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==The Man to Break the Confederate Fortress==
[[File:GenUSGrant.jpg|thumbnail|275px|left|General Ulysses S. Grant]]
The man put in charge of wresting the Vicksburg stronghold from Southern hands was Ulysses S. Grant. Prior to the secession of the Southern states Grant had been a struggling Illinois businessman who had performed without distinction in his training at West Point and in combat with the United States Army during the Mexican War. The advent of the Civil War, however, energized him and he organized a company of volunteers to fight without the benefit of any formal connection to the United States Army.