"In Mississippi in the Civil War : the home front, Timothy B. Smith examines Mississippi's Civil War defeat by both outside and inside forces. The invading Union army dismantled the state's political system, infrastructure, economy, and fighting capability. The state saw extensive military operations, destruction, and bloodshed within her borders. One of the most frightful and extended sieges of the war ended in a crucial Confederate defeat at Vicksburg,...

"The capture of Vicksburg by the US Army was one of the most important military events of the American Civil War because it opened the Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in two. The siege operations in and of themselves have a lot to offer to our understanding of the campaign and the war: the extent of the operations, the complexity of the strategy and tactics, the grueling nature of the day-by-day participation, and the effect on all involved....