As the Civil War began, the Union Navy used a to cut off supplies to the Confederacy.

When the massive Union invasion of Virginia in 1862 threatened Richmond itself, the Confederate West slipped further from their reach. The Western theater was always a concern for Confederate President Jefferson Davis, but it never rose in priority above the east. Grant could concentrate his force where and when he chose including launching the decisive final phase of the offensive from Confederate territory itself. Pemberton was forced to defend everywhere while Union Major General Ulysses S. The Union’s ability to land troops where Confederate forces were not, maintained the Union initiative and forced Confederates to constantly shift their defensive schemes, eventually revealing weaknesses. The Vicksburg Campaign presages modern amphibious operations in an environment with pervasive coastal defenses aimed at limiting naval access, featuring smaller amphibious raids and maneuvers that contribute to a larger campaign, guerrilla and conventional forces working in concert, and frequent use of deception and feints. Although not an amphibious operation as traditionally defined, the Vicksburg Campaign does demonstrate the use of a waterway as maneuver space against an attempt to deny access, in this case to the lower Mississippi River watershed, and the ability of force projection from a waterway to reduce land-based defensive works. The campaign also demonstrated just how outmatched the Confederates were at no point in the war would the Confederate armies mount anything matching the complexity of the Union campaign. The victory at Vicksburg, however, was the most successful Union offensive of the war up to that time and the culmination of the Anaconda Plan, severing the Confederacy in two and eliminating the ability of Confederate states west of the Mississippi River to assist their eastern brethren. Lee’s invasion of the North, an attempt to influence the impending elections. Although the twin blows against the Confederates landed on the same day, 3 July 1863, the victory at Gettysburg was one of defense.

The Vicksburg Campaign of 1863 has long been overshadowed by the Union victory at Gettysburg.

As the Civil War began, the Union Navy used a to cut off supplies to the Confederacy.