Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1863-07-16
Vicksburg and Victory-Peace Cor
q;ered and the Union Restored.

and i'cmoerton IN nve pitcned battles, IN
siie Of twelve days. and then encircled the
city of vicksburg with his victorious bat
tallions. we felt assured. and so declared.
that he would not fail to strife the great
overwhelming blow still required to crown
his triumphant campaign with glory
brighter than all the rest. 1t might be
delayed by the unparalleled strength Of the
R,bel position. but we felt assured that he
would never cease moving against the
euemy's works" until he could thrill the
loyal States with the glorious ALTERATION
Of "yicksburg and Victory" He has
amply fulfilled the brilliant promise of
the opening battles of his campaign. To
the bright names which already illuminate
the flags of his noble army-to Fort
Donclson. and Shiloh. and Port Gibson.
and Raymond, and Champion Hills. and
Big Black Bridge. he now adds the crown
ing name Of Vicksourg, and as if to give
poetic finish to his work, he completes
his long laboIs for the capture of this
fercely contested city on the anniversary
Of our National Independence. Fit con-
summation. tina. this great victory. viii ch.
coinciient with Meade's has saved the life
of the Republic. should have been finally
accomplished on the day which gave the
nation BIRTH Grand concurrence Of
great and decisive e3ents! The day that
ushered in the glad tidings that Meade
had defeated and expelled the Rebel in
valers from the free North. also witnessed
the final reimbursement of the great
highway Of the noble Westl
Let us turn for moment to a brief re-
view of the campaign which has resulted
in such . priceless victory. General
Grants movements for this last attack on
vicksburg we've first developed on the
30th Of April. when he crossed the river
at point below New Carthage, and land
ed his forces on the Mississippi side at
Bruinsburg. Without losing an hour
he COMPOUNDED the enemy by marching on
Port Gibson, where he defeated them on
the first of May. Between that day and
the eleventh, he advanced to. and took
successfully Willow Springs. Rocky
Springs. Cayuga, AMI Chrystal Springs,
and thereby forced the evacuation oil
Grand Gulf. On the 18th, with General
McPherson-s he again defeated the enemy
1t Raym,n Still sweeping on he drove
Johnston ont of the capital Of Mississip-
pi on the IA h. Being then ont OF the
enemy's line of communications, he
paused no longer than was necessary to
destroy the railroad bridges at jackson
and Brandon. when he again advanced.
aid, on the l4lh, beat Pemberton at the
fierce and bloody battle of Chan pion
Hills. Still pushing his columns forward,
he brought Pemberton once more to bay
on the 18th, at the great bridge over the
Big Black River. and again overwhelmed
him with crushing defeat. By these skill
full movements and fast following and
sturdy blows, be defeated. divided and
demoralized the rebel armies. took all
their field artillery. and completely isola-
ted Vicksburg from all succors. On the
18th, having fanked the Haines' Bluff
batteries. be invested yicksburg. On the
20th..he made a gallant but UNSUCCESSFUL at
tempt to carry the formidable defenses o.
the city BY storm. and. desiring to leave
nothing undonc..he made another assault
on the 22'i. Since then, to avoid wasting
the lives of his own troops, he has KEEP
the city in a constant state of siege s,
close vnd so effective in every way tina:
il was forced to surrender on the 4th o
July.
The foregoing recital is chronicle o
military success without parallel in thu
history of our arms. 1t is an illustriou
record Of what is meant by war, "short
sharp aad decisive"
Now for the results. What has beer
accomplished? First the uncontrollet
possession Of the Mississippi River b. the
Union forces cuts the "Copfeieracy'
square in two. The territory west of tba
river is fully equal to all that remains IL
the Rebels on the east, as each section con
tains about three thousand square miles
They are thus by this one blow shorn o.
half their strength. Next, the navigation
Of the Mississippi has been set free. The
people of the loyal States in the protract
81 and bloody contests from Columbus
and New Orleans to yicksburg, have de-
monstrated to Davis and his "Conssder'
ases" that they will never tolerate hos
tile and foreign flag on their great high
way to the sea. That important question
is definitely settled. This point at vicks
burg is the last raileay terminus held By
the Rebels on the Mississippi. and il hal
passed away from their control forever
Thus. General Grant has decided the do
ninion Of the Mississippi Valley, AMI