John C . Pemberton John Clifford Pemberton ( August 10 , 1814 – July 13 , 1881 ) , was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican – American War . He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War , noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in the summer of 1863 . Early life and career . Pemberton was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania as the second child of John Pemberton ( 1783 - 1847 ) and Rebecca Clifford ( 1792 - 1869 ) . He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1833 , and graduated four years later , standing 27th out of 50 cadets . He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th U . S . Artillery Regiment on July 1 , 1837 . He participated with the 4th during the U . S . actions against the Seminole Indians , tribe of native Americans in 1837 and 1838 , fighting in Florida at the Battle of Locha - Hatchee on January 24 , 1838 . Pemberton and the 4th Artillery served in garrison duty at Fort Columbus , New York , in 1838 and into 1839 , and then at the Camp of Instruction located near Trenton , New Jersey , in 1839 . He then served along the northern U . S . frontier during the Canada Border Disturbances . Pemberton and the 4th were next stationed in Michigan , serving at Detroit in 1840 , at Fort Mackinac in 1840 and 1841 , and at Fort Bradyin in 1841 . He then served in Buffalo , New York , in 1841 to 1842 , and was promoted to first lieutenant on March 19 , 1842 . Pemberton and the 4th returned to garrison duty at Fort Monroe , Virginia in 1842 , then were stationed at the U . S . Army Cavalry School at Carlisle Barracks , Pennsylvania , in 1842 and 1843 , and returned to Fort Monroe from 1844 to 1845 . Mexican - American War . From 1845 to 1846 , Pemberton and the 4th Artillery were part of the U . S . Military Occupation of Texas , and then the 4th was sent to Mexico at the start of the Mexican - American War . He fought at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8 , 1846 , and at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma the next day . He then fought well at the Battle of Monterrey in that fall , and was appointed a brevet captain " for Gallant Conduct in the several Conflicts at [ Monterrey ] " on September 23 . Pemberton then fought in the Army ' s 1847 actions in Mexico , including the Siege of Vera Cruz in March , the Battle of Cerro Gordo in April , the skirmish near Amazoque in May , the capture of San Antonio and the Battle of Churubusco in August , and most notably in the Battle of Molino del Rey that September . Pemberton was appointed a brevet major for his performance at Molino del Rey on September 8 . He then was part of the storming of Chapultepec Castle on September 13 , and the Battle for Mexico City that day and the next , where Pemberton was wounded . Pemberton held the position of aide - de - camp to Brev . Brig . Gen . William J . Worth from August 4 , 1846 , to May 1 , 1849 . After Mexican - American War . After the war with Mexico ended , Pemberton and the 4th Artillery served in garrison duty at Fort Pickens near Pensacola , Florida , in 1849 . He then fought in Florida during hostilities against the Seminoles in 1849 and 1850 . The 4th returned to garrison duty at New Orleans Barracks in Louisiana in 1850 , and Pemberton was promoted to captain on September 16 . He next served in Fort Washington , Maryland , in 1851 and 1852 , at Fort Hamilton , New York , in 1852 to 1856 . He and the 4th fought again in Florida during hostilities against the Seminoles from 1856 to 1857 . Pemberton and the 4th was then on frontier duty at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , from 1857 to 1858 , and participated in the Utah War in 1858 . He was the stationed at Fort Kearny in the New Mexico Territory in 1859 , at Fort Ridgely in present - day Minnesota from 1859 to 1861 , and in garrison duty at the Washington Arsenal in Washington , D . C . , in 1861 . Civil War service . At the start of the American Civil War in 1861 , Pemberton chose to resign his commission in the Union and join the Confederate cause , despite his Northern birth and the fact that his two younger brothers both fought for the Union . He resigned his commission , effective April 29 . His decision was due to the influence of his Virginia - born wife and many years of service in the southern states before the war . He was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army on March 28 , and was made assistant adjutant general of the forces around and in the Southern capital of Richmond , Virginia , on April 29 . He was promoted to colonel on May 8 , and the next day was assigned to the Virginia Provisional Army Artillery , with the rank of lieutenant colonel . Pemberton was then appointed a major in the Confederate Army Artillery on June 15 and quickly promoted to brigadier general two days later . His first brigade command was in the Department of Norfolk , leading its 10th Brigade from June to November . Pemberton was promoted to major general on January 14 , 1862 , and given command the Confederate Department of South Carolina and Georgia , an assignment lasting from March 14 to August 29 , with his headquarters in Charleston . As a result of Pemberton ' s abrasive personality , his public statement that if he had to make the choice he would abandon the area rather than risk the loss of his outnumbered army , and the distrust of his Northern birth , the governors of both states in his Department petitioned Confederate President Jefferson Davis for his removal . Davis needed a commander for a new department in Mississippi and also a command for Gen . P . G . T . Beauregard , so he sent Pemberton west and assigned the more popular Beauregard to Charleston . Vicksburg . On October 10 , 1862 , Pemberton was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general , and assigned to defend the fortress city of Vicksburg , Mississippi , and the Mississippi River , known as the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana . Davis gave him the following instructions regarding his new assignment : " . . . consider the successful defense of those States as the first and chief object of your command . " Pemberton arrived at his new headquarters in Jackson , Mississippi , on October 14 . His forces consisted of fewer than 50 , 000 men under the command of Maj . Gens . Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price , with around 24 , 000 in the permanent garrisons at Vicksburg and Port Hudson , Louisiana . John D . Winters described the men under Pemberton as " a beaten and demoralized army , fresh from the defeat at Corinth , Mississippi . " Pemberton faced his former Mexican War colleague , the aggressive Union commander Maj . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant and over 100 , 000 Union soldiers in the Vicksburg Campaign . In an attempt to carry out his orders from both Davis and Gen . Joseph E . Johnston , Pemberton and his Army of Mississippi set out east to combine with Johnston ' s forces gathering around Jackson , while remaining in contact and covering Vicksburg . Another order from Johnston changing their proposed meeting location caused Pemberton to turn around , and when he did he accidentally collided with Grant ' s army at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16 and suffered a major defeat . Pemberton retreated to the Big Black River , where he fought and suffered even more heavy losses on May 17 . Pemberton resolved to defend Vicksburg and led his defeated men back into its defenses on May 18 . Although advised by Johnston to escape with his army , sacrificing the city , Pemberton held firm for over six weeks , while soldiers and civilians were starved into submission . ( Pemberton , well aware of his reputation as a Northerner by birth , was probably influenced by his fear of public condemnation as a traitor if he abandoned Vicksburg . ) On the evening of July 2 , 1863 , Pemberton asked in writing his four division commanders if they believed their men could " make the marches and undergo the fatigues necessary to accomplish a successful evacuation " after 45 days of siege . With four votes of no , the next day Pemberton asked the Federals for an armistice to allow time for the discussion of terms of surrender , and at 10 : 00 a . m . on July 4 he surrendered the city and his army to Grant . The written terms ( which in the first talks were simply unconditional surrender ) were negotiated so that the Confederate soldiers would be paroled and : Pemberton surrendered 2 , 166 officers and 27 , 230 men , 172 cannon , and almost 60 , 000 muskets and rifles to Grant . This , combined with the successful Siege of Port Hudson on July 9 , gave the Union complete control over the Mississippi River , resulting in a major strategic loss for the Confederacy , and cutting off Lt . Gen . Edmund Kirby Smith ' s command and the Trans - Mississippi Theater from the Confederacy for the rest of the war . After his surrender , Pemberton was exchanged as a prisoner on October 13 , 1863 , and he returned to Richmond . There he spent some eight months without an assignment . At first Gen . Braxton Bragg thought he could use Pemberton , but after conferring with his own ranking officers he advised Davis that taking on the discredited lieutenant general " would not be advisable . " Pemberton finally wrote Davis directly , asking he be returned to duty " in any capacity in which you think I may be useful . " Davis replied that his own personal confidence in him remained unshaken , saying : Pemberton resigned as a general officer on May 9 , 1864 , and Davis offered him a commission as a lieutenant colonel of artillery three days later , which he accepted , a testimonial of his loyalty to the South and the Confederate cause . He commanded the artillery of the defenses of Richmond until January 9 , 1865 . He was appointed inspector general of the artillery as of January 7 , and held this position until he was captured in Salisbury , North Carolina , on April 12 . Along with Pemberton and his 14 remaining guns , the Federals rounded up about 1 , 300 men and nearly 10 , 000 small arms . There is no record of his parole after his capture . Postbellum life . After the war , Pemberton lived on his farm near Warrenton , Virginia , from 1866 to 1876 , and then returned to Pennsylvania . He died in Lower Gwynedd Township , Montgomery County , Pennsylvania , five years later . He was interred in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia . Protests against his being buried at Laurel Hill were made by the families of several famous people , such as General George Meade and Admiral John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren ( whose brother also served as a Confederate General ) . It was decided that Pemberton would be interred elsewhere ; however , he ended up in an obscure area of the cemetery . Recently , a ground level plate was surreptitiously added noting he was a " Confederate General Staff Officer " . A statue depicting Pemberton was erected in the Vicksburg National Military Park . His nephew John Pemberton was also a Confederate soldier , and was later credited with inventing Coca - Cola .