The possibility that full control of the Mississippi River would be of critical esteem has for quite some time been over evaluated. The loss of New Orleans, the South's biggest city, in April of 1862, made the loss of Vicksburg practically immaterial. Southern military commanders realized that exchange was unaffected. Texas, never genuinely struck, considered ordinary military operations toward the west and south. Bay ports in Texas facilitated any uneasiness by losing the Mississippi.
