entrance to northern Mississippi and northern Alabama. Railways ran in 1862 from the junction of the Mississippi and the Ohio to New Orleans and Mobile. East and west railways extended from Memphis to Chattanooga and Charleston, and from beyond Vicksburg to Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston.

The most important points for the attacking Union force Strategic points

to gain were Cairo and Paducah on the line of the Ohio; Memphis, Corinth, and Chattanooga along the southern boundary of Tennessee; New Orleans and Vicksburg on the lower Mississippi, and the railway center, Atlanta, in north-central Georgia, on the border line between the west and the east. The location of these places should be noted carefully and the maps should be used constantly to ascertain the general routes of the Union forces.

line of the

Ohio.

348. Grant's Campaign in the West (to February, 1862). Seizure of the When the Confederates seized and fortified the bluff at Columbus, Kentucky (September, 1861), General Grant, who had already occupied Cairo, took Paducah also and thus

Grant.

Rhodes,

United States, III, 594-598.

Hosmer, Appeal to Arms, 84-90.

gained possession of the entire line of the Ohio. Ulysses S. Grant was a West Point graduate who had done excellent service under both Taylor and Scott during the Mexican War. Before 1861 he had been engaged in business without very great success near St. Louis and later at Galena, Illinois. A man of few words, in all his campaigns he acted with a

Dodge,

Civil War, 25-28.

Fiske, Miss.
Valley, 52-66.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

pure as his own. The next forward movement of the army was to capture Colum

Fort

bus, Island No. 10, and forts Henry and Donelson, so as
to open the Mississippi, the Tennessee, and the Cumber-
land by taking the first line of forts. Farther east the Con-
federates were driven out of Kentucky by Thomas.1
Henry was captured by Admiral Foote and his fleet of gun-
boats, the garrison withdrawing to Donelson, which was much
stronger. A combined land and water attack was made on
Donelson, during which Grant demanded the " unconditional
surrender" of the fort. On February 16 Grant won his first
great victory by capturing Donelson, with its garrison of
nearly fifteen thousand men. Considering the size of his

1 Battle of Mill Springs, January 19, 1862.

force, less than that of his opponents, the strength of the fortifications, and the severity of the weather, this must be considered one of his greatest achievements. The capture of Donelson left the way open to Nashville and compelled the Confederates to withdraw from Columbus.

349. Completion of the Western Tennessee Campaign. Battle of Shiloh Grant's successes on the Tennessee and the Cumberland (April, 1862).

Dodge, Civil
War, 42-48.

of Secession,

132-145.

Rivers were followed by Pope's capture of Island No. 10 after an energetic campaign, March, 1862. Grant had at once advanced to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, the nearest point for an attack upon Corinth, which was at the Johnson, War junction of the north and south railway with that from Memphis to Chattanooga. At this point he waited for reënforcements to arrive from Nashville. His divisions were badly scattered and the army in no condition for advance or Leaders, defense. Less than thirty miles away was a Confederate I, 465-486. army nearly as large as Grant's under Albert Sidney Johnston, one of the most experienced officers of the old regular

army and at that time considered the ablest military leader

Battles and

Capture of
Corinth and
Memphis.

Larned (ed.),
Ready Ref.,
3461-3469.

Fiske, Miss. Valley, 133-137.

Plan of campaign, 1862. Progress of the blockade.

Dodge, Civil

War, 33-39.

Johnson, War of Secession,

90-98.

on either side. Suddenly before daybreak, April 6, the Confederates attacked the advanced brigades of Grant's scattered force near Shiloh church. Several thousand prisoners were taken and the Union troops were driven back in the attempt to get between them and the river. That the Union army was not destroyed at the outset was due largely to the courage of the soldiers, and the skill and determination of William T. Sherman, for Grant was absent and at least ten thousand of his soldiers could not report for duty on the field of battle. The death of Johnston and the stubbornness of the Union defense saved Grant's army that day, and the arrival of Buell's army from Nashville and other troops so strengthened Grant that he overpowered the Confederates the next day, although he did not follow up his victory.

General Halleck, who had charge of all western armies, now took command of all the troops at Shiloh and advanced against Corinth. With his greatly superior force he pressed back the Confederates, who abandoned this strategic point without a battle. After he had gained possession of the east and west railway at Corinth and at points east, Memphis surrendered to Admiral Foote, who had defeated the Confederate fleet on the Mississippi.

350. New Orleans (1862). The advance of the Union armies from the north along the Tennessee and the Mississippi was but part of a much larger plan which included not only the opening of the Mississippi by attacking New Orleans also, but the advance upon Richmond and the capture of important places on the Atlantic or Gulf coasts which could be made the bases of operation for the fleets or blockading squadrons. The United States navy had already gained a foothold on the islands off the coast of North Carolina. A Union fleet had captured Port Royal and had gained control of most of the inlets between Charleston and Savannah. this way the blockade of those ports and a few others on the south Atlantic coast was made very effective. The capture of New Orleans was desired not simply because it was on the Mississippi, but because its nearness to the cotton belt made

In

it easy to ship that staple from the city. On account of the three mouths of the Mississippi it was very difficult to maintain an effective blockade.

Larned (ed.),

Ready Ref.,

3458-3460.

The naval expedition against New Orleans was intrusted Capture of to Admiral Farragut, a southerner of the greatest ability, New Orleans. who remained loyal to the Union. With a large fleet of wooden vessels, and mortar boats under Admiral Porter, Farragut attacked the forts on opposite banks of the river, which constituted the chief defense of the city. After several days' bombardment, the chain across the river which connected the forts was cut, the Confederate fleet was overpowered, and the Union vessels ran past the forts. The city surrendered at once, April 25, and the forts held out only a few days longer.

Johnson, War of Secession, 111-126.

Country be

tween Washington and Richmond.

351. The Theater of War in Virginia. In the East the advance of the Union armies was as difficult as it was easy in the West. From Washington to Richmond is about 100 miles as the crow flies, but the country is as hard to traverse as 500 miles along the Mississippi or the Tennessee. Below Semple, Geog. the Potomac three rivers cross eastern Virginia, flowing in a Conditions, 289-293. southeasterly direction. Farthest north is the Rappahannock, which, at Fredericksburg, is but ten miles from the lower end of the great bend of the Potomac. South of this is the York, and still farther south the James River, with Richmond located at the first scries of falls over 100 miles from Chesapeake Bay. Between these rivers the country was wild and almost impassable. Near the coast were swamps, farther inland hills, and everywhere forests. Roads were few, although in 1862 there was a railway from the Potomac above Fredericksburg to Richmond and other southern cities, besides the railway running through Manassas to Lynchburg and Chattanooga.

To these physical difficulties encountered in an advance on Richmond, there was added the problem of defending Washington. On the side of the Potomac there was nothing to fear so long as the Union side had fleets and the Confederates had none. The great danger arose from the Shenandoah

Defence of Washington

and Shenan

doah valley.