The War in the West

1. 19.3 The War in the West

2. Western Strategy • Union strategy in the West focused on controlling the Mississippi River. • To cut the eastern Confederacy off from food production resources in the west • To provide bases along the Mississippi River, from which the Union could attack the South’s communication and transportation network

3. Western Strategy • Ulysses S. Grant • Most important figure on the war in the West • Had graduated from West Point and served in the Mexican War • Had resigned from the army but volunteered when the Civil War began • Impressed Lincoln with his willingness to fight • Promoted to general by September 1861

4. First Major Battle in the West • By late February 1862 the Union controlled Kentucky and much of Tennessee • Grant’s troops followed the Tennessee River toward Mississippi • Halted just north of the border, near a creek and a church named Shiloh • On April 6, 1862, the Confederates launched a surprise attack.

5. First Major Battle in the West • Union troops were pushed back, but more Union troops arrived that night. • Grant counterattacked the next day, and the Confederates were forced to retreat. • Battle of Shiloh gave the Union greater control of the Mississippi River valley.

6. Fighting for the Mississippi River • Strategy in the Mississippi • Union wanted to capture key southern positions along the Mississippi River. • Union navy would try to capture the port at New Orleans and move north. • Naval forced would then unite with Grant’s army as it headed south.

7. Fighting for the Mississippi River • David Farragut • Daring Union naval leader from Tennessee • Captured New Orleans, then sailed farther up the Mississippi River • Next took Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi

8. Fighting for the Mississippi River • Vicksburg • Located on the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River • Confederate general John C. Pemberton had placed guns on the bluffs • In the spring of 1863 Grant blocked southern forces from aiding Vicksburg and then surrounded the city.

9. Fighting for the Mississippi River • Vicksburg • The Siege of Vicksburg lasted six weeks. • Lacking food, the Confederates at Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863. • Gave the Union control of the Mississippi River

10. The Far West • Union victory at Glorieta Pass in New Mexico ended the Confederate hopes of controlling the Southwest. • Battle of Pea Ridge • Fought in Arkansas in March 1862; part of the South’s efforts to take Missouri • Some American Indians, mainly Cherokee, aided the Confederate forces in hopes that they would gain more independence.

11. The Far West • Battle of Pea Ridge • Some of the American Indians were also slaveholders and supported the South. • Union victory, but pro-Confederate forces remained active in Missouri region