8/4/2019 Western Theater 1861 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/western-theater-1861 1/14 Western theater 1861–1863 For more details on this topic, see Western Theater of the American Civil War . While the Confederate forces had numerous successes in the Eastern Theater, they were defeated many times in the West. They were driven from Missouri early in the war as a result of the Battle of Pea Ridge . [134] Leonidas Polk's invasion of Columbus, Kentucky ended Kentucky's policy of neutrality and turned that state against the Confederacy. Nashville and central Tennessee fell to the Union early in 1862, leading to attrition of local food supplies and livestock and a breakdown in social organization. The Mississippi was opened to Union traffic to the southern border of Tennessee with the taking of Island No. 10 and New Madrid, Missouri , and then Memphis, Tennessee . In April 1862, the Union Navy captured New Orleans [135] without a major fight, which allowed Union forces to begin moving up the Mississippi. Only the fortress city of Vicksburg , Mississippi , prevented Union control of the entire river. General Braxton Bragg 's second Confederate invasion of Kentucky ended with a meaningless victory over Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell at theBattle of Perryville , [136] although Bragg was forced to end his attempt at invading Kentucky and retreat due to lack of support for the Confederacy in that state. Bragg was narrowly defeated by Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans at the Battle of Stones River [137] in Tennessee. The Battle of Chickamauga was one of the deadliest battles in the Western Theater. The one clear Confederate victory in the West was the Battle of Chickamauga . Bragg, reinforced by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet 's corps (from Lee's army in the east), defeated Rosecrans, despite the heroic defensive stand of Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas . Rosecrans retreated toChattanooga , which Bragg then besieged. The Union's key strategist and tactician in the West was Ulysses S. Grant, who won victories at Forts Henry and Donelson (by which the Union seized control of the Tennessee and CumberlandRivers); the Battle of Shiloh; [138] and the Battle of Vicksburg , [139] which cemented Union control of the Mississippi River and is considered one of the turning points of the war. Grant marched to the relief of Rosecrans and defeated Bragg at the Third Battle of Chattanooga , [140] driving Confederate forces out of Tennessee and opening a route to Atlanta and the heart of the Confederacy. Trans-Mississippi theater 1861–1865 For more details on this topic, see Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War .
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The Civil War is one of the central events in America's collective memory. There are innumerable statues, commemorations, books
and archival collections. The memory includes the home front, military affairs, the treatment of soldiers, both living and dead, in the
war's aftermath, depictions of the war in literature and art, evaluations of heroes and villains, and considerations of the moral and
political lessons of the war .[208] The last theme includes moral evaluations of racism and slavery, heroism in combat and behind the
lines, and the issues of democracy and minority rights, as well as the notion of an "Empire of Liberty" influencing the world.
[209] Memory of the war in the white South crystallized in the myth of the "Lost Cause", which shaped regional identity and race
relations for generations.[210]
150th anniversary
The year 2011 will include the American Civil War's 150th anniversary. Many in the South are attempting to incorporate both Black
historyand white perspectives. A Harris Poll given in March 2011 suggested that Americans were still uniquely divided over the
results and appropriate memorials to acknowledge the occasion.[211] While traditionally American films of the Civil War feature
"brother versus brother" themes [212] film treatments of the war are evolving to include African American characters. Benard Simelton,
president of the AlabamaNAACP, said celebrating the Civil War is like celebrating the "Holocaust". In reference to slavery Simelton
said that black "rights were taken away" and that blacks "were treated as less than human beings." National Park historian Bob
Sutton said that slavery was the "principal cause" of the war. Sutton also claimed that the issue of state rights was incorporated by
the Confederacy as a justification for the war in order to get recognition from Britain. Sutton went on to mention that during the 100th
anniversary of the Civil War white southerners focused on the genius of southern generals, rather than slavery. In Virginia during the
fall of 2010, a conference took place that addressed the slavery issue. During November 2010, black Civil War reenactors from
around the country participated in a parade at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[213]
American Civil War: War in the West, 1861-1863Taking the RiversBy Kennedy Hickman, About.com Guide
Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, USA
Situation in 1861
At the outset of the war, Union efforts in the West were hampered by a lack of unified command. The theater was dividedinto three separate departments: the Department of Kansas, under Maj. Gen. David Hunter, the Department of Missouri,underMaj. Gen. Henry Halleck, and the Department of the Ohio, underMaj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. Facing them was a singleConfederate command headed by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. Stretching from the Cumberland Gap in the east to
Arkansas in the west, Johnston was required to defend a broad front with inferior numbers and a chronic shortage of supplies.
Missouri & Kentucky
Initial movements in the West were centered on securing the border states of Missouri and Kentucky. Following a Unionvictory at Boonville in June 1861, Missouri was prevented from seceding. For much of the war, both Union, Confederate, andirregular forces would wrestle for control of the state. In Kentucky, the state government declared neutrality andthreatened to oppose whichever side entered the state first. On September 3, Confederate Gen. Leonidas Polk crossed theborder and occupied Columbus. This was countered on the 5th when Union troops underBrig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant tookPaducah. In response to these actions, Kentucky elected to remain in the Union, though it did supply troops to both sides.Forts Henry & Donelson
After months of minor actions, Halleck authorized Grant to move up the Tennessee River and Cumberland Rivers to attackForts Henry and Donelson. Working in conjunction with gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, Grant began hisadvance on February 2, 1862. Realizing that Fort Henry was located on a flood plain and open to naval attack, theinstallation's commander, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, withdrew most of his garrison to Fort Donelson before Grant arrivedon the 6th.
After occupying Fort Henry, Grant immediately moved against Fort Donelson eleven miles to the east. Situated on high, dryground, Fort Donelson proved near invulnerable to naval bombardment. After direct assaults failed, Grant invested the fort.On the 15th, Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attempted a breakout but were contained before creating
an opening. With no options left, Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner asked Grant for surrender terms. Grant's response wassimply, "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted," which earned him the nickname"Unconditional Surrender" Grant. With the fall of Fort Donelson, over 12,000 Confederates were captured, nearly a third of
Johnston's forces. As a result, he was forced to order the abandonment of Nashville, as well as a retreat from Columbus, KY.Battle of ShilohNewly promoted to major general, Grant moved south along the Tennessee River to Pittsburg Landing near Shiloh Church.Upon arriving, Halleck, who had recently been given complete command of the western theater, ordered Grant to pauseand wait for a second Union army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell to join him. Meanwhile, Johnston and his newlyappointed second-in-command, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, were concentrating their forces around Corinth, MS, with the goalof striking at Grant before he was reinforced.
Moving north in early April, the two Confederate generals launched a surprise dawn attack on Grant's camps on the 6th.Striking hard, Johnston's men were able to drive back the Union troops. As Grant's men retreated, two divisions under Brig.Gens. Benjamin M. Prentiss's and W.H.L. Wallace doggedly defended an area known as the "Hornet's Nest" for close toseven hours. As the Confederate attacks focused on this area, it gave Grant time to reorganize his lines. With nightfall, theConfederates paused to regroup and deal with the loss of Johnston who had been mortally wounded in the afternoon.
During the night Grant's army was bolstered by the arrival of Buell's Army of the Ohio. Now possessing 45,000 men, Grantdecided to counterattack in the morning. At dawn, Beauregard, who had been planning on finishing off Grant that day, wassurprised to see the Union troops moving forward. After heavy fighting, they recaptured their original camps and forcedBeauregard's army to retreat back towards Corinth. The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest encounter to date with the Unionsuffering 13,047 casualties and the Confederates 10,699. It proved a harbinger of the bloodshed that would occur later inthe in war.
Island Number 10
While Grant was fighting at Shiloh, Union troops under Maj. Gen. John Pope, with the assistance of Foote's gunboats, wereassaulting Island Number 10. Located at the Kentucky bend in the Mississippi River, the Confederates had constructednumerous batteries to impede the Union advance down the river. After naval bombardment and having their escape routesevered by Pope's men, the garrison surrendered on April 8. The capture of Island Number 10 led to the fall of Memphis twomonths later.Fall of New Orleans
To the south, the US Navy was beginning operations against the Confederacy's largest seaport, New Orleans. Commandedby Flag Officer David G. Farragut, ships of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron attacked and ran past Forts Jackson and St.Philip south of the city on April 24. They anchored off the city the following day and accepted its surrender. On May 1,Union troops under Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler entered the city and established a military government. With Union forcesoccupying both Memphis and New Orleans, the control of the Mississippi River was nearly complete.Previous: War in the East, 1862-1863 | Civil War 10