I returned to my old headquarters outside in the afternoon, and did not move into the town until the sixth.  On the afternoon of the fourth I sent Captain Wm. M. Dunn of my staff to Cairo, the nearest point where the telegraph could be reached, with a dispatch to the general-in-chief.  It was as follows: 

“The enemy surrendered this morning.  The only terms allowed is their parole as prisoners of war.  This I regard as a great advantage to us at this moment.  It saves, probably, several days in the capture, and leaves troops and transports ready for immediate service.  Sherman, with a large force, moves immediately on Johnston, to drive him from the State.  I will send troops to the relief of Banks, and return the 9th army corps to Burnside.”

This news, with the victory at Gettysburg won the same day, lifted a great load of anxiety from the minds of the President, his Cabinet and the loyal people all over the North.  The fate of the Confederacy was sealed when Vicksburg fell.  Much hard fighting was to be done afterwards and many precious lives were to be sacrificed; but the MORALE was with the supporters of the Union ever after.

I at the same time wrote to General Banks informing him of the fall and sending him a copy of the terms; also saying I would send him all the troops he wanted to insure the capture of the only foothold the enemy now had on the Mississippi River.  General Banks had a number of copies of this letter printed, or at least a synopsis of it, and very soon a copy fell into the hands of General Gardner, who was then in command of Port Hudson.  Gardner at once sent a letter to the commander of the National forces saying that he had been informed of the surrender of Vicksburg and telling how the information reached him.  He added that if this was true, it was useless for him to hold out longer.  General Banks gave him assurances that Vicksburg had been surrendered, and General Gardner surrendered unconditionally on the 9th of July.  Port Hudson with nearly 6,000 prisoners, 51 guns, 5,000 small-arms and other stores fell into the hands of the Union forces:  from that day to the close of the rebellion the Mississippi River, from its source to its mouth, remained in the control of the National troops.

Pemberton and his army were kept in Vicksburg until the whole could be paroled.  The paroles were in duplicate, by organization (one copy for each, Federals and Confederates), and signed by the commanding officers of the companies or regiments.  Duplicates were also made for each soldier and signed by each individually, one to be retained by the soldier signing and one to be retained by us.  Several hundred refused to sign their paroles, preferring to be sent to the North as prisoners to being sent back to fight again.  Others again kept out of the way, hoping to escape either alternative.