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Bloody, horrific, and some say heroic, the Civil War is a true American tragedy.
The war, which lasts from 1861 to 1865, begins when seven states secede from the Union due
to economic and social differences between the North and the South. The issue of slavery,
the argument over the sovereign rights of states, and a determination to fight for honor
and glory, causes brother to turn on brother in the deadliest war in U.S. history.
In November 1861, Lincoln turns to his top military advisors and declares, "This war
can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket." The key that Lincoln
refers to is the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, built high on a hill overlooking the Mississippi
River and heavily fortified by Confederate troops. The city is the center of a vital
supply line bringing huge quantities of food and other war materials to the Confederacy
from the West. Enter this game and learn how Union General
Ulysses S. Grant captures Vicksburg in 1863, splitting the Confederacy in two and leading
the Union ever-closer to victory.