1-153-628 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Generals Grant and Pemberton negotiating the surrender of Vicksburg, American Civil War, 1863. General Ulysses S Grant (left) (1822-1885), commander of the Union forces besieging the Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, Mississippi, negotiating terms with the Confederate commander General John Clifford Pemberton (1814-1881) for his surrender. After a siege lasting almost two months, Vicksburg fell to the Union on 4 July 1863. It was a crucial strategic turning point in the Civil War, as it left the Union in control of the Mississippi Valley.