Darn; Andy beat me to what I wanted to say. Nobody ever won a war without a strong economic base. The South never had it. They had to win a short war or lose it all. I believe that the war was on its course from the start. The South had to create a turning point if we were going to win. A Union victory at Gettysburg only kept the war on its original course.
Vicksburg is only half of that story. Vicksburg wasn't anything without Port Hudson. The supply corridor crossed the river between the two forts. The fall of either fort would render the other useless.
Chilidog
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