The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during th: Early in the American Civil War, the Union military leadership developed the Anaconda Plan, which was a strategy to defeat the Confederate States of America. A significant component of this strategy was controlling the Mississippi River.[1]  Much of the Mississippi Valley fell under Union control in early 1862 after the capture of New Orleans, Louisiana, and several land victories.[2]  The strategically important city of Vicksburg, Mississippi was still in Confederate hands, serving as a strong defensive position that commanded the river and prevented the Union from separating the two halves of the Confederacy.[3] Union Navy elements were sent upriver from New Orleans in May to try to take the city, a move that was unsuccessful.[4]  In late June, a joint army-navy expedition returned to make another campaign against Vicksburg.[5]  Union Navy leadership decided that the city could not be taken without more infantrymen, who were not forthcoming. An attempt to cut Williams's Canal across a meander of the river in June and July, bypassing Vicksburg, failed.[6][7]