Vital supplies of food, clothing, medicine, European-made rifles, and soldiers arrived in Vicksburg from the south and west, then moved by rail to Confederate troops fighting in the east. By early 1863, Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana, were the last remaining Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Vicksburg’s high bluffs provided an excellent position for powerful Confederate cannon that kept Federal gunboats at bay. Union leaders understood that taking the city would give them control of the Mississippi, split the Confederacy, and cripple its supply line. In the mid-19th century, Vicksburg was also a prosperous port on the Mississippi River, and in 1863 its railroad depot marked the last cross-country connection not under Union control.
