Events Leading to the Battle of Arkansas Post
After the Union successes at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in 1862, Union leaders turned their attention to the Mississippi River. If the Federals could gain control of the Mississippi, they could deny the Confederacy easy access to supplies from the Gulf of Mexico and territories in the American West. Admiral David Farragut captured the port city of New Orleans on May 18, 1862, closing down Confederate access to the Gulf. In June, the Union tightened its grip on the Mississippi when Federal forces captured the river city of Memphis, Tennessee. Nonetheless, the South still controlled traffic on much of the river because of its strong fortifications at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Geography
Vicksburg sits on the eastern side of the Mississippi, south of the mouth of the Yazoo River. Once known as “The Gibraltar of the Confederacy” the city rests on a high bluff overlooking a horseshoe-shaped bend in the river. The bluff upon which the city sits made it nearly impossible to assault from the river. Farragut made two attempts to do so in May and June 1862, but both failed. To the north, nearly impenetrable swamps and bayous protected Vicksburg. To the east, a ring of forts mounting 172 guns shielded the city from an overland assault. The land on the Louisiana side of the river, opposite Vicksburg, was rough, etched with poor roads and many streams.
