Vicksburg

Pemberton as Commander of the Army of Vicksburg

Siege of Vicksburg; positions from June 23 – July 4, 1863

On October 10, 1862, Pemberton was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general,[2] 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.[10]
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.[9] John D. Winters described the men under Pemberton as "a beaten and
demoralized army, fresh from the defeat at Corinth, Mississippi."[10] Pemberton faced his former
Mexican War colleague, the aggressive Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and over
70,000 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.[11] Pemberton resolved to defend Vicksburg and led his defeated men back into its
defenses on May 18. In the process, he gave up the high ground on Hayne's Bluff which Sherman
had failed to take in December. Johnston had advised him that if this ground should ever fall,
Vicksburg would be untenable, and that he should escape with his army of 31,000, sacrificing the
city. Pemberton refused to take this advice.[12] He 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.)

Pemberton's statue in 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:[13]
...be allowed to march out of our lines, the officers taking with them their side-arms and clothing, and
the field, staff, and cavalry officers one horse each. The rank and file will be allowed all their clothing,
but no other property.[13]

Pemberton surrendered 2,166 officers and 27,230 men, 172 cannons, and almost 60,000 muskets
and rifles to Grant.[13] 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: [14]
I thought and still think that you did right to risk an army for the purpose of keeping command of
even a section of the Mississippi River. Had you succeeded none would have blamed; had you not
made the attempt, few if any would have defended your course. [14]

Pemberton in later life

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,[2] which he accepted, a testimonial of his loyalty to the
South and the Confederate cause.[15] 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,[2] 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.
[16]
 There is no record of his parole after his capture. [2]