The Vicksburg Campaign outcome gave control of the Mississippi River to which side?

• A. Union
• B. Confederacy
• C. Foreign powers
• D. Neutral state

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how wielding control of a major waterway shifts the balance of power in a war. In the Vicksburg Campaign, Union forces under Grant besieged Vicksburg and forced a surrender on July 4, 1863. That victory gave the Union control of the entire Mississippi River, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two and allowing Union ships and troops to move unimpeded along the river from the Gulf of Mexico to its northern reaches. The outcome strengthened Union logistics and cut off Confederate western states from their eastern allies, amplifying the overall war effort. The other possibilities don’t fit the result of this campaign—the Confederacy didn’t gain control, and foreign powers or neutral states weren’t the ones stepping in on the river.