siege, major, nineteenth century
Siege of Vicksburg
Siege of Vicksburg was a siege conducted on 18 May 1863 at Vicksburg, in what is now Mississippi, United States; it lasted 47 days. It was part of the American Civil War, which ran from 1861 to 1865. The recorded result: Union victory. Recorded strength: ~77,000 against ~33,000.
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Where it sits in the American Civil War
Record
| Date | 18 May 1863 to 4 July 1863 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States 32.344N, 90.851W | |
| Kind | Siege, nineteenth century | |
| Territorial change | Union forces capture Vicksburg and subsequently split Confederate territory in half. | |
| Strength | ~77,000 | ~33,000 |
| Casualties and losses | 4,835 total (766 killed; 3,793 wounded; 276 captured/missing) | 32,697 total (3,202 killed/wounded/missing; 29,495 surrendered); 172 cannons captured by United States |
| Commanders | ||
The ground today


The recorded site stands at about 87 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 15 to 135 m, 120 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 69% tree cover, 16% grassland, 13% built-up.
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.Nearest engagements
- Battle of Chickasaw Bayou 1862, 6.9 km N
- Battle of Big Black River Bridge 1863, 14 km E
- Battle of Snyder's Bluff 1863, 18 km N
- Battle of Milliken's Bend 1863, 26 km NW
- Battle of Champion Hill 1863, 30 km E
In the same war
- Before: Battle of Big Black River Bridge 17 May 1863
- After: Battle of Fort Gibson 1863
- All 527 engagements of American Civil War
Elsewhere in 1863
- Battle of Camarón Mexico
- Bombardment of Kagoshima Japan
- Bear River Massacre United States
- Second Battle of Fort Wagner United States
- Battle of Whitestone Hill United States
The National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program maps this as the Vicksburg battlefield (site MS011): a study area of 38,609 acres, with a core area of 17,606 acres where the fighting was concentrated; 7,171 acres retain enough integrity to be potentially eligible for the National Register.
Siege of Vicksburg is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (20 in Mississippi).
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1066253, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Vicksburg, revision 1384930909, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (public domain). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.