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Mississippi River In The American Civil War
The Mississippi was an important military highway that bordered ten states, roughly equally divided between Union and Confederate loyalties. Both sides soon realised that control of the river was a crucial strategic priority. Confederate general Braxton Bragg said "The river is of more importance to us than all the country together." In April 1862, the Union secured two key points, New Orleans at the mouth of the river and a double-bend on the Kentucky-Tennessee line, leaving only the middle section in Confederate hands. When the major river-ports of Memphis and Vicksburg fell (followed automatically by Port Hudson), the liberation of the Mississippi was complete, and Abraham Lincoln declared "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea." This split the Confederacy in two, with the western half forced to operate as a separate department, the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War, Trans-Mississippi Theater, greatly inhibiting supplies and communications, and ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Western Theater. His most important role was as commander of the Army of Mississippi, later renamed the Army of Tennessee, from June 1862 until December 1863. Bragg, a native of Warrenton, North Carolina, was educated at West Point and became an artillery officer. He served in Florida and then received three brevet promotions for distinguished service in the Mexican–American War, most notably the Battle of Buena Vista. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1856 to become a sugar plantation owner in Louisiana. At the start of the Civil War, Bragg trained soldiers in the Gulf Coast region. He was a corps commander at the Battle of Shiloh, where he launched several costly and unsuccessful frontal assaults but nonetheless was commended for his condu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, as the Cherokee people had their homelands along its banks, especially in what are now East Tennessee and northern Alabama. Additionally, its tributary, the Little Tennessee River, flows into it from Western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia, where the river also was bordered by numerous Cherokee towns. Its current name is derived from the Cherokee town, ''Tanasi'', which was located on the Tennessee side of the Appalachian Mountains. Course The Tennessee River is formed at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers in present-day Knoxville, Tennessee. From Knoxville, it flows southwest through East Tennessee into Chattanooga before crossing into Alabama. It travels through the Huntsville and Decatur area before rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Van Dorn
Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820May 7, 1863) started his military career as a United States Army officer but joined Confederate forces in 1861 after the Civil War broke out. He was a major general when he was killed in a private conflict. A great-nephew of Andrew Jackson, he received an appointment to West Point Academy, graduating in 1842. He was notable for fighting with distinction during the Mexican–American War and against several tribes of Native Americans in the West. In the American Civil War, he sided with the Confederacy, fighting in the Western Theater as a major general. He was appointed commander of the Trans-Mississippi District. At the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in early March 1862, he was defeated by a smaller Union force. He had abandoned his supply wagons for the sake of speed, leaving his men under-equipped in cold weather. At the Second Battle of Corinth in October 1862, he was again defeated through a failure of reconnaissance, and was removed from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Baton Rouge (1862)
The Battle of Baton Rouge was a ground and naval battle in the American Civil War fought in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, on August 5, 1862. The Union victory halted Confederate attempts to recapture the capital city of Louisiana. Background On April 25, 1862, the day before New Orleans fell to the US Navy fleet under Admiral David Farragut, the Confederate state government decided to abandon Baton Rouge, moving first to Opelousas, and then to Shreveport. All cotton in the area was set afire to prevent it falling into Union hands. On May 9, Navy Commander James S. Palmer of the federal gunboat landed at the town wharf and took possession, without resistance, of the Pentagon Barracks and the arsenal. Two weeks later, a party of guerrillas attacked a rowboat carrying a naval officer. In retaliation, Farragut's flagship, the , bombarded the town, causing civilian casualties and damaging St. Joseph's Church and other buildings. On May 29, US Brigadier General Thomas Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North & South - The Official Magazine Of The Civil War Society
''North & South – The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society'' was a military history and general history bi-monthly magazine published in the United States concerning the American Civil War 1861–1865. As its title states, it was the official magazine of the ''Civil War Society''. It was often referred to as just "North & South." Keith Poulter is the magazine's founder and editor. The headquarters was in Tollhouse, California Tollhouse (formerly, Toll House) is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It lies at an elevation of . Tollhouse is located in the Sierra Nevada, southwest of Shaver Lake and 18 miles southwest of Huntington Lake. It is .... Purpose ''North & South'' was founded in 1997 with a focus on historical accuracy with frequent ground breaking topics. This is often done by discussion articles that is unique to this magazine. The book review section and "Crossfire" provide a mix of light and detail. It is considered an accurate h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Queen Of The West (1854)
The USS ''Queen of the West'' was a sidewheel steamer ram ship and the flagship of the United States Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade. It was built at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854. It served as a commercial steamer until purchased by Colonel Charles Ellet Jr. in 1862 and converted for use as a ram ship. The ship operated in conjunction with the Mississippi River Squadron during the Union brown-water navy battle against the Confederate River Defense Fleet for control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries during the American Civil War. The ship played a critical role in the Union Navy victory at the First Battle of Memphis and sank the Confederate flagship ''CSS Colonel Lovell''. In actions south of Vicksburg, Mississippi, she severely damaged the CSS City of Vicksburg and captured four transport ships supplying Confederate forces. On February 14, 1863, the ''USS Queen of the West'' was captured by Confederate forces on the Red River, repaired and returned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Battle Of Memphis
The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately North of the city of Memphis, Tennessee on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Confederate forces, and marked the virtual eradication of a Confederate naval presence on the river. Despite the lopsided outcome, the Union Army failed to grasp its strategic significance. Its primary historical importance is that it was the last time civilians with no prior military experience were permitted to command ships in combat. As such, it is a milestone in the development of professionalism in the United States Navy. Background The defending Confederates closely matched the advancing federal force in raw numbers, with eight rebel vessels opposing nine Union gunboats and rams, but the fighting qualities of the former were far inferior. Each was armed with only one or two guns, of a light ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort St
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Jackson, Louisiana
Fort Jackson is a historic masonry fort located up river from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It was constructed as a coastal defense of New Orleans, between 1822 and 1832, and it was a battle site during the American Civil War. It is a National Historic Landmark. It was damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and its condition is threatened. It is marked Battery Millar on some maps, for the Endicott era work built nearby it. Fort Jackson is situated approximately south of New Orleans on the western bank of the Mississippi, approximately south of Triumph, Louisiana. The older Fort St. Philip is located opposite of Fort Jackson on the eastern bank; this West Bank fort was constructed after the War of 1812 on the advice of Andrew Jackson, for whom it is named. The fort was occupied off and on for various military purposes from its completion until after World War I, when it served as a training station. It is now a National Historic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Union Blockade
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic and Gulf coastline, including 12 major ports, notably New Orleans and Mobile. Those blockade runners fast enough to evade the Union Navy could carry only a small fraction of the supplies needed. They were operated largely by foreign citizens, making use of neutral ports such as Havana, Nassau and Bermuda. The Union commissioned around 500 ships, which destroyed or captured about 1,500 blockade runners over the course of the war. Proclamation of blockade and legal implications On April 19, 1861, President Lincoln issued a ''Proclamation of Blockade Against Southern Ports'': Whereas an insurrection against the Government of the United States has broken out in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. Farragut, 1879, p. 3 Hickman, 2010, p. 216 He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" in U.S. Navy tradition. Stein, 2005, p. 5 Spears, 1905, p. 328 Born near Knoxville, Tennessee, Farragut was fostered by naval officer David Porter after the death of his mother. When he was 11 years old, Farragut served in the War of 1812 under the command of his adoptive father. He received his first command in 1823, at the age of 22, and went on to participate in anti-piracy operations in the Caribbean Sea. He then served in the Mexican–American War under the command of Matthew C. Perry, participating in the blockade of Tuxpan. After the war, he oversaw the construction of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capture Of New Orleans
The capture of New Orleans (April 25 – May 1, 1862) during the American Civil War was a turning point in the war, which precipitated the capture of the Mississippi River. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was unopposed in its capture of the city itself. Many residents resented the controversial and confrontational administration of the city by its U.S. Army military governor, who caused lasting resentment. This capture of the largest Confederate city was a major turning point and an event of international importance. It also caught many Confederate generals by surprise who planned for a attack from the north instead of from the gulf of Mexico. Background The history of New Orleans contrasts significantly with the histories of other cities that were included in the Confederate States of America. Because it was founded by the French and controlled by Spain for a time, New Orleans had a population who were mostly Catholic, and who had created a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
