Following the defeat of Van Dorn's desperate attack upon Corinth in early October. Major General Ulysses S. Grant directs his forces against his next target, the annoying river citadel of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Once all his forces are ready, Grant unleashes his Army of the Tennessee south down the Mississippi Central Railroad in early December. Facing this threat is newly promoted Lieutenant General John C Pemberton. With only half the numbers Grant has, Pemberton barrages Richmond for more men and supplies. Yet, while he faces an overland threat coming from Tennessee, a new, dangerous threat is forming on the mighty Mississippi. While Grant pushes his army south, Major General John A. McClernand is assembling a naval force to strike the city via the Mississippi. As the end of 1862 grows ever nearer, Pemberton faces a two-pronged advance from both land and river. A crisis that no other Confederate officer is facing in the closing months of 1862.