The Battle of Vicksburg was a long and bloody battle that tired many soldiers and claimed many lives. The two major generals were General Ulysses S. Grant for the Union and Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton for the Confederates. The other people who aided the Union were Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, Admiral David Dixon Porter, Colonel Benjamin H Grierson, General John McClernand, James McPherson, and General Michael Lawler. The other people who aided the Confederates were General Nathan Bedford Forrest, General Earl Van Dom, General Joseph E. Johnston, W. W. Loring, and General Robert E. Lee. The first Union attempt to capture Vicksburg occurred in the summer of 1862. Involved in this attempt were Union naval ships and General Ulysses S. Grant's army. General Grant and his men began investigating the rear of the city of Vicksburg. This advance ended when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Calvary took away General Grant's rail supply line. Soon after, Confederate General Earl Van Dom captures General Grant's supply base at Holy Springs. This attempt was called the First Battle of Vicksburg. Grant quickly realized that the pressure was heating up and evacuated. Grant again attempted to repeat his opportunities to capture Vicksburg, but failed miserably. This led Grant to devise another plan to capture Vicksburg. The Union used another strategy to gain an advantage over the Confederate army. “An assault by troops from Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's corps against the heights of the Chickasaw Bluffs north of the city resulted in nearly 1,800 Union casualties, compared to just over 200 for the defenders,” (http ://www .historynet.com/battle-of-vicksburg). The Union plan had failed. Over the next few months, Grant decided to perform a series of events. To gain advantage, Grant decided to attack from the east. Grant's men attempted to dig canals