On June 14, 2023, Timothy B. Smith presented “The Top 10 Things I Learned While Studying Vicksburg” as part of the History Is Lunch series.
Smith’s latest book, Early Struggles for Vicksburg: The Mississippi Central Campaign and Chickasaw Bayou, October 25–December 31, 1862, is the third in a five-volume series on the pivotal Vicksburg Campaign. The book covers the Union’s first attempts to take the city in the campaign proper and draws on such primary documents as Union and Confederate official reports, soldiers’ diaries and letters, and newspaper accounts to produce a detailed narrative of the events.
“The fourth book in the series will come out later this year, and I’ve submitted the final volume to the publisher,” Smith said. “It’s a perfect time to step back and take a broader look at what I’ve learned through the process of publishing over 2,500 pages on the campaign—lessons dealing with leadership, geography, logistics, and other issues that sometimes surprise and other times underscore what we already knew.”
Timothy B. Smith is history lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He earned his BA and MA in history from the University of Mississippi and his PhD in history from Mississippi State University. A veteran of the National Park Service, Smith is the author, editor, or co-editor of twenty-three books, including The Siege of Vicksburg: Climax of the Campaign to Open the Mississippi River, May 23–July 4, 1863; Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg; and Shiloh: Conquer or Perish.
History Is Lunch is sponsored by the John and Lucy Shackelford Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation for Mississippi. The weekly lecture series of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History explores different aspects of the state's past. The hour-long programs are held in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum building at 222 North Street in Jackson and livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.
