Enabling Victory: Operational Sustainment and Grant's Vicksburg Campaign
Abstract
The Union Army, under the direction of General Ulysses S. Grant, waged a siege on the city of Vicksburg, and the Confederate forces within, from May 18-July 4, 1863. The reduction of Vicksburg solidified Federal control of the Mississippi River, severed the Confederate lines of communication from the Trans-Mississippi to the Western and Eastern Theaters of Operations, and served a precursor to Sherman's infamous "March to the Sea." While the siege was remarkable in its own right, the Union's operational approach was more phenomenal. Grant and the Union Army employed operational sustainment to conduct a six-month campaign to "set the theater" leading to the Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863. This analysis first defines operational sustainment. It then pivots to look at Grant's operational approach from November 1862 to May 1863 to reveal a deeper understanding of operational sustainment and its contribution to enabling victory. In doing so, contemporary practitioners may find a "key" to unlocking answers to the "set the theater" problem-set, as well as a new lens in which to view other past, present, and future operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 24, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1071527
Entities
People
- James E. Wheeler
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies