Confederate garrison on July 4, 1863, opening the Mississippi River for the Union.

This volume presents a fast-paced reexamination of Grant’s decision-making process during the Vicksburg maneuvers, battles, and siege. Smith details the course of campaigning on military, political, administrative, and personal levels.   The successful military campaign required Grant to handle President Lincoln’s impatience, as well as to deal with troublesome general John A. McClernand, all while juggling administrative work. In addition, Grant was more than a military genius—he was also a husband and a father, and Smith shows how Grant’s family played a role in every decision he made.

Grant’s nontraditional choices went against the accepted theories of war, supply, and operations, as well as against the chief thinkers of the day, such as Henry Halleck, Grant’s superior. Yet Grant pulled off the victory in compelling fashion. In the first in-depth examination in decades, Smith shows how Grant’s decisions created and won the Civil War’s most brilliant, complex, decisive, and lengthy campaign.

1126864038
The Decision Was Always My Own: Ulysses S. Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign, argues Timothy B. Smith, is the showcase of Ulysses S. Grant’s military genius. From October 1862 to July 1863, Grant tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate river city. His final, daring move allowed him to land an army in Mississippi and fight his way to the gates of Vicksburg. He captured the city and Confederate garrison on July 4, 1863, opening the Mississippi River for the Union.

This volume presents a fast-paced reexamination of Grant’s decision-making process during the Vicksburg maneuvers, battles, and siege. Smith details the course of campaigning on military, political, administrative, and personal levels.   The successful military campaign required Grant to handle President Lincoln’s impatience, as well as to deal with troublesome general John A. McClernand, all while juggling administrative work. In addition, Grant was more than a military genius—he was also a husband and a father, and Smith shows how Grant’s family played a role in every decision he made.

Grant’s nontraditional choices went against the accepted theories of war, supply, and operations, as well as against the chief thinkers of the day, such as Henry Halleck, Grant’s superior. Yet Grant pulled off the victory in compelling fashion. In the first in-depth examination in decades, Smith shows how Grant’s decisions created and won the Civil War’s most brilliant, complex, decisive, and lengthy campaign.

28.95 Pre Order
The Decision Was Always My Own: Ulysses S. Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign

The Decision Was Always My Own: Ulysses S. Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign

by Timothy B Smith
The Decision Was Always My Own: Ulysses S. Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign

The Decision Was Always My Own: Ulysses S. Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign

by Timothy B Smith

Paperback

$28.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on November 13, 2025

Related collections and offers


Overview

The Vicksburg Campaign, argues Timothy B. Smith, is the showcase of Ulysses S. Grant’s military genius. From October 1862 to July 1863, Grant tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate river city. His final, daring move allowed him to land an army in Mississippi and fight his way to the gates of Vicksburg. He captured the city and Confederate garrison on July 4, 1863, opening the Mississippi River for the Union.

This volume presents a fast-paced reexamination of Grant’s decision-making process during the Vicksburg maneuvers, battles, and siege. Smith details the course of campaigning on military, political, administrative, and personal levels.   The successful military campaign required Grant to handle President Lincoln’s impatience, as well as to deal with troublesome general John A. McClernand, all while juggling administrative work. In addition, Grant was more than a military genius—he was also a husband and a father, and Smith shows how Grant’s family played a role in every decision he made.

Grant’s nontraditional choices went against the accepted theories of war, supply, and operations, as well as against the chief thinkers of the day, such as Henry Halleck, Grant’s superior. Yet Grant pulled off the victory in compelling fashion. In the first in-depth examination in decades, Smith shows how Grant’s decisions created and won the Civil War’s most brilliant, complex, decisive, and lengthy campaign.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780809339877
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
Publication date: 11/13/2025
Series: World of Ulysses S. Grant
Pages: 274
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Timothy B. Smith teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He has published numerous books on the Civil War, including Grant Invades Tennessee: The 1862 Battles for Forts Henry and Donelson and Shiloh: Conquer or Perish.
 

Table of Contents

List of Maps ix

Preface xi

Prologue: The Military Education of Ulysses S. Grant 1

1 "I Go Forward with the Advance" 6

2 "To Command the Expedition down the River in Person" 32

3 "The Problem Is a Difficult One, but I Shall Certainly Solve It" 54

4 "I Thought That War Anyhow Was a Risk" 80

5 "You Can Do a Great Deal in Eight Days" 112

6 "To Carry Vicksburg by Assault" 149

7 "The Work of Reducing the Enemy by Regular Approaches" 166

8 "Vicksburg Has Surrendered" 190

Epilogue: "I Do Not Expect to Be Still" 205

Notes 211

Bibliographic Essay 237

Index 241

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews