In 1863 from July 1st through the 3rd, the tides of the civil war turned against the South as the Confederates were defeated at The Battle of Gettysburg. On July 4th, Vicksburg, the last Confederate strong hold on the Mississippi River surrendered to General Grant and the Army of the West. After a six week siege the Union gained control of the Mississippi, and the Confederacy was effectively split in two, and cut off from it’s Western Allies.