To Con­fed­er­ate Pres­i­dent Jef­fer­son Davis, Vicks­burg was the “nail­head that holds the South’s two halves togeth­er.” Pres­i­dent Abra­ham Lin­coln remarked “Vicks­burg is the key” to vic­to­ry, and could be the north’s life­line into the south. As the fed­er­als closed in on the Fortress City, they were met by a ring of forts with over 170 can­non. The result­ing bat­tle would deter­mine the war’s out­come.