Vicksburg voters opposed secession, but once the war began they supported the Confederacy, and more than 2500 local men joined the Southern ranks. The first attack on Vicksburg came in the spring of 1862, and the enemy was repulsed, with Col. James Autry declaring that Mississippians did not know the meaning of the word surrender. During that time the CSS Arkansas attacked and crippled the Union fleet and thwarted the efforts of a Union ironclad in a battle in front of the city, a stunning Confederate victory. In the winter of 1862, Union troops were badly defeated at Chickasaw Bayou north of town. Unable to take the city by storm, Northern troops laid siege for 47 days, from May 17 to July 4, 1863, and the Union victory is considered by many to be the turning point of the war. Few cities suffered or sacrificed more for the Southern cause than Vicksburg.
