The attack on Vicksburg is actually an adventure of Grant, and the reason why it is said to be an adventure is because Grant's march is a lone army, and the logistics support is simply insufficient.

The reason why General Grant dared to take such a risk was because he saw that the strength of the Union Army was not good, and he came by surprise, and the Union Army was really hit.

If Grant was still worried, all his worries disappeared after he took Jackson City, the capital of Mississippi, and received a large amount of supplies, and when he took the train station in Vicksburg and completely blocked Vicksburg's contact with the outside world, he thought that he had won the war.

His judgment was actually correct, because Grant's Tennessee Legion now had 75,000 men, and the supplies he received in Jackson City were enough for his entire legion to last a year and a half.

In comparison, Vicksburg now has only 45,000 men, and they are running out of ammunition and food, trapped in a lonely city, and as for the reinforcements of the Confederate States, they will not come at all, and even if they can come, they will be small forces, and they will not pose a threat to Grant's army.

As a result, Grant has developed an absolute advantage in Vicksburg, and this advantage is no longer something that can be compensated for by whimsy.

What's more, Grant also has a naval fleet, which is not much at sea, but in the Mississippi River, it can play a very important role, at the very least, it can be used as a fixed battery to bombard Vicksburg.

In fact, the attack on Vicksburg was mainly carried out by the water fleet at present, and thanks to the naval guns of that fleet, it was possible to bombard the outlying strongholds of Vicksburg so quickly, so that Grant's troops could pull out the nails of these periphery. The total siege of Vicksburg made Vicksburg a truly isolated city.

It can be said that without the help of the Navy, Grant would not have been able to achieve his tactical goals so quickly, and he would not have dared to take this risk.

Generally speaking, most ordinary people have seen Grant leading the army into the army, thinking that he is taking risks, but they do not know that Grant has always been closely connected with the navy of the United States.

Even before Grant decided to launch the Battle of Vicksburg, he had communicated with the United States Navy and had received help from the United States fleet on the Mississippi River. Therefore, before the start of the war, the fleet of the United States had already taken control of the area, and the navy of the Union Army had also captured New Orleans, the mouth of the Mississippi River, so to speak, the upper and lower reaches of Vicksburg.

It was precisely because of the control of the upper and lower reaches of Vicksburg that Vicksburg could not get supplies through the Guò Mississippi River, so he could only get supplies from Jackson City in the rear, and Grant planned to take Jackson City first and then fight Vicksburg from the beginning.

Therefore, it is the Union Army itself that has made a mistake. Grant was given an opportunity if the Confederates listened to Joseph. Johns's words, abandoning Vicksburg early, returning to the army to stick to the strategic position is not outstanding. But Jackson City, with a larger population and smoother supplies, may not be so easy for Grant to achieve his strategic goals.

However, Pemberton's short-sightedness. This allowed Grant's campaign objectives to be achieved, allowing Grant to break through them one by one, and finally besiege Vicksburg.

Right now. The adventure has been successful, Jackson City has been taken, the Federation army has been well supplied, the upstream and downstream have been blocked by the Union fleet, Vicksburg has been besieged, and Grant can be said to sit back and relax, waiting for the time to reap the fruits of victory.

It should be said that Grant calculated very clearly and did quite well, but unfortunately he only calculated the strength and reaction of the alliance countries, but did not count the combat power outside the alliance countries, and the result was that when he was about to pick peaches, there was a deviation.

At seven o'clock in the morning on June 11, 1863, the sky was cloudless, the temperature was 26 degrees, and there was a light wind, which was quite good weather.

At this time, Grant, the commander-in-chief of the Tennessee Army of the Union Army, was wearing a crisp military uniform with a napkin around his neck, eating breakfast while chatting with Sherman, who was also eating next to him.

Sherman is Grant's descendant, if it was usual, Grant would not have the time to have breakfast with him, but now, he feels that the overall situation has been decided, so he asked him to come over all day long to staff on military intelligence, in fact, it is just chatting.

You can't blame Grant, it's really the current situation, and Grant really can't think of any other possibility of failure.

You must know that there are only 45,000 defenders in the city of Vicksburg, plus more than 30,000 ordinary people, and the entire city has been completely surrounded by Grant's 75,000 people, and it is impossible to transport in the slightest supply.

Arms are enough, but food is consumables, and with the current situation in Vicksburg, it is estimated that it can survive for a month or two at most.

However, Grant felt that it was not enough, and he also divided his 248 guns into waves, and shelled Vicksburg day and night.

Grant ordered that the artillery be fired for twenty-one hours a day, except for the three hours when he was eating, so that the defenders would not be at peace.

And now it's seven o'clock, it's the time for breakfast, and it's also the peaceful time to stop the shelling, that's why Grant and Sherman are chatting and eating here so leisurely.

Of course, the consumption of shells from this kind of shelling is also staggering, so Grant has to inquire about the supply reserves every day, fortunately, Grant has obtained a large amount of supplies from Jackson City, and second, he can use the water transportation system of the Mississippi River to obtain supplies from upstream, so Grant's army has always been quite adequate in terms of supplies.

"Your Excellency, Commander." Sherman, who had just finished eating the potato beef stew, wiped his mouth and said to Grant, who was still eating slowly, "That's the case, that Pemberton sent me a message here again last night, saying that he wants us to open the net and let the ordinary citizens of Vicksburg leave, what do you think about this?" ”

"What else can you see?" Grant smiled, picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, "I'm still the same sentence, only accept unconditional surrender." If Pemberton really had mercy on the ordinary citizens, he hurried to surrender, or else, it would be hypocrisy. ”

"I think so too." Sherman smiled, "The citizens one by one. But it's just a mouth, every more person, there is more food consumption, and every extra food consumed, the faster their food will be in short supply, such an obvious truth, who would not understand. ”

"Hmm." Granette nodded, not saying anything more.

"But then again, Grant." Sherman added, "Since it's mainly to consume their food. Why do we still fire guns every day? This day is firing artillery, the shell consumption is not a small amount, and this will also make them die, the more dead, the less food consumption, is it necessary? ”

"Of course it's necessary." Grant said, "They still have strong fortifications, and how many people can be killed with this kind of cannon fire?" The reason why I ordered non-stop shelling. The main thing is to torture their spirits, lower their morale, and keep them in tension every day. When this person is nervous, he is prone to hunger. I just want to eat, and I eat more than usual, so this is also a disguise to make them eat more. Consume more food. ”

Hearing this, Sherman grinned: "Haha, I see. This method is good, and I will learn it in the future...... Well, don't say it, it was annoying to hear these cannon sounds at first, but now, ah, non-stop all day, it's uncomfortable, and sure enough, this kind of cannon sound is the most enjoyable to listen to, by the way, how long will it take to fire? ”

"What's the hurry, you have to let the artillery boys eat and drink enough." Grant laughed.

"Hehe, that's what I said." Sherman nodded, "By the way, do you think they're going to surrender at some point, and they can't keep dragging it out, right?" I'm still thinking about when I'll be able to go to the Eastern Battlefield and talk to that Robert. Li Yi competed. ”

"Don't be in a hurry." Grant said lightly, "Another month or two will be enough, and at most in August, I think they won't be able to hold on." Of course, if you are optimistic, at the end of June, it is estimated that it will be about the same. ”

Just as Sherman was about to continue speaking, suddenly a burst of explosions came from the south, although these explosions were not loud, but they were quite dull, completely different from the sound of his own artillery fire, and when he heard it, he knew that it had happened quite far away from him.

"What's the situation?" As soon as he heard these cannon shots, Sherman stood up and subconsciously looked at Grant.

"I don't know." Grant shook his head, "Just go out and have a look"

Immediately afterward, Grant and Sherman walked out of the tent, and the two walked to a high ground, where they each looked south with a telescope.

Soon, they noticed a faint black smoke coming from the direction of the Mississippi River to the south, and it seemed that the explosion was coming from the south side of the lower Mississippi River, but it was not clear where it was because it was too far away.

"That place, it seems to be New Orleans?" Sherman asked uncertainly.

"It should be." Grant continued to hold the binoculars, and as he looked, he replied, "That's right, the smoke column in that direction is in the direction of New Orleans." With so many columns of smoke and such a big movement, I'm afraid something is wrong. ”

The straight-line distance between New Orleans and Vicksburg is about 300 kilometers, and if you look directly at Vicksburg with the naked eye, you will definitely not be able to see the situation in New Orleans, but if there is a column of smoke in the direction of New Orleans, and with the help of a telescope, you can still roughly know where the accident is.

Of course, the main thing is that there are still very few cities in the United States, or the Union States in this era, and New Orleans is the largest city on this line. And the only city that can raise such a large column of smoke and make a rumbling explosion is the city of New Orleans.

Another reason is that New Orleans is a very important strategic location, because it is the mouth of the Mississippi River, so when something happens, it is the first thing that comes to mind.

Just when Grant observed for a while, put down the binoculars, and was just about to find someone to find out what was wrong, suddenly a herald hurried over, and then saluted Grant, and then handed over a note with both hands: "Report to the general, the telegram I just received is from the direction of New Orleans." ”

Hearing this, Grant frowned slightly and took the telegram gently.

The telegraph here, of course, is a wired telegraph, and it is not a wired telephone that can talk directly, but a telegram that can only transmit a simple telex signal, and must be translated in Morse code.

The telegraph served the war effort and developed rapidly only after the Crimean War, and the United States was actually ahead of the curve in the application of this new technology.

During the Civil War, the Confederates were countless, but for the United States of the North, which had deep pockets and a strong focus on new technologies, the army went almost anywhere. The telegraph line was pulled wherever it went, so that the intelligence of the front line was transmitted to the White House in time.

Not to mention the Eastern Front, even if it is the Western Front, Grant will pull the telegraph wherever he goes, so Grant is also quite enthusiastic about the application of telegraph technology.

When the fleet of the United States raided New Orleans from the sea and captured the city, a ship sailed up the Mississippi River with a cable to Vicksburg. Connect the telegraph line between Vicksburg and New Orleans so that Grant can know New Orleans information in a timely manner while in Vicksburg.

Grant originally did this to guard against the naval raids of the Confederate States and the naval raids of the British, but now, this line has finally worked, and the information from the front has been transmitted in time.

When I opened the telegram, there was only a simple sentence composed of a few simple words: "Chinese, about 20,000 people." Raid on New Orleans, can't hold it, can't escape, we've decided to surrender. Watch out! -- John. Richard. Charles! ”

Seeing this, Grant immediately frowned, and his face was clouded.

Since the telegrams of this period were all in Morse cipher, they were translated into English when they were made. Most of them are concise and concise, although not as simple as Chinese, but they are indeed simpler than ordinary speaking.

So the meaning of this sentence is not difficult to understand. That is, the Chinese raided the city of New Orleans, they have at least 20,000 people, we can't hold it, we can't escape, we have decided to surrender, you guys take care of yourselves, be careful.

As for the last John. Richard. Charles is the name of the commander of the United States Fleet, and is also the supreme commander of New Orleans, which means that this is a telegram sent by the supreme commander of New Orleans, which has authority.

In this era, there is no code to decipher, most of them are sent in plain code, so in order to appear authoritative, there is generally a signature in the end, and the higher the position of the signature, the more reliable the authenticity of the telegram generally means. Therefore, from another point of view, the last signatory is actually equivalent to the guarantor, guaranteeing the authenticity of the telegram.

Since it was signed by the Supreme Commander, there was no doubt about the authenticity of the telegram, and the black smoke and the continuous dull sound of explosions in that place confirmed the message on the telegram.

"Hey, Ulysses!" Sherman suddenly said, "What happened?" My hunch tells me that this telegram must have something to do with that place, right? ”

Ulysses is Grant's name because Grant's full name is Ulysses. Simpson. Grant, where Grant is his last name.

In Western etiquette, the surname is only called on formal occasions, such as Mr. So-and-so, General So-and-so, etc., this so-and-so is his surname, but if it is a relative or friend, it is generally called directly by his name in private. For example, General Grant, which was his official name, but in private, his close friends would usually call him by his first name, Ulysses.

"See for yourself, William." Grant handed the telegram directly to Sherman, "The Chinese are coming!" ”

Similarly, William is Sherman's name, because Sherman's full name is William. Tekusai. Sherman. In fact, in real history, contemporaries generally called him William, but on official occasions they called him Mr. Sherman or General Sherman, and over time, because he was too famous, newspapers, magazines and historical records called him General Sherman, so Sherman was famous.

Hearing Grant say this, Sherman took the telegram and looked at it, and immediately raised his eyebrows, and said viciously: "Hmph, it's really Chinese?" I didn't expect them to come! Damn the yellow-skinned monkeys, they all deserve hell! ”

The yellow-skinned monkey in Sherman's mouth is a contempt for the Chinese, which is a scorn for his personal invention, not a contempt for the Chinese in the world.

In this era, although it was already a fairly developed Age of Discovery, after all, limited by means of communication and transportation, the exchanges between countries were not as close as in later generations, and the cost of traveling around the countries was quite high, so most people did not leave their own small places in their lives.

Therefore, although Americans also have a lot of contempt for people in other countries, they are all very inconsistent, and almost one place and one term, or even one person, have not yet formed a complete pronoun and slander.

In the past, China has long been regarded as a backward and barbaric place by Westerners. However, in recent years, with the rise of Made in China and some Chinese people have begun to go global, China is no longer synonymous with barbarism, ignorance and backwardness, but has become synonymous with luxury and mystery.

In addition, China has become a great power, so although the Chinese still have a very low status in the eyes of Westerners, they are already a little higher than the colonists, at most the Chinese are backward and mysterious, but they will not say that they are ignorant and maintain a minimum of respect.

Of course, most of those images of Chinese are the images imagined by Westerners themselves. Or what those Chinese who go abroad deliberately express is still far from the actual Chinese.

After all, strictly speaking, although the Chinese Empire is called a great power, because of the time relationship, the overall literacy rate of the Chinese is still terrible, and there are many outrageous old bad habits, but it is only covered up by the continuous war victories and the light of exquisite Chinese goods, in essence, it is still a backward empire, but foreigners do not understand it.

So. These slanderous accusations were just Sherman's personal feelings, and even Grant himself felt embarrassed when he heard it.

After all, China is already a great power recognized by the United States, and relations between China and the United States have been quite harmonious in the past.

And the current top-down mainstream argument in the United States also believes. The reason why China entered the war was the trouble caused by those damned racists in Western California, and it hurt the self-esteem of the Chinese, in that case. If you change to any other great power, you will be annoyed and angry. For this reason, the United States Government has recently been using its good offices to do so. I hope that this matter will be resolved peacefully, so I am reluctant to speak ill of the Chinese.

In other words, although since the 926 incident, China has declared war on the United States of America and also conquered California, but the United States has not reacted violently, and China has not made it too difficult for American businessmen in China, the United States has always thought that the Chinese only declared war for the sake of face, and a peaceful solution is still very promising, and the Americans are more concerned about the British who will follow the declaration of war later.

"Alright, William, if swearing works, you don't need soldiers." Grant stopped Sherman from continuing to curse, "What I am concerned about is that the sudden appearance of 20,000 British and Chinese may affect our attack." ”

"Impact? Hum. Sherman said dismissively, "It's only 20,000 people, how much impact can it have?" Even if they do, I promise they won't be able to come back! ”

"You can't underestimate the enemy." Grant shook his head, "Although we only have 6,000 defenders left in New Orleans, which is not a lot of troops, we are still very strong with coastal batteries. The fact that the Chinese were able to make General Charles surrender so quickly and sent us this telegram shows that the strength of the Chinese is so strong that General Charles cannot resist. ”

"Let me see that Charles is just a timid and incompetent man." Sherman said, "No matter what the reason, failure is failure!"

Moreover, even if he takes New Orleans with 20,000 men, what effect will it do to us? Do they dare to go deep into us alone and fight us? Unless they're all stupid! We're 75,000 people, afraid of them?

Tell me, Ulysses, you don't have to worry, we are still far from New Orleans, even if their fleet is strong enough, if they dare to come here, with the narrow aisles here, plus our artillery and fleet, it is guaranteed that they will not be able to leave! ”

"Anyway, we're going to have to prepare." Although Grant felt that what Sherman said was good and that he should not be worried, he always felt that something was wrong in his heart.

"Adjutant General!" Grant suddenly shouted loudly.

With Grant's shout, a young officer suddenly stood behind him, seeing that the rank was a major, who was Grant's adjutant chief.

In this era, the adjutant of a senior general in the army was a formal position, different from the orderly, and was not responsible for the personal life of the officer, but only for matters related to the army, a bit like a secretary general or a herald.

In other words, the adjutant general of the U.S. Army is generally only responsible for conveying the commander's orders, or passing on the following orders, playing a role of uploading and disseminating.

To put it simply, the adjutant of the US Army during this period was more like a staff officer, and the adjutant general was actually the chief of staff, but he was not as powerful as the chief of staff of later generations, and it was not so formal.

For example, the famous Robert. General Lee, who served as General Scott's adjutant during the Mexican-American War, was a position that Scott promoted alone. When Li was the adjutant general, he could even lead the army alone in place of the commander, which shows the importance of the adjutant general, and it is a typical position of low rank and position.

When the major's adjutant arrived, he immediately saluted, and then said loudly: "Commander, Adjutant Major Smith is at your command. ”

"Adjutant General, record the order!" Grant said lightly.

As soon as he heard Grant say this, the major adjutant quickly took out a pencil and a small notebook, looking ready to record, which is also a characteristic of this era, that is, once there is any official order, if it is an important order dictated by the commander, the adjutant must record it in writing, which can be regarded as a certificate.

"Command Joey. Kars. Admiral Wood, so that his fleet did not have to participate in the bombardment of Vicksburg, immediately went to New Orleans to see what was going on. Remember, let his fleet only check the situation from a distance, retreat if anything goes wrong, don't fall in love, and come back as soon as there is any news. ”

Upon hearing this, Major Smith immediately began to rustle, and in a few moments he was done, and then saluted to indicate that the record was complete, and waited for new instructions.

"That's it, let's go down and inform first, you go and inform in person." Grande nodded.

Hearing Grant say this, the major saluted again and immediately ran away.

The position of adjutant is actually a part-time herald, and once the commander has an order, these adjutants are responsible for conveying the order. And because the adjutant general has a relatively large position, he usually does not need to go down directly to convey orders, but only needs to find a herald to convey them.

Well, now Grant's request for this Adjutant Smith to convey it personally illustrates the importance of this order.

Sure enough, after the adjutant left, Grant said to Sherman next to him: "Just in case, William, your troops should not participate in offensive operations, so they will be transferred to the south to garrison, so that they can rest and act cautiously!" ”

"So early? Is it necessary to be so careful? Although Sherman said this, his expression was stern.

"It's necessary!" Grant nodded sternly.

"Understood." Sherman nodded, "Don't worry, I will definitely help you take care of the south side, and I won't let anything happen." (To be continued......)