pelled to withdraw from
action.

This failure showed that it was useless to try to capture Vicksburg
except through a regular siege, which was pressed henceforth without
intermission. Shells were thrown into the doomed city night and day; the
people lived in caves, on short rations, and underwent miseries and
sufferings which it is hard to comprehend in these days. All the time
Grant was edging closer and closer. Parallels and approaches were
constructed; mines sunk and countermining done. Several attempts were
made to relieve Vicksburg, but the bulldog-like grip of Grant could not
be loosened, and the condition of the garrison became much like that of
Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781.

FALL OF VICKSBURG.

The defenders displayed the greatest bravery and endurance, and held out
until the time came when it was apparent that it was a choice between
surrender and starving to death. That man who prefers to starve rather
than submit to a magnanimous foe is a fool. Pemberton had 21,000 troops
under his command, but 6,000 were in the hospitals, while Grant had
fully 60,000 soldiers waiting and eager to make the assault. On the 3d
of July, a flag of truce was displayed in front of Vicksburg, and a
message was sent to the Union commander, asking for an armistice with a
view of arranging for the capitulation of Vicksburg. Grant's reply was
his usual one, that the only terms he could accept were unconditional
surrender, and he, therefore, declined to appoint commissioners.

The commanders then met between the lines, and Grant agreed that the
garrison should be paroled and allowed to go to their homes, and that
the city, stores, arms, and supplies should belong to the conquerors.
Although the Union commander's terms "unconditional surrender" sounded
harsh, they always proved of a generous nature. There was a good deal of
criticism in the South of Pemberton for selecting the 4th of July for
making his submission, since the Union people would be sure to make a
greater ado over it. Pemberton's explanation was that he believed Grant
would be more disposed to give him liberal terms on that date than on
any other, and it would not be strange if he was partly right.

IMPORTANCE OF THE CAPTURE.

The capture of Vicksburg was one of the most important Union successes
of the war. In his official report, Grant thus summarized the results of
his campaign: "The defeat of the enemy in five battles outside of
Vicksburg; the occupation of