John C. Pemberton

John C. Pemberton

John Clifford Pemberton (born August 10, 1814 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † July 13, 1881 in Penllyn , Pennsylvania) was a career officer in the US Army and general in the Confederate Army in the American Civil War . He is particularly known for his defeat in the Battle of Vicksburg .

Life

Pemberton was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point , New York in 1837 as the 27th of his class. He then served in the artillery and took part in the American-Mexican War . At the beginning of the Civil War, he quit his service in the US Army and joined the Confederate States of America , even though he was born in the north. This can be explained by the influence of his wife, who was born in Virginia , and many years of service in the southern states . That's why he felt connected to the south.

Pemberton was promoted to Lieutenant General on October 10, 1862 , and was assigned the task of defending and holding the city of Vicksburg , Mississippi and the Mississippi . His opponent was Major General Ulysses S. Grant . In the Vicksburg campaigns, Pemberton was outnumbered, but also far inferior to his opponent in his skills as a troop leader. Grant surprised him when he crossed the river south of the city and defeated Pemberton and General Joseph E. Johnston in a number of skirmishes across the state of Mississippi. In the end Grant successfully besieged Pemberton in Vicksburg. Relief and breakout operations failed due to a lack of coordination between the President, Commander-in-Chief West and Pemberton. Pemberton defended the city for more than six weeks and had to give up the fight due to lack of food. On July 4, 1863, Pemberton surrendered to the Tennessee Army and surrendered the city to Grant. The US had achieved one of its war goals and opened the Mississippi to its traffic.

After his surrender, Pemberton was exchanged as a prisoner and returned to service, but voluntarily resigned his rank of general and served as a lieutenant colonel in the artillery until the end of the war. This is a testimony of his devotion to the cause of the South. When the war ended, John Pemberton lived in Virginia and Pennsylvania. He died in Penylln, Pennsylvania and is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

literature

• Michael B. Ballard: Pemberton. A biography . University Press, Jackson, MS 1990, ISBN 0-87805-511-8 .

Web links

Commons : John Clifford Pemberton  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• John C. Pemberton in the database of Find a Grave (English)