Vicksburg's bluffs expose a naval limitation

Farragut's ships could pass or bombard many river defenses, but Vicksburg sat high enough above the Mississippi to defeat their gun elevation. The fleet therefore could not simply reproduce the coercive position it had gained at New Orleans. Farragut went back for Porter's mortar vessels in an effort to bring high-angle fire against the bluffs. The episode demonstrates a physical limit on naval power and why capturing the position ultimately required sustained cooperation with land forces.