Was Siege and Total War necessary?

I think that total war and siege was not necessary. It was not fair for the people who were living at Vicksburg. I thought that it was not right for them to use this strategy. There was women and children on at Vicksburg. Once the Union surrounded the area, they also blocked the way for supplies to come there and for them to get food supplies. Once they ran out of food the people were starving and had to start eating rats and horses. This was bad because people were starving.