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 uction
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A cla
Modular Forms
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 Modular Forms
L. J. P. Kilford
University of Bristol, UK
A cla
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mp
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Imperial College Press

ICP
 Published by
Imperial College Press
57 Shelton Street
Covent Garden
London WC2H 9HE

Distributed by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

MODULAR FORMS
A Classical and Computational Introduction
Copyright © 2008 by Imperial College Press
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher.

For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to
photocopy is not required from the publisher.

ISBN-13 978-1-84816-213-6
ISBN-10 1-84816-213-8

Printed in Singapore.

RokTing - Modular Forms.pmd 1 6/11/2008, 3:48 PM

June 6, 2008 11:13 World Scientific Book - 9in x 6in computations˙with˙modular˙forms

For my family, with thanks for everything

v
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Acknowledgements

This book was written while I was the GCHQ Research Fellow at Merton
College, in the University of Oxford and a Research Fellow at the University
of Bristol. I would like to thank Merton College and the Heilbronn Institute
for their hospitality and for providing pleasant environments to do research
in.
I would like to thank Roger Heath-Brown, George Walker and Jahan
Zahid of the University of Oxford for their participation in the course of
2006–2007, and I would especially like to thank Jahan Zahid and George
Walker for reading earlier drafts of this book and suggesting many im-
provements; I would also like to thank Robin Chapman of the University
of Exeter and Gabor Wiese of the Universität Duisburg-Essen for reading
the manuscript and making helpful comments. Any remaining mistakes are
due to the author.
I would like to thank Tomas Boothby for his assistance in creating the
cover illustrations using Sage; it is derived from pictures showing the ab-
solute value of certain modular forms under the Cayley projection to the
unit circle.
I would also like to thank Jeff Allotta of Northwestern University,
Nathan Ryan of Bucknell University and William Stein of the University
of Washington for helpful conversations.
Thanks are also due to my PhD supervisor, Kevin Buzzard of Impe-
rial College London, for being an inspiration, both during my PhD and
afterwards.
Taruith in Oxford and ICSF in London provided much-needed distrac-
tion while this book was being written; I offer my thanks to them.
I would also like to thank Vivienne for everything.

vii
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Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Introduction 1

1. Historical overview 5
1.1 18th Century — a prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 19th century — the classical period . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Early 20th century — arithmetic applications . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Later 20th century — the link to elliptic curves . . . . . . 8
1.5 The 21st century — the Langlands Program . . . . . . . . 9

2. Introduction to modular forms 11

2.1 Modular forms for SL2 (Z) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Eisenstein series for the full modular group . . . . . . . . 15
2.3 Computing Fourier expansions of Eisenstein series . . . . 17
2.4 Congruence subgroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.5 Fundamental domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.6 Modular forms for congruence subgroups . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.7 Eisenstein series for congruence subgroups . . . . . . . . . 32
2.8 Derivatives of modular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.8.1 Quasi-modular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

3. Results on finite-dimensionality 41
3.1 Spaces of modular forms are finite-dimensional . . . . . . 41
3.2 Explicit formulae for the dimensions of spaces of modular
forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

ix
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x Modular forms: a classical and computational introduction

3.2.1 Formulae for the full modular group . . . . . . . . 46

3.2.2 Formulae for congruence subgroups . . . . . . . . 49
3.3 The Sturm bound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

4. The arithmetic of modular forms 57

4.1 Hecke operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.1.1 Motivation for the Hecke operators . . . . . . . . 58
4.1.2 Hecke operators for Mk (SL2 (Z)) . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.1.3 Hecke operators for congruence subgroups . . . . 63
4.2 Bases of eigenforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.2.1 The Petersson scalar product . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.2.2 The Hecke operators are Hermitian . . . . . . . . 75
4.2.3 Integral bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3 Oldforms and newforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.3.1 Multiplicity one for newforms . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

5. Applications of modular forms 93

5.1 Modular functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.2 η-products and η-quotients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
5.3 The arithmetic of the j-invariant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.3.1 The j-invariant and the Monster group . . . . . . 106
5.3.2 “Ramanujan’s Constant” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.4 Applications of the modular function λ(z) . . . . . . . . . 108
5.4.1 Computing digits of π using λ(z) . . . . . . . . . 109
5.4.2 Proving Picard’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.5 Identities of series and products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
5.6 The Ramanujan-Petersson Conjecture . . . . . . . . . . . 113
5.7 Elliptic curves and modular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.7.1 Fermat’s Last Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
5.8 Theta functions and their applications . . . . . . . . . . . 120
5.8.1 Representations of n by a quadratic form in an
even number of variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.8.2 Representations of n by a quadratic form in an odd
number of variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
5.8.3 The Shimura correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.9 CM modular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
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Contents xi

5.10 Lacunary modular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

5.11 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

6. Modular forms in characteristic p 143

6.1 Classical treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
6.1.1 The structure of the ring of mod p forms . . . . . 144
6.1.2 The θ operator on mod p modular forms . . . . . 150
6.1.3 Hecke operators and Hecke eigenforms . . . . . . 151
6.2 Galois representations attached to mod p modular forms . 152
6.3 Katz modular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
6.4 The Sturm bound in characteristic p . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
6.5 Computations with mod p modular forms . . . . . . . . . 159
6.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

7. Computing with modular forms 163

7.1 Historical introduction to computations in number theory 163
7.2 Magma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
7.2.1 Magma philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
7.2.2 Magma programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
7.3 Sage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
7.3.1 Sage philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
7.3.2 Sage programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
7.3.3 The Sage interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
7.3.4 Sage graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
7.4 Pari and other systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
7.4.1 Pari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
7.4.2 Other systems and solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
7.5 Discussion of computation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
7.5.1 Computation today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
7.5.2 Expected running times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
7.5.3 Using computation effectively . . . . . . . . . . . 183
7.5.4 The limits of computation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
7.5.5 Guy’s law of small numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
7.5.6 How hard is it to calculate Fourier coefficients of
modular forms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
7.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
7.6.1 Magma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
7.6.2 Sage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
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xii Modular forms: a classical and computational introduction

7.6.3 Pari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

7.6.4 Maple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Appendix A Magma code for classical modular forms 195

Appendix B Sage code for classical modular forms 197

Appendix C Hints and answers to selected exercises 199

Bibliography 205
List of Symbols 217
Index 221
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Introduction

This book is based on notes for lectures given at the Mathematical Institute
at the University of Oxford over the three years 2004—2007; as a graduate
course both in 2004—2005 and in 2006—2007, and as the undergraduate
course Introduction to Modular Forms in 2005—2006.

This book

This book focuses on the computational aspects of the theory of modu-

lar forms much more than most other books do. It is designed to be an
introduction to these computational aspects of the theory. Computational
algebra packages like Magma and Sage can (for instance) compute Fourier
expansions of modular forms and modular functions to an extremely high
precision; this book will hopefully help the student to use computers to
deepen their understanding of modular forms and number theory.
It also gives a grounding in the theory of classical modular forms, start-
ing with modular forms for SL2 (Z), and progressing to modular forms of
higher level, modular functions, half-integral weight modular forms and
mod p modular forms. The two aspects are intended to complement each
other, each helping to motivate and inspire the other.

Possible courses

The courses that this book is based upon were all 16-lecture courses, given
over one Oxford term. The undergraduate course was given to final-year
undergraduate students and to students taking a one-year taught Master’s
course.

1
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2 Modular forms: a classical and computational introduction

This book concentrates on the computational aspects of the theory of

modular forms, but at the same time also gives a grounding in the classical
and theoretical aspects of modular forms. We now list some possible courses
which could be given based upon this book.
One possible way to give a course using this book would involve teaching
students essentially only about modular forms for the full modular group,
as [Serre (1973a)] does, in a broadly “traditional” way. This could still
include interesting arithmetic, such as a study of the Ramanujan τ function
and the j-invariant, but avoids the complication of higher levels. There
are some projects in the computational chapter which could be used to
stretch the more able students and also serve as inspiration for end-of-
course projects, especially for beginning graduate students.
If the instructor has more time, then the theory of modular forms for
congruence subgroups of SL2 (Z) could also be introduced. This would
allow the introduction of many well-known modular forms, such as those
associated to elliptic curves, many η-products, and theta functions. The
work of Wiles and Taylor in proving the modularity conjecture, and hence
Fermat’s Last Theorem, is of great public interest, and the general concepts
of the proof can be presented.
Another possible course would be one focused on introducing students to
computational number theory, using modular forms as motivational exam-
ples. This might include teaching students about Magma, Pari and Sage,
as well as giving them an overview of the history of computation. End-of-
course projects for this course could include more or less programming to
suit the instructor and the level of the students. The graphically inclined
could write programs similar to those of Verrill [Verrill (2001)] to create
pictures of fundamental domains, or use the graphics creation facilities of
Pari and Sage to create other graphics.
A third possibility would be to teach a course dealing with theta func-
tions, starting with their history (see, for example, [Glaisher (1907a,b,c)],
for early computational results) and continuing to modern-day work. This
course could balance theoretical work showing that theta functions really
are modular forms with computations of explicit theta functions, and more
advanced students could read books like [Miyake (2006)] which give more
details on this subject.
The instructor could also teach a course emphasizing the applications
of modular forms in number theory and elsewhere. It is important to re-
alize that, despite their definition as holomorphic functions from H to C,
modular forms have a rich number-theoretic theory, and Chapter 5 gives a
June 6, 2008 11:13 World Scientific Book - 9in x 6in computations˙with˙modular˙forms

Introduction 3

sample of some of the many and varied results that rely on the theory of
modular forms.

An overview of this book1

We encourage the reader of this book to use their favourite computer alge-
bra package (such as Magma or Sage) to compute examples as they read,
to help them develop their intuition. The best way to learn how to use such
a package is to experiment with it to find out how it works; Chapter 7 gives
an introduction and brief overview, but there is no substitute for hands-on
experience.
The chapters cover the theory in the following way; Chapter 2 gives
the definition of a modular form for SL2 (Z), and prove that modular forms
exist (which is not obvious to the newcomer to the subject). We also define
fundamental domains and modular forms for congruence subgroups.
In Chapter 3, we consider modular forms as complex-analytic objects,
and use this aspect of their character to prove that spaces of modular forms
of a given weight for a given congruence subgroup are finite-dimensional.
Following on from this, in Chapter 4 we introduce the Hecke operators,
which are linear operators acting on spaces of modular forms, and prove
results about them. We note that these operators explain the recurrence
relations that the coefficients of ∆(q) satisfy, for instance.
We then apply the results derived in these chapters in Chapter 5 to a
variety of applications, such as Fermat’s Last Theorem, computing digits
of π, and computing the number of representations of integers by quadratic
forms. We also introduce the concept of mod p modular forms in Chapter 6,
give structure theorems for mod p modular forms, and talk about Serre’s
Conjecture, which has been proved very recently.
Finally, we consider the practical side of computation in Chapter 7; after
giving a brief introduction to the history of computations in the world
of number theory, which includes such highlights as the Lehmer bicycle-
chain sieve, we introduce the computer algebra packages Magma, Sage and
Pari, and briefly touch on the theoretical side of computing in mathematics.
The book ends with appendices containing examples of code for the algebra
packages discussed in the text.

1 Many books have a section of this nature. We note that [Lamport (1994)] is one of
the very few that has a section called “How to Avoid Reading This Book”.
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Chapter 1

Historical overview

The study of the history of mathematics will not make better

mathematicians but gentler ones, it will enrich their minds,
mellow their hearts, and bring out their finer qualities. —
George Sarton.

We will introduce historical topics in the main text as appropriate; in

this chapter we will give a broad outline and overview of the history of
research in the area of modular forms, in order to give a grounding in the
subject. In Chapter 7, we will give a historical account of computation
in number theory generally, with an emphasis on modular forms-related
topics.

1.1 18th Century — a prologue

In [Hellegouarch (2002)], Section 5.1, a brief summary of the history of mod-

ular forms is given; he begins with the work of Jakob Bernoulli1 . His book
Ars Conjectandi, published posthumously in 1713, contains theta functions
such as
∞
X ∞
X
2 n(n+3)
mn and m 2 .
n=0 n=0

These will turn out to be intimately connected to the theory of modular

forms.
We note that although there are arithmetic functions which play a role
in the theory of modular forms which were considered long before the time
1 Heis also known as Jakob I Bernoulli in the literature; there were many members of
the Bernoulli family active in mathematics.

5
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6 Modular forms: a classical and computational introduction

of Bernoulli, such as figurate numbers (which we will meet again in Sec-

tion 5.10), they were not studied in the context of modular forms.
Theta functions appear also in the work of Leonhard Euler, in connec-
tion with identities for the partition function. Let p(n) be the number of
partitions of n; in other words, the number of ways that we can write an
integer n as a sum of positive integers. For instance, 2+2 is a partition of 4,
and it can be shown by explicit enumeration that p(4) = 5. It has long been
known that p(n) goes up very quickly as n increases; in the early years of
the 20th century, Percy MacMahon proved that p(200) = 397299029388 us-
ing a recurrence relation (see [Hardy and Ramanujan (1917)], Section 1.7).
Euler proved, amongst other things, that
X∞ ∞
Y 1
p(n)q n = .
n=0 m=1
1 − qm
We will see in Chapter 5 that the right-hand side of this is essentially
the reciprocal of one important building block for modular functions, the
Dedekind η function. The equating of power series with infinite products
will prove to be a recurrent theme in the theory of modular forms.

1.2 19th century — the classical period

Carl Jacobi developed the theory of theta functions and used this to prove,
amongst other results, the following theorem (“Jacobi’s four-squares theo-
rem”):
∞
!4 ∞ X
X X X
n2 2 2 2 2
q = q a +b +c +d = 1 + 8 dq m .
n=−∞ a,b,c,d∈Z m=1 d|m
4∤d
We will see later that this can be interpreted as an equality of modular
forms of level Γ0 (4) and weight 2; indeed, once the correct machinery has
been set up, the proof will be very short.
In the later 19th century, Felix Klein used function-theoretic methods to
investigate certain modular functions; for instance, the j-invariant, which
we will define in Chapter 4, is also called “Klein’s absolute invariant” or
“Klein’s modular function” in older texts, because Klein defined it, gave an
explicit formula for it, and showed that it was invariant under the action of
the modular group SL2 (Z). The j-invariant is used in the theory of elliptic
curves, which we will briefly touch on later, as an invariant; it classifies
elliptic curves over C up to isomorphism.
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Historical overview 7

1.3 Early 20th century — arithmetic applications

In the early 20th century, Srinivasa Ramanujan studied the explicit Fourier
expansions of certain well-known modular forms, such as the ∆ function,
given by
∞
Y ∞
X
∆(q) := q · (1 − q n )24 = τ (n) · q n ,
n=1 n=1

and made a famous conjecture about the rate of growth of τ (n), which is
known as the Ramanujan τ function. We will discover more of the proper-
ties of the ∆ function throughout this book. He also generalized Jacobi’s
notion of a theta function, as well as discovering a new family of similar
objects, called Ramanujan mock theta functions.
At about the same time, G. H. Hardy and J. E. Littlewood used results
on the growth of Fourier coefficients of modular forms to bound rm (n), the
number of ways that one can write n as the sum of m squares. This extends
the work of Jacobi mentioned above; for n even, one shows that
∞
X
rm (n) · q n
n=0

is a modular form for Γ0 (4) of weight m/2, and then uses results about
the size of coefficients of modular forms to obtain bounds. We will see in
Chapter 5 how this works, and also consider the question of what happens
when n is odd ; this leads us into the fascinating world of half-integral weight
modular forms.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Erich Hecke worked on the Hecke algebras asso-
ciated to spaces of modular forms, and considered linear operators acting
on spaces of modular forms; we now call these the Hecke operators, and we
will consider the theory of these operators in Chapter 4. These general-
ized in a very useful way the observations of Ramanujan that the following
formula holds:
τ (m · n) = τ (m) · τ (n), if (m, n) = 1,
and, if p is prime,
τ (pk+1 ) = τ (pk ) · τ (p) − p11 · τ (pk−1 ), for k ≥ 1.
We will see using results from Chapters 3 and 4 that these identities follow
because the space of modular forms spanned by ∆ is 1-dimensional, so it
is automatically an eigenform for the Hecke operators.
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8 Modular forms: a classical and computational introduction

In Bryan Birch’s memoir of Oliver Atkin [Birch (1998)], he says that

“[a]t the beginning of the century, modular forms were a vital branch of
mathematics, as they are now; but between about 1930 and 1950 the theory
was completely (if wrongly) out of fashion”; in the Foreword to Serge Lang’s
book on modular forms [Lang (1976)] the hiatus is attributed to the effects
of the Second World War and interest instead being directed to “algebraic
methods” in the theory of numbers.
During this period, there were some mathematicians still working in the
field; Birch and Lang both mention Robert Rankin as the only person in
Britain working on modular forms; he continued the study of the arithmetic
properties of the Fourier coefficients of modular forms that Ramanujan had
begun. We will prove a special case of one of Rankin’s results at the end of
Chapter 2.
In another direction, Atle Selberg considered non-holomorphic ana-
logues of modular forms in [Selberg (1956)], which are called Maass forms.
One recent application of these is to the theory of partitions; [Bringmann
and Ono (2007)] show that the number of partitions of a positive integer
can be obtained by considering a certain Maass form.

1.4 Later 20th century — the link to elliptic curves

Ramanujan had conjectured that, when p is a prime,

|τ (p)| ≤ 2p11/2 .

This conjecture was generalized by Hans Petersson to consider all modular

cusp forms, and was proved by Pierre Deligne in the 1970s as a consequence
of his proof of the Weil conjectures on algebraic varieties over finite fields.
In the 1950s, Goro Shimura and Yutaka Taniyama circulated a conjec-
ture2 relating Fourier coefficients of certain modular forms of weight 2 and
the number of points of certain geometric objects called elliptic curves over
finite fields. This was later worked on by André Weil, whose name is also
associated with the conjecture.
It was proved in complete generality in 1999 by Breuil, Conrad, Di-
amond and Taylor [Breuil et al. (2001)], building on the famous work of
Andrew Wiles and Richard Taylor [Wiles (1995)], [Taylor and Wiles (1995)],
2 This has been called the Shimura-Taniyama conjecture, the Taniyama-Shimura con-

jecture, the Taniyama-Weil conjecture, the Shimura-Taniyama-Weil conjecture or the

Modularity conjecture.
June 6, 2008 11:13 World Scientific Book - 9in x 6in computations˙with˙modular˙forms

Historical overview 9

who proved it in the important special case where the level of the modu-
lar form (equivalently, the conductor of the elliptic curve) was squarefree.
This sufficed to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem, that there are no nontrivial
solutions over Z to xn + y n = z n when n ≥ 3. For a one-volume overview of
the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, we refer the reader to [Cornell et al.
(1997)]. We will briefly consider this in Chapter 5.
It should also be noted that one can use generalizations of this work to
Hilbert modular forms (which we will √ not define here) to prove a version
of Fermat’s Last Theorem over Q( 2); see [Jarvis and Meekin (2004)] for
the details. This requires n to be at √ least 4, because there actually exist
explicit nontrivial solutions over
√ Q( 2) when√n = 3; for instance one can
check explicitly that (18 + 17 2)3 + (18 − 17 2)3 = 423 .
Another result that has very recently been proved is Serre’s Conjecture,
which says that every Galois representation which satisfies certain condi-
tions can be associated to a modular form of a given weight and level. A
special case of this result is used in the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.
We will discuss Serre’s Conjecture in Chapter 6.

1.5 The 21st century — the Langlands Program

The inspiration for the Langlands Program can be taken to be the Artin
reciprocity laws, which generalize quadratic reciprocity; these give relations
between one-dimensional representations of Galois groups of algebraic num-
ber fields and generalizations of the Riemann ζ function called Dirichlet
L-series. The slogan is that this is a relationship between “arithmetic” and
“geometric” objects.
This can be generalized again to give a structure of relations that should
hold between automorphic representations, on the one hand, and (modular)
Galois representations on the other hand. This is a very active field of work,
and much still remains to be done, but much of the theory is known for the
special case of modular forms for GL2 , which are the modular forms that
we will be dealing with in this book.
Some introductory references for the Langlands Program are [Bump
et al. (2003)], [Knapp (1997)] and [Murty (1993)].
June 6, 2008 11:13 World Scientific Book - 9in x 6in computations˙with˙modular˙forms

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June 6, 2008 11:13 World Scientific Book - 9in x 6in computations˙with˙modular˙forms

Chapter 2

Introduction to modular forms

There are five fundamental operations of arithmetic: addition,

subtraction, multiplication, division, and modular forms. –
Martin Eichler (attributed).

In this chapter, we will introduce modular forms and some of their basic
theory. This will comprise an introduction to modular forms for SL2 (Z) and
for congruence subgroups, give examples to illustrate the theory, compute
some Fourier expansions, and define fundamental domains. It will gives
hints of the rich complex and arithmetic theory of modular forms which
will be covered in later chapters.
There are several standard references for the basic theory of modular
forms; Chapter III of [Koblitz (1993)], Chapter 1 of [Diamond and Shur-
man (2005)], Chapter 4 of Milne’s online notes [Milne (1997b)], Chapter I
of [Lang (1976)] and Chapter VII of [Serre (1973a)] are all good references,
although Serre only deals with modular forms for SL2 (Z).————————
———————————————- — SAGE Version 3.0.1, Release Date:
2008-05-05 — — Type notebook() for the GUI, and license() for informa-
tion. — ———————————————————————-
The notation that these books use is not unified, as there are many
choices to make and different authors have made different choices; we note
in the text a few of the more unfortunate collisions of notation.

2.1 Modular forms for SL2 (Z)

The modular group . . . is like an octopus, with tentacles reach-

ing out into many branches of pure mathematics . . . – Gareth
Jones.

11
June 6, 2008 11:13 World Scientific Book - 9in x 6in computations˙with˙modular˙forms

12 Modular forms: a classical and computational introduction

We define the full modular group SL2 (Z) (also known simply as the
modular group) to be the group of 2 × 2 matrices with integer entries and
determinant 1:
  
ab
SL2 (Z) := : a, b, c, d ∈ Z, ad − bc = 1 .
cd
(The “SL” here stands for the Special Linear Group, as opposed to GL2 (Q),
which is the General Linear Group). This group is occasionally called the
unimodular group in the literature.
Some references use the notation Γ for SL2 (Z); it is quite common to
write an element of SL2 (Z) as γ.
It is well-known that SL2 (Z) is finitely generated; a standard presenta-
tion (see Exercise 1) is hS, T |S 2 , (ST 3 11

) i, where T := ( 0 1 ) (T here stands
0 1
for “translation”) and S := −1 0 . This group is called PSL2 (Z), the Pro-
jective Special Linear Group, which is sometimes called the modular group
in the literature, as in the quote at the beginning of this section.
We can view elements of SL2 (Z) as acting in the following way on ele-
ments of the Riemann sphere C b := C ∪ {∞}:
 
ab az + b
(z) = , for z ∈ C.
cd cz + d
(We extend this to all of the Riemann sphere by defining f (−d/c) = ∞
and f (∞) = a/c). These transformations are known as Möbius transfor-
mations.
We define H to be the Poincaré upper half plane; it is all of the complex
numbers z which have ℑ(z) > 0 (where ℑ denotes the imaginary part of z).
We will see in Exercise 1b that the action of a matrix M ∈ SL2 (Z) on H is
trivial if and only if M = ± ( 10 01 ).
If f : H → C is a meromorphic function which satisfies the transforma-
tion formula
   
az + b k ab
f = (cz + d) · f (z) for ∈ SL2 (Z) and z ∈ H (2.1)
cz + d cd
then we say that f is weakly modular of weight k for SL2 (Z). In particular,
we have that
f (z + 1) = f (z), (2.2)
k
f (−1/z) = (−z) f (z), (2.3)
for all z ∈ H, by substituting T and S into (2.1). Conversely, we see
that if f is a meromorphic function from H into C which satisfies (2.2)
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THE WORK OF ONE SHELL

Part of the Havoc Wrought on Marye’s Heights by the Assault of Sedgwick on May 3,
1863. No sooner had they seized the stone wall than the victorious Federals swarmed up
and over the ridge above, driving the Confederates from the rifle-pits, capturing the guns
of the famous Washington Artillery which had so long guarded the Heights, and inflicting
slaughter upon the assaulting columns. If Sedgwick had had cavalry he could have
crushed the divided forces of Early and cleared the way for a rapid advance to attack
Lee’s rear. In the picture we see Confederate caisson wagons and horses destroyed by a
lucky shot from the Second Massachusetts’ siege-gun battery planted across the river at
Falmouth to support Sedgwick’s assault. Surveying the scene stands General Herman
Haupt, Chief of the Bureau of Military Railways, the man leaning against the stump. By
him is W. W. Wright, Superintendent of the Military Railroad. The photograph was taken
on May 3d, after the battle. The Federals held Marye’s Heights until driven off by fresh
forces which Lee had detached from his main army at Chancellorsville and sent against
Sedgwick on the afternoon of the 4th.
 THE DEMOLISHED HEADQUARTERS
From this mansion, Hooker’s headquarters during the battle of Chancellorsville, he rode
away after the injury he received there on May 3d, never to return. The general, dazed
after Jackson’s swoop upon the right, was besides in deep anxiety as to Sedgwick. The
latter’s forty thousand men had not yet come up. Hooker was unwilling to suffer further
loss without the certainty of his cooperation. So he decided to withdraw his army. The
movement was the signal for increased artillery fire from the Confederate batteries,
marking the doom of the old Chancellor house. Its end was accompanied by some
heartrending scenes. Major Bigelow thus describes them: “Missiles pierced the walls or
struck in the brickwork; shells exploded in the upper rooms, setting the building on fire;
the chimneys were demolished and their fragments rained down upon the wounded about
the building. All this time the women and children (including some slaves) of the
Chancellor family, nineteen persons in all, were in the cellar. The wounded were removed
from in and around the building, men of both armies nobly assisting one another in the
work.”
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, PATRIOT PUB. CO.

RED MEN WHO SUFFERED IN SILENCE

In modern warfare the American Indian seems somehow to be entirely out of place. We
think of him with the tomahawk and scalping-knife and have difficulty in conceiving him in
the ranks, drilling, doing police duty, and so on. Yet more than three thousand Indians
were enlisted in the Federal army. The Confederates enlisted many more in Missouri,
Arkansas, and Texas. In the Federal army the red men were used as advance
sharpshooters and rendered meritorious service. This photograph shows some of the
wounded Indian sharpshooters on Marye’s Heights after the second battle of
Fredericksburg. A hospital orderly is attending to the wants of the one on the left-hand
page, and the wounds of the others have been dressed. In the entry of John L. Marye’s
handsome mansion close by lay a group of four Indian sharpshooters, each with the loss
of a limb—of an arm at the shoulder, of a leg at the knee, or with an amputation at the
thigh. They neither spoke nor moaned, but suffered and died, mute in their agony. During
the campaign of 1864, from the Wilderness to Appomattox, Captain Ely S. Parker, a
gigantic Indian, became one of Grant’s favorite aids. Before the close of the war he had
been promoted to the rank of colonel, and it was he who drafted in a beautiful
handwriting the terms of Lee’s surrender. He stood over six feet in height and was a
conspicuous figure on Grant’s staff. The Southwestern Indians engaged in some of the
earliest battles under General Albert Pike, a Northerner by birth, but a Southern
sympathizer.
 Painted by E. Packbauer.
Copyright, 1901, by Perrien-Keydel Co., Detroit, Mich., U. S. A.

THE BOMBARDMENT OF PORT HUDSON.

Larger Image
 VICKSBURG AND PORT HUDSON
On the banks of this, the greatest river in the world,
the most decisive and far-reaching battle of the war
was fought. Here at Vicksburg over one hundred
thousand gallant soldiers and a powerful fleet of
gunboats and ironclads in terrible earnestness for
forty days and nights fought to decide whether the
new Confederate States should be cut in twain;
whether the great river should flow free to the Gulf,
or should have its commerce hindered. We all know
the result—the Union army under General Grant, and
the Union navy under Admiral Porter were victorious.
The Confederate army, under General Pemberton,
numbering thirty thousand men, was captured and
General Grant’s army set free for operating in other
fields. It was a staggering blow from which the
Confederacy never rallied.—Lieutenant-General
Stephen D. Lee, C. S. A., at the dedication of the
Massachusetts Volunteers’ statue at the Vicksburg
National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi,
November 14, 1903.

T HE Mississippi River, in its lower course, winds like a mighty serpent from side to side
along a vast alluvial bottom, which in places is more than forty miles in width. On the
eastern bank, these great coils here and there sweep up to the bluffs of the highlands of
Tennessee and Mississippi. On these cliffs are situated Memphis, Port Hudson, Grand Gulf,
and Vicksburg. The most important of these from a military point of view was Vicksburg,
often called the “Gibraltar of the West.” Situated two hundred feet above the current, on a
great bend of the river, its cannon could command the waterway for miles in either
direction, while the obstacles in the way of a land approach were almost equally
insurmountable.
The Union arms had captured New Orleans, in the spring of 1862, and Memphis in June
of that year; but the Confederates still held Vicksburg and Port Hudson and the two
hundred and fifty miles of river that lies between them. The military object of the Federal
armies in the West was to gain control of the entire course of the great Mississippi that it
might “roll unvexed to the sea,” to use Lincoln’s terse expression, and that the rich States
of the Southwest, from which the Confederacy drew large supplies and thousands of men
for her armies, might be cut off from the rest of the South. If Vicksburg were captured,
Port Hudson must fall. The problem, therefore, was how to get control of Vicksburg.
On the promotion of Halleck to the command of all the armies of the North, with
headquarters at Washington, Grant was left in superior command in the West and the
great task before him was the capture of the “Gibraltar of the West.” Vicksburg might
have been occupied by the Northern armies at any time during the first half of the year
1862, but in June of that year General Bragg sent Van Dorn with a force of fifteen
thousand to occupy and fortify the heights. Van Dorn was a man of prodigious energy. In
a short time he had hundreds of men at work planting batteries, digging rifle-pits above
the water front and in the rear of the town, mounting heavy guns and building bomb-
proof magazines in tiers along the hillsides. All through the summer, the work progressed
under the direction of Engineer S. H. Lockett, and by the coming of winter the city was a
veritable Gibraltar.
From the uncompleted batteries on the Vicksburg bluffs, the citizens and the garrison
soldiers viewed the advance division of Farragut’s fleet, under Commander Lee, in the
river, on May 18, 1862. Fifteen hundred infantry were on board, under command of
General Thomas Williams, and with them was a battery of artillery. Williams reconnoitered
the works, and finding them too strong for his small force he returned to occupy Baton
Rouge. The authorities at Washington now sent Farragut peremptory orders to clear the
Mississippi and accordingly about the middle of June, a flotilla of steamers and seventeen
mortar schooners, under Commander D. D. Porter, departed from New Orleans and
steamed up the river. Simultaneously Farragut headed a fleet of three war vessels and
seven gunboats, carrying one hundred and six guns, toward Vicksburg from Baton Rouge.
Many transports accompanied the ships from Baton Rouge, on which there were three
thousand of Williams’ troops.
The last days of June witnessed the arrival of the combined naval forces of Farragut and
Porter below the Confederate stronghold. Williams immediately disembarked his men on
the Louisiana shore, opposite Vicksburg, and they were burdened with implements
required in digging trenches and building levees.
The mighty Mississippi, at this point and in those days, swept in a majestic bend and
formed a peninsula of the western, or Louisiana shore. Vicksburg was situated on the
eastern, or Mississippi shore, below the top of the bend. Its batteries of cannon
commanded the river approach for miles in either direction. Federal engineers quickly
recognized the strategic position of the citadel on the bluff; and also as quickly saw a
method by which the passage up and down the river could be made comparatively safe
for their vessels, and at the same time place Vicksburg “high and dry” by cutting a
channel for the Mississippi through the neck of land that now held it in its sinuous course.
While Farragut stormed the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Williams began the
tremendous task of diverting the mighty current across the peninsula. Farragut’s
bombardment by his entire fleet failed to silence Vicksburg’s cannon-guards, although the
defenders likewise failed to stop the progress of the fleet. The Federal naval commander
then determined to dash past the fortifications, trusting to the speed of his vessels and
the stoutness of their armor to survive the tremendous cannonade that would fall upon
his flotilla. Early in the morning of June 28th the thrilling race against death began, and
after two hours of terrific bombardment aided by the mortar boats stationed on both
banks, Farragut’s fleet with the exception of three vessels passed through the raging
inferno to the waters above Vicksburg, with a loss of fifteen killed and thirty wounded. On
the 1st of July Flag-Officer Davis with his river gunboats arrived from Memphis and joined
Farragut.
Williams and his men, including one thousand negroes, labored like Titans to complete
their canal, but a sudden rise of the river swept away the barriers with a terrific roar, and
the days of herculean labor went for naught. Again Williams’ attempt to subdue the
stronghold was abandoned, and he returned with his men when Farragut did, on July
24th, to Baton Rouge to meet death there on August 5th when General Breckinridge
made a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to drive the Union forces from the Louisiana
capital.
Farragut urged upon General Halleck the importance of occupying the city on the bluff
with a portion of his army; but that general gave no heed; and while even then it was too
late to secure the prize without a contest, it would have been easy in comparison to that
which it required a year later.
In the mean time, the river steamers took an important part in the preliminary operations
against the city. Davis remained at Memphis with his fleet for about three weeks after the
occupation of that city on the 6th of June, meanwhile sending four gunboats and a
transport up the White River, with the Forty-sixth Indiana regiment, under Colonel Fitch.
The object of the expedition, undertaken at Halleck’s command, was to destroy
Confederate batteries and to open communication with General Curtis, who was
approaching from the west. It failed in the latter purpose but did some effective work
with the Southern batteries along the way.
The one extraordinary incident of the expedition was the disabling of the Mound City, one
of the ironclad gunboats, and the great loss of life that it occasioned. When near St.
Charles the troops under Fitch were landed, and the Mound City moving up the river, was
fired on by concealed batteries under the direction of Lieutenant Dunnington. A 32-pound
shot struck the vessel, crashed through the side and passed through the steam-drum.
The steam filled the vessel in an instant. Many of the men were so quickly enveloped in
the scalding vapor that they had no chance to escape. Others leaped overboard, some
being drowned and some rescued through the efforts of the Conestoga which was lying
near. While straining every nerve to save their lives, the men had to endure a shower of
bullets from Confederate sharpshooters on the river banks. Of the one hundred and
seventy-five officers and men of the Mound City only twenty-five escaped death or injury
in that fearful catastrophe. Meanwhile, Colonel Fitch with his land forces rushed upon the
Confederate batteries and captured them. The unfortunate vessel was at length repaired
and returned to service.
For some time it had been known in Federal military and naval circles that a powerful
ironclad similar to the famous Monitor of Eastern waters was being rushed to completion
up the Yazoo. The new vessel was the Arkansas. On July 15th, she steamed through the
Union fleet, bravely exchanging broadsides, and lodged safely under the guns of
Vicksburg. That evening the Federal boats in turn ran past the doughty Arkansas, but
failed to destroy her.
The month of July had not been favorable to the Federal hopes. Farragut had returned to
New Orleans. General Williams had gone with him as far as Baton Rouge. Davis now went
with his fleet back to Helena. Halleck was succeeded by Grant. Vicksburg entered upon a
period of quiet.
But this condition was temporary. The city’s experience of blood and fire had only begun.
During the summer and autumn of 1862, the one thought uppermost in the mind of
General Grant was how to gain possession of the stronghold. He was already becoming
known for his bull-dog tenacity. In the autumn, two important changes took place, but
one day apart. On October 14th, General John C. Pemberton succeeded Van Dorn in
command of the defenses of Vicksburg, and on the next day David D. Porter succeeded
Davis as commander of the Federal fleet on the upper Mississippi.
So arduous was the task of taking Vicksburg that the wits of General Grant, and those of
his chief adviser, General W. T. Sherman, were put to the test in the last degree to
accomplish the end. Grant knew that the capture of this fortified city was of great
importance to the Federal cause, and that it would ever be looked upon as one of the
chief acts in the drama of the Civil War.
The first plan attempted was to divide the army, Sherman taking part of it from Memphis
and down the Mississippi on transports, while Grant should move southward along the
line of the Mississippi Central Railroad to cooperate with Sherman, his movements to be
governed by the efforts of the scattered Confederate forces in Mississippi to block him.
But the whole plan was destined to failure, through the energies of General Van Dorn and
others of the Confederate army near Grant’s line of communication.
The authorities at Washington preferred the river move upon Vicksburg, as the navy could
keep the line of communication open. The stronghold now stood within a strong line of
defense extending from Haynes’ Bluff on the Yazoo to Grand Gulf on the Mississippi, thirty
miles below Vicksburg. To prepare for Sherman’s attack across the swamps of the Yazoo,
Admiral Porter made several expeditions up that tortuous stream to silence batteries and
remove torpedoes. In one of these he lost one of the Eads ironclads, the Cairo, blown up
by a torpedo, and in another the brave Commander Gwin, one of the heroes of Shiloh,
was mortally wounded.
Sherman, with an army of thirty-two thousand men, left Memphis on December 20th, and
landed a few days later some miles north of Vicksburg on the banks of the Yazoo. On the
29th he made a daring attack in three columns on the Confederate lines of defense at
Chickasaw Bayou and suffered a decisive repulse. His loss was nearly two thousand men;
the Confederate loss was scarcely two hundred.
Two hundred feet above the bayou, beyond where the Federals were approaching,
towered the Chickasaw Bluffs, to which Pemberton hastened troops from Vicksburg as
soon as he learned Sherman’s object. At the base of the bluff, and stretching away to the
north and west were swamps and forests intersected by deep sloughs, overhung with
dense tangles of vines and cane-brakes. Federal valor vied with Confederate pluck in this
fight among the marshes and fever-infested jungle-land.
One of Sherman’s storming parties, under General G. W. Morgan, came upon a broad and
deep enlargement of the bayou, McNutt Lake, which interposed between it and the
Confederates in the rifle-pits on the slopes and crest of the bluff. In the darkness of the
night of December 28th, the Federal pontoniers labored to construct a passage-way
across the lake. When morning dawned the weary pontoniers were chagrined to discover
their well-built structure spanning a slough leading in another direction than toward the
base of the bluff. The bridge was quickly taken up, and the Federals recommenced their
labors, this time in daylight and within sight and range of the Southern regiments on the
hill. The men in blue worked desperately to complete the span before driven away by the
foe’s cannon; but the fire increased with every minute, and the Federals finally withdrew.
Another storming party attempted to assail the Confederates from across a sandbar of the
bayou, but was halted at the sight and prospect of overcoming a fifteen-foot bank on the
farther side. The crumbling bank was surmounted with a levee three feet high; the steep
sides of the barrier had crumbled away, leaving an overhanging shelf, two feet wide. Two
companies of the Sixth Missouri regiment volunteered to cross the two hundred yards of
exposed passage, and to cut a roadway through the rotten bank to allow their comrades
a free path to the bluff beyond. To add to the peril of the crossing, the sandbar was
strewn with tangles of undergrowth and fallen trees, and the Confederate shells and
bullets were raining upon the ground. Still, the gallant troops began their dash. From the
very start, a line of wounded and dead Missourians marked the passage of the volunteers.
The survivors reached the bank and desperately sought to dig the roadway. From the
shrubbery on the bank suddenly appeared Confederate sharpshooters who poured their
fire into the laboring soldiers; the flame of the discharging muskets burned the clothing of
the Federals because the hostile forces were so close. Human endurance could not stand
before this carnage, and the brave Missourians fled from the inferno. Sherman now found
the northern pathway to Vicksburg impassable, and withdrew his men to the broad
Mississippi.
Earlier in the same month had occurred two other events which, with the defeat of
Chickasaw, go to make up the triple disaster to the Federals. On the 11th, General Nathan
Forrest, one of the most brilliant cavalry leaders on either side, began one of those
destructive raids which characterize the Civil War. With twenty-five hundred horsemen,
Forrest dashed unopposed through the country north of Grant’s army, tore up sixty miles
of railroad and destroyed all telegraph lines.
Meantime, on December 20th, the day on which Sherman left Memphis, General Van Dorn
pounced upon Holly Springs, in Mississippi, like an eagle on its prey, capturing the guard
of fifteen hundred men and burning the great store of supplies, worth $1,500,000, which
Grant had left there. Through the raids of Forrest and Van Dorn, Grant was left without
supplies and for eleven days without communication with the outside world. He marched
northward to Grand Junction, in Tennessee, a distance of eighty miles, living off the
country. It was not until January 8, 1863, that he heard, through Washington, of the
defeat of Sherman in his assault on Chickasaw Bluffs.
Grant and Sherman had no thought of abandoning Vicksburg because of this failure. But a
month of unfortunate military dissension over rank in the command of Sherman’s army
resulted in General John A. McClernand, armed with authority from Washington, coming
down from Illinois and superseding Sherman. On January 11, 1864, he captured Arkansas
Post, a stronghold on the Arkansas River. But Grant, having authority to supersede
McClernand in the general proceedings against Vicksburg, did so, on January 30th, and
arguments on military precedence were forgotten.
Grant was determined to lead his Army of the Tennessee below Vicksburg and approach
the city from the south, without breaking with his base of supplies up the river. Two
projects, both of which were destined to fail, were under way during the winter and
spring months of 1863. One of these was to open a way for the river craft through Lake
Providence, west of the Mississippi, through various bayous and rivers into the Red River,
a detour of four hundred miles.
Another plan was to cut a channel through the peninsula of the great bend of the
Mississippi, opposite Vicksburg. For six weeks, thousands of men worked like marmots
digging this ditch; but, meantime, the river was rising and, on March 8th, it broke over
the embankment and the men had to run for their lives. Many horses were drowned and
a great number of implements submerged. The “Father of Waters” had put a decisive veto
on the project and it had to be given up. Still another plan that failed was to cut through
the Yazoo Pass and approach from the north by way of the Coldwater, the Tallahatchie,
and the Yazoo rivers.
Failure with Grant only increased his grim determination. He would take Vicksburg. His
next plan was destined to bring success. It was to transfer his army by land down the
west bank of the Mississippi to a point below the city and approach it from the south and
west. This necessitated the running of the batteries by Porter’s fleet—an extremely
perilous enterprise. The army was divided into four corps, commanded respectively by
Sherman, McClernand, McPherson, and Hurlbut. The latter was stationed at Memphis. On
March 29th, the movement of McClernand from Milliken’s Bend to a point opposite Grand
Gulf was begun. He was soon followed by McPherson and a few weeks later by Sherman.
It required a month for the army, with its heavy artillery, to journey through the swamps
and bogs of Louisiana.
While this march was in progress, something far more exciting was taking place on the
river. Porter ran the batteries of Vicksburg with his fleet. After days of preparation the
fleet of vessels, protected by cotton bales and hay about the vital parts of the boats, with
heavy logs slung near the water-line—seven gunboats, the ram General Price, three
transports, and various barges were ready for the dangerous journey on the night of April
16th. Silently in the darkness, they left their station near the mouth of the Yazoo, at a
quarter past nine. For an hour and a half all was silence and expectancy. The bluffs on
the east loomed black against the night sky. Suddenly, the flash of musketry fire pierced
the darkness.
In a few minutes every battery overlooking the river was a center of spurting flame. A
storm of shot and shell was rained upon the passing vessels. Not one escaped being
struck many times. The water of the river was lashed into foam by the shots and shell
from the batteries. The gunboats answered with their cannon. The air was filled with
flying missiles. Several houses on the Louisiana shore burst into flame and the whole river
from shore to shore was lighted with vivid distinctness. A little later, a giant flame leaped
from the bosom of the river. A vessel had caught fire. It was the transport Henry Clay. It
burned to the water’s edge, nearly all its crew escaping to other vessels. Grant described
the scene as “magnificent, but terrible”; Sherman pronounced it “truly sublime.”
By three in the morning, the fleet was below the city and ready to cooperate with the
army. One vessel had been destroyed, several others were crippled; thirteen men had
been wounded, but Grant had the assistance he needed. About a week later, six more
transports performed the same feat and ran the batteries; each had two barges laden
with forage and rations in tow.
Grant’s next move was to transfer the army across the river and to secure a base of
supplies. There, on the bluff, was Grand Gulf, a tempting spot. But the Confederate guns
showed menacingly over the brow of the hill. After a fruitless bombardment by the fleet
on April 29th, it was decided that a more practical place to cross the river must be sought
below.
Meanwhile, Sherman was ordered by his chief to advance upon the formidable Haynes’
Bluff, on the Yazoo River, some miles above the scene of his repulse in the preceding
December. The message had said, “Make a demonstration on Haynes’ Bluff, and make all
the show possible.” Sherman’s transports, and three of Porter’s gunboats, were closely
followed by the Confederate soldiers who had been stationed at the series of defenses on
the range of hills, and when they arrived at Snyder’s Mill, just below Haynes’ Bluff, on
April 30th, General Hébert and several Louisiana regiments were awaiting them. On that
day and the next the Confederates fiercely engaged the Union fleet and troops, and on
May 2d Sherman withdrew his forces to the western bank of the Mississippi and hastened
to Grant. The feint had been most successful. The Confederates had been prevented from
sending reënforcements to Grand Gulf, and Grant’s crossing was greatly facilitated.
The fleet passed the batteries of Grand Gulf and stopped at Bruinsburg, six miles below. A
landing was soon made, the army taken across on April 30th, and a march to Port Gibson,
twelve miles inland, was begun. General Bowen, Confederate commander at Grand Gulf,
came out and offered battle. He was greatly outnumbered, but his troops fought gallantly
throughout most of the day, May 1st, before yielding the field. Port Gibson was then
occupied by the Union army, and Grand Gulf, no longer tenable, was abandoned by the
Confederates.
Grant now prepared for a campaign into the interior of Mississippi. His first intention was
to cooperate with General Banks in the capture of Port Hudson, after which they would
move together upon Vicksburg. But hearing that Banks would not arrive for ten days,
Grant decided that he would proceed to the task before him without delay. His army at
that time numbered about forty-three thousand. That under Pemberton probably forty
thousand, while there were fifteen thousand Confederate troops at Jackson, Mississippi,
soon to be commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, who was hastening to that
capital.
The Federal leader now determined on the bold plan of making a dash into the interior of
Mississippi, beating Johnston and turning on Pemberton before their forces could be
joined. This campaign is pronounced the most brilliant in the Civil War. It was truly
Napoleonic in conception and execution. Grant knew that his base of supplies at Grand
Gulf would be cut off by Pemberton as soon as he moved away from it. He decided,
therefore, against the advice of his generals, to abandon his base altogether.
A more daring undertaking could scarcely be imagined. With a few days’ rations in their
haversacks the troops were to make a dash that would possibly take several weeks into
the heart of a hostile country. This was certainly defying fate. When General Halleck
heard of Grant’s daring scheme he wired the latter from Washington, ordering him to
move his army down the river and cooperate with Banks. Fortunately, this order was
received too late to interfere with Grant’s plans.
As soon as Sherman’s divisions joined the main army the march was begun, on May 7th.
An advance of this character must be made with the greatest celerity and Grant’s army
showed amazing speed. McPherson, who commanded the right wing, proceeded toward
Jackson by way of Raymond and at the latter place encountered five thousand
Confederates, on May 12th, who blocked his way and were prepared for fight. The battle
of Raymond lasted two hours. McPherson was completely successful and the
Confederates hastened to join their comrades in Jackson.
McPherson lost no time. He moved on toward Jackson, and as the last of his command
left Raymond the advance of Sherman’s corps reached it. That night, May 13th, Grant
ordered McPherson and Sherman to march upon Jackson next morning by different roads,
while McClernand was held in the rear near enough to reënforce either in case of need.
The rain fell in torrents that night and, as Grant reported, in places the water was a foot
deep in the road. But nothing could daunt his determined army. At eleven o’clock in the
morning of the 14th, a concerted attack was made on the capital of Mississippi. A few
hours’ brisk fighting concluded this act of the drama, and the Stars and Stripes were
unfurled on the State capitol. Among the spoils were seventeen heavy guns. That night,
Grant slept in the house which Johnston had occupied the night before.
Meantime, Johnston had ordered Pemberton to detain Grant by attacking him in the rear.
But Pemberton considered it more advisable to move toward Grand Gulf to separate Grant
from his base of supplies, not knowing that Grant had abandoned his base. And now, with
Johnston’s army scattered, Grant left Sherman to burn bridges and military factories, and
to tear up the railroads about Jackson while he turned fiercely on Pemberton.
McPherson’s corps took the lead. Grant called on McClernand to follow without delay.
Then, hearing that Pemberton was marching toward him, he called on Sherman to hasten
from Jackson. At Champion’s Hill (Baker’s Creek) Pemberton stood in the way, with
eighteen thousand men.
The battle was soon in progress—the heaviest of the campaign. It continued for seven or
eight hours. The Confederates were defeated with a loss of nearly all their artillery and
about half their force, including four thousand men who were cut off from the main army
and failed to rejoin it. On the banks of the Big Black River, a few miles westward, the
Confederates made another stand, and here the fifth battle of the investment of
Vicksburg took place. It was short, sharp, decisive. The Confederates suffered heavy
losses and the remainder hastened to the defenses of Vicksburg. They had set fire to the
bridge across the Big Black, and Grant’s army was detained for a day—until the
Confederates were safely lodged in the city.
The Federal army now invested Vicksburg, occupying the surrounding hills. It was May
18th when the remarkable campaign to reach Vicksburg came to an end. In eighteen
days, the army had marched one hundred and eighty miles through a hostile country,
fought and won five battles, captured a State capital, had taken twenty-seven heavy
cannon and sixty field-pieces, and had slain or wounded six thousand men and captured
as many more. As Grant and Sherman rode out on the hill north of the city, the latter
broke into enthusiastic admiration of his chief, declaring that up to that moment he had
felt no assurance of success, and pronouncing the campaign one of the greatest in
history.
The great problem of investing Vicksburg was solved at last. Around the doomed city
gleamed the thousands of bayonets of the Union army. The inhabitants and the army that
had fled to it as a city of refuge were penned in. But the Confederacy was not to yield
without a stubborn resistance. On May 19th, an advance was made on the works and the
besieging lines drew nearer and tightened their coils. Three days later, on May 22nd,
Grant ordered a grand assault by his whole army. The troops, flushed with their victories
of the past three weeks, were eager for the attack. All the corps commanders set their
watches by Grant’s in order to begin the assault at all points at the same moment—ten
o’clock in the morning. At the appointed time, the cannon from the encircling lines burst
forth in a deafening roar. Then came the answering thunders from the mortar-boats on
the Louisiana shore and from the gunboats anchored beneath the bluff. The gunboats’ fire
was answered from within the bastions protecting the city. The opening of the heavy guns
on the land side was followed by the sharper crackle of musketry—thousands of shots,
indistinguishable in a continuous roll.
The men in the Federal lines leaped from their hiding places and ran to the parapets in
the face of a murderous fire from the defenders of the city, only to be mowed down by
hundreds. Others came, crawling over the bodies of their fallen comrades—now and then
they planted their colors on the battlements of the besieged city, to be cut down by the
galling Confederate fire. Thus it continued hour after hour, until the coming of darkness.
The assault had failed. The Union loss was about three thousand brave men; the
Confederate loss was probably not much over five hundred.
Grant had made a fearful sacrifice; he was paying a high price but he had a reason for so
doing—Johnston with a reënforcing army was threatening him in the rear; by taking
Vicksburg at this time he could have turned on Johnston, and could have saved the
Government sending any more Federal troops; and, to use his own words, it was needed
because the men “would not have worked in the trenches with the same zeal, believing it
unnecessary, as they did after their failure, to carry the enemy’s works.”
On the north side of the city overlooking the river, were the powerful batteries on Fort
Hill, a deadly menace to the Federal troops, and Grant and Sherman believed that if
enfiladed by the gunboats this position could be carried. At their request Admiral Porter
sent the Cincinnati on May 27th to engage the Confederate guns, while four vessels below
the town did the same to the lower defenses. In half an hour five of the Cincinnati’s guns
were disabled; and she was in a sinking condition. She was run toward the shore and
sank in three fathoms of water.
The army now settled down to a wearisome siege. For six weeks, they encircled the city
with trenches, approaching nearer and nearer to the defending walls; they exploded
mines; they shot at every head that appeared above the parapets. One by one the
defending batteries were silenced. The sappers slowly worked their way toward the
Confederate ramparts. Miners were busy on both sides burrowing beneath the
fortifications. At three o’clock on the afternoon of June 25th a redoubt in the Confederate
works was blown into the air, breaking into millions of fragments and disclosing guns,
men, and timber. With the mine explosion, the Federal soldiers before the redoubt began
to dash into the opening, only to meet with a withering fire from an interior parapet which
the Confederates had constructed in anticipation of this event. The carnage was appalling
to behold; and when the soldiers of the Union finally retired they had learned a costly
lesson which withheld them from attack when another mine was exploded on July 1st.
Meantime, let us take a view of the river below and the life of the people within the
doomed city. Far down the river, two hundred and fifty miles from Vicksburg, was Port
Hudson. The place was fortified and held by a Confederate force under General Gardner.
Like Vicksburg, it was besieged by a Federal army, under Nathaniel P. Banks, of Cedar
Mountain fame. On May 27th, he made a desperate attack on the works and was
powerfully aided by Farragut with his fleet in the river. But aside from dismounting a few
guns and weakening the foe at a still heavier cost to their own ranks, the Federals were
unsuccessful. Again, on June 10th, and still again on the 14th, Banks made fruitless
attempts to carry Port Hudson by storm. He then, like Grant at Vicksburg, settled down to
a siege. The defenders of Port Hudson proved their courage by enduring every hardship.
At Vicksburg, during the whole six weeks of the siege, the men in the trenches worked
steadily, advancing the coils about the city. Grant received reënforcement and before the
end of the siege his army numbered over seventy thousand. Day and night, the roar of
artillery continued. From the mortars across the river and from Porter’s fleet the shrieking
shells rose in grand parabolic curves, bursting in midair or in the streets of the city,
spreading havoc in all directions. The people of the city burrowed into the ground for
safety. Many whole families lived in these dismal abodes, their walls of clay being shaken
by the roaring battles that raged above the ground. In one of these dens, sixty-five
people found a home. The food supply ran low, and day by day it became scarcer. At last,
by the end of June, there was nothing to eat except mule meat and a kind of bread made
of beans and corn meal.
It was ten o’clock in the morning of July 3d. White flags were seen above the parapet.
The firing ceased. A strange quietness rested over the scene of the long bombardment.
On the afternoon of that day, the one, too, on which was heard the last shot on the
battlefield of Gettysburg, Grant and Pemberton stood beneath an oak tree, in front of
McPherson’s corps, and opened negotiations for the capitulation. On the following
morning, the Nation’s birthday, about thirty thousand soldiers laid down their arms as
prisoners of war and were released on parole. The losses from May 1st to the surrender
were about ten thousand on each side.
Three days later, at Port Hudson, a tremendous cheer arose from the besieging army. The
Confederates within the defenses were at a loss to know the cause. Then some one
shouted the news, “Vicksburg has surrendered!”
The end had come. Port Hudson could not hope to stand alone; the greater fortress had
fallen. Two days later, July 9th, the gallant garrison, worn and weary with the long siege,
surrendered to General Banks. The whole course of the mighty Mississippi was now under
the Stars and Stripes.

BEFORE VICKSBURG
The close-set mouth, squared shoulders and lowering brow in this photograph of Grant,
taken in December, 1862, tell the story of the intensity of his purpose while he was
advancing upon Vicksburg—only to be foiled by Van Dorn’s raid on his line of
communications at Holly Springs. His grim expression and determined jaw betokened no
respite for the Confederates, however. Six months later he marched into the coveted
stronghold. This photograph was taken by James Mullen at Oxford, Mississippi, in
December, 1862, just before Van Dorn’s raid balked the general’s plans.
 AFTER VICKSBURG
This photograph was taken in the fall of 1863, after the capture of the Confederacy’s
Gibraltar had raised Grant to secure and everlasting fame. His attitude is relaxed and his
eyebrows no longer mark a straight line across the grim visage. The right brow is slightly
arched with an almost jovial expression. But the jaw is no less vigorous and determined,
and the steadfast eyes seem to be peering into that future which holds more victories. He
still has Chattanooga and his great campaigns in the East to fight and the final
magnificent struggle in the trenches at Petersburg.
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

WHERE GRANT’S CAMPAIGN WAS HALTED

The Courthouse at Oxford, Mississippi. The second attempt to capture Vicksburg
originated with Grant. Since he had sprung into fame at Fort Donelson early in 1862, he
had done little to strengthen his reputation; but to all urgings of his removal Lincoln
replied: “I can’t spare this man; he fights.” He proposed to push southward through
Mississippi to seize Jackson, the capital. If this could be accomplished, Vicksburg (fifty
miles to the west) would become untenable. At Washington his plan was overruled to the
extent of dividing his forces. Sherman, with a separate expedition, was to move from
Memphis down the Mississippi directly against Vicksburg. It was Grant’s hope that by
marching on he could unite with Sherman in an assault upon this key to the Mississippi.
Pushing forward from Grand Junction, sixty miles, Grant reached Oxford December 5,
1862, but his supplies were still drawn from Columbus, Kentucky, over a single-track road
to Holly Springs, and thence by wagon over roads which were rapidly becoming
impassable. Delay ensued in which Van Dorn destroyed Federal stores at Holly Springs
worth $1,500,000. This put an end to Grant’s advance. In the picture we see an Illinois
regiment guarding some of the 1200 Confederate prisoners taken during the advance and
here confined in the Courthouse.
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, PATRIOT PUB. CO.

WHERE VICKSBURG’S FATE WAS SEALED

The Battle-field of Champion’s Hill. Here on May 16, 1863, Grant crowned his daring
maneuver against Vicksburg from the south with complete success. Once across the river
below Grand Gulf, after an easy victory at Port Gibson, he was joined by Sherman. The
army struck out across the strange country south of the Big Black River and soon had
driven Pemberton’s southern outposts across that stream. Grant was now on solid
ground; he had successfully turned the flank of the Confederates and he grasped the
opportunity to strike a telling blow. Pressing forward to Raymond and Jackson, he
captured both, and swept westward to meet the astounded Pemberton, still vacillating
between attempting a junction with Johnston or attacking Grant in the rear. But Grant,
moving with wonderful precision, prevented either movement. On May 16th a battle
ensued which was most decisive around Champion’s Hill. Pemberton was routed and put
to flight, and on the next day the Federals seized the crossings of the Big Black River.
Spiking their guns at Haynes’ Bluff, the Confederates retired into Vicksburg, never to
come out again except as prisoners. In eighteen days from the time he crossed the
Mississippi, Grant had gained the advantage for which the Federals had striven for more
than a year at Vicksburg.
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THE BRIDGE THE CONFEDERATES BURNED AT BIG BLACK RIVER

COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THE FIRST FEDERAL CROSSING—SHERMAN’S PONTOONS

The pursuit of Pemberton’s army brought McClernand’s Corps to the defenses of the Big
Black River Bridge early on May 17, 1863. McPherson was close behind. McClernand’s
division carried the defenses and Bowen and Vaughn’s men fled with precipitate haste
over the dreary swamp to the river and crossed over and burned the railroad and other
bridges just in time to prevent McClernand from following. The necessary delay was
aggravating to Grant’s forces. The rest of the day and night was consumed in building
bridges. Sherman had the only pontoon-train with the army and his bridge was the first
ready at Bridgeport, early in the evening.
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THE GATE TO THE MISSISSIPPI

The handwriting is that of Surgeon Bixby, of the Union hospital ship “Red Rover.” In his
album he pasted this unique photograph from the western shore of the river where the
Federal guns and mortars threw a thousand shells into Vicksburg during the siege. The
prominent building is the courthouse, the chief landmark during the investment. Here at
Vicksburg the Confederates were making their last brave stand for the possession of the
Mississippi River, that great artery of traffic. If it were wrested from them the main source
of their supplies would be cut off. Pemberton, a brave and capable officer and a
Pennsylvanian by birth, worked unremittingly for the cause he had espoused. Warned by
the early attacks of General Williams and Admiral Farragut, he had left no stone unturned
to render Vicksburg strongly defended. It had proved impregnable to attack on the north
and east, and the powerful batteries planted on the river-front could not be silenced by
the fleet nor by the guns of the Federals on the opposite shore. But Grant’s masterful
maneuver of cutting loose from his base and advancing from the south had at last out-
generaled both Pemberton and Johnston. Nevertheless, Pemberton stoutly held his
defenses. His high river-battery is photographed below, as it frowned upon the Federals
opposite.
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THE WELL-DEFENDED CITADEL

Behind these fortifications Pemberton, driven from the Big Black River, gathered his
twenty-one thousand troops to make the last stand for the saving of the Mississippi to the
Confederacy. In the upper picture we see Fort Castle, one of the strongest defenses of
the Confederacy. It had full sweep of the river; here “Whistling Dick” (one of the most
powerful guns in possession of the South) did deadly work. In the lower picture we see
the fortifications to the east of the town, before which Grant’s army was now entrenching.
When Vicksburg had first been threatened in 1862, the Confederate fortifications had
been laid out and work begun on them in haste with but five hundred spades, many of
the soldiers delving with their bayonets. The sites were so well chosen and the work so
well done that they had withstood attacks for a year. They were to hold out still longer. By
May 18th the Federals had completely invested Vicksburg, and Grant and Sherman rode
out to Haynes’ Bluff to view the open river to the north, down which abundant supplies
were now coming for the army. Sherman, who had not believed that the plan could
succeed, frankly acknowledged his mistake. But the Mississippi was not yet theirs.
Sherman, assaulting the fortifications of Vicksburg, the next day, was repulsed. A second
attack, on the 22d, failed and on the 25th Grant settled down to starve Pemberton out.

COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

 THE WORK OF THE BESIEGERS
Battery Sherman, on the Jackson Road, before Vicksburg. Settling down to a siege did not
mean idleness for Grant’s army. Fortifications had to be opposed to the formidable one of
the Confederates and a constant bombardment kept up to silence their guns, one by one.
It was to be a drawn-out duel in which Pemberton, hoping for the long-delayed relief from
Johnston, held out bravely against starvation and even mutiny. For twelve miles the
Federal lines stretched around Vicksburg, investing it to the river bank, north and south.
More than eighty-nine battery positions were constructed by the Federals. Battery
Sherman was exceptionally well built—not merely revetted with rails or cotton-bales and
floored with rough timber, as lack of proper material often made necessary. Gradually the
lines were drawn closer and closer as the Federals moved up their guns to silence the
works that they had failed to take in May. At the time of the surrender Grant had more
than 220 guns in position, mostly of heavy caliber. By the 1st of July besieged and
besiegers faced each other at a distance of half-pistol shot. Starving and ravaged by
disease, the Confederates had repelled repeated attacks which depleted their forces,
while Grant, reënforced to three times their number, was showered with supplies and
ammunition that he might bring about the long-delayed victory which the North had been
eagerly awaiting since Chancellorsville.

COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

INVESTING BY INCHES
Logan’s Division undermining the most formidable redoubt in the defenses of Vicksburg.
The position was immediately in front of this honeycombed slope on the Jackson road.
Upon these troops fell most of the labor of sapping and mining, which finally resulted in
the wrecking of the fort so gallantly defended by the veterans of the Third Louisiana. As
the Federal lines crept up, the men working night and day were forced to live in burrows.
They became proficient in such gopher work as the picture shows. Up to the “White
House” (Shirley’s) the troops could be marched in comparative safety, but a short distance
beyond they were exposed to the Confederate sharpshooters, who had only rifles and
muskets to depend on; their artillery had long since been silenced. Near this house was
constructed “Coonskin’s” Tower; it was built of railway iron and cross-ties under the
direction of Second Lieutenant Henry C. Foster, of Company B, Twenty-third Indiana. A
backwoodsman and dead-shot, he was particularly active in paying the Confederate
sharpshooters in their own coin. He habitually wore a cap of raccoon fur, which gave him
his nickname and christened the tower, from which the interior of the Confederate works
could be seen.

THE FIRST MONUMENT AT THE MEETING PLACE

Independence Day, 1863, was a memorable anniversary of the nation’s birth; it brought
to the anxious North the momentous news that Meade had won at Gettysburg and that
Vicksburg had fallen in the West. The marble shaft in the picture was erected to mark the
spot where Grant and Pemberton met on July 3d to confer about the surrender. Under a
tree, within a few hundred feet of the Confederate lines, Grant greeted his adversary as
an old acquaintance. They had fought in the same division for a time in the Mexican War.
Each spoke but two sentences as to the surrender, for Grant lived up to the nickname he
gained at Donelson, and Pemberton’s pride was hurt. The former comrades walked and
talked awhile on other things, and then returned to their lines. Next day the final terms
were arranged by correspondence, and the Confederates marched out with colors flying;
they stacked their arms and, laying their colors upon them, marched back into the city to
be paroled. Those who signed the papers not to fight until exchanged numbered 29,391.
The tree where the commanders met was soon carried away, root and branch, by relic-
hunters. Subsequently the monument which replaced it was chipped gradually into bits,
and in 1866 a 64-pounder cannon took its place as a permanent memorial.

COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

VICKSBURG IN POSSESSION OF THE FEDERALS

 A VIGILANT PATROLLER—THE “SILVER LAKE”
In the picture the “Silver Lake” is lying off Vicksburg after its fall. While Admiral Porter
was busy attacking Vicksburg with the Mississippi squadron, Lieutenant-Commander Le
Roy Fitch, with a few small gunboats, was actively patrolling the Tennessee and
Cumberland Rivers. It was soon seen that the hold upon Tennessee and Kentucky gained
by the Federals by the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson would be lost without adequate
assistance from the navy, and Admiral Porter was authorized to purchase small light-draft
river steamers and add them to Fitch’s flotilla as rapidly as they could be converted into
gunboats. One of the first to be completed was the “Silver Lake.” The little stern-wheel
steamer first distinguished herself on February 3, 1863, at Dover, Tennessee, where she
(with Fitch’s flotilla) assisted in routing 4,500 Confederates, who were attacking the
Federals at that place. The little vessel continued to render yeoman’s service with the
other gunboats, ably assisted by General A. W. Ellet’s marine brigade.
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, PATRIOT PUB. CO.

THE CONFEDERACY CUT IN TWAIN

The Levee at Vicksburg, February, 1864. For seven months the Federals had been in
possession of the city, and the Mississippi—now open through its entire course—cut off
the struggling Confederacy in the East from the South and Southwest, the storehouses of
their resources and their main dependence in continuing the struggle. But even such a
blow as this, coming on top of Gettysburg, did not force the brave people of the South to
give up the struggle. In the picture the only remaining warlike signs are the tents on the
opposite shore. But on both sides of the river the Confederates were still desperately
striving to reunite their territory. In the East another year and more of the hardest kind of
fighting was ahead; another severing in twain of the South was inevitable before peace
could come, and before the muskets could be used to shoot the crows, and before their
horses could plough the neglected fields.

WITHIN THE PARAPET AT PORT HUDSON IN THE SUMMER OF 1863

These fortifications withstood every attack of Banks’ powerful army from May 24 to July 9,
1863. Like Vicksburg, Port Hudson could be reduced only by a weary siege. These
pictures, taken within the fortifications, show in the distance the ground over which the
investing army approached to the two unsuccessful grand assaults they made upon the
Confederate defenders. The strength of the works is apparent. A continuous line of
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