I Hope Every Man Will Follow Me

Uneven action characterized Federal attacks all along the Union line. In James B. McPherson’s Seventeenth Corps, which held the center of Grant’s line, the only serious attack was conducted by Thomas E. Ransom’s brigade and it failed to come closely to grips with the entrenched Confederates on its sector. In John A. McClernand’s Thirteenth Corps, holding the left of the Union line, all that was done was to move the three divisions of the corps forward to reach positions from which they could launch a serious attack. This was all that seemed possible given the rugged terrain and heavy Confederate artillery fire. The Federals had not conducted a general attack or mounted a serious effort to find and break through weak points in the enemy defence line. Their enthusiasm had dampened somewhat but they still retained strong confidence in ultimate success. The effect of the Union repulse of May 19, however, was dramatic among the Confederates. It wiped away most of the demoralization caused by their defeats in Grant’s overland march and made them much more confident of holding Vicksburg until the Confederate government could mount an effort to relieve them from outside.