<P> The city had been under Union naval attack before . Admiral David Farragut moved up the river after his capture of New Orleans and on May 18 , 1862 , demanded the surrender of Vicksburg . Farragut had insufficient troops to force the issue , and he moved back to New Orleans . He returned with a flotilla in June 1862 , but their attempts ( June 26 -- 28 ) to bombard the fortress into surrender failed . They shelled Vicksburg throughout July and fought some minor battles with a few Confederate vessels in the area , but their forces were insufficient to attempt a landing , and they abandoned attempts to force the surrender of the city . Farragut investigated the possibility of bypassing the fortified cliffs by digging a canal across the neck of the river 's bend , the De Soto Peninsula . On June 28 , Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams , attached to Farragut 's command , began digging work on the canal by employing local laborers and some soldiers . Many of the men fell victim to tropical diseases and heat exhaustion , and the work was abandoned by July 24 . ( Williams was killed two weeks later in the Battle of Baton Rouge ) . </P>
<P> The city had been under Union naval attack before . Admiral David Farragut moved up the river after his capture of New Orleans and on May 18 , 1862 , demanded the surrender of Vicksburg . Farragut had insufficient troops to force the issue , and he moved back to New Orleans . He returned with a flotilla in June 1862 , but their attempts ( June 26 -- 28 ) to bombard the fortress into surrender failed . They shelled Vicksburg throughout July and fought some minor battles with a few Confederate vessels in the area , but their forces were insufficient to attempt a landing , and they abandoned attempts to force the surrender of the city . Farragut investigated the possibility of bypassing the fortified cliffs by digging a canal across the neck of the river 's bend , the De Soto Peninsula . On June 28 , Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams , attached to Farragut 's command , began digging work on the canal by employing local laborers and some soldiers . Many of the men fell victim to tropical diseases and heat exhaustion , and the work was abandoned by July 24 . ( Williams was killed two weeks later in the Battle of Baton Rouge ) . </P>
the union admiral that led the campaign against new orleans
the union admiral that led the campaign against new orleans
Admiral David Farragut
Admiral David Farragut