— Ch. 1 · Defining The Western Theater —
Western theater of the American Civil War.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. It also included Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states were considered part of the lower seaboard theater except for Mobile Bay. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains belonged to the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater. This area served as an avenue of military operations by Union armies directly into the agricultural heartland of the South via the major rivers of the region. These rivers included the Mississippi, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland. The Confederacy was forced to defend an enormous area with limited resources. Most railroads ran from north to south rather than east to west. This made it difficult to send Confederate reinforcements and supplies to troops further from the more heavily populated and industrialized areas of the eastern Confederacy.
Early Campaigns In Kentucky And Tennessee
Union operations began in September 1861 with attempts to secure Kentucky. More than half of the state was under Confederate control by late 1861 into 1862. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee had early successes in Kentucky and western Tennessee in 1861 and 1862. He captured the important strategic locations of Forts Henry and Donelson. The Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeated the Confederate Army of Mississippi at the Battle of Shiloh. General Albert Sidney Johnston commanded this Confederate force. The battle drove it out of western Tennessee and subsequently marching into Mississippi. They captured Corinth. Grant's troops marched towards and captured Vicksburg in 1862, 1863. Meanwhile, the Army of the Ohio experienced success blocking a Confederate invasion of Kentucky. They gained control over large amounts of Tennessee through the Battle of Stones River and the 1863 Tullahoma Campaign. These forces fought against the Confederate Army of Tennessee whose commander Braxton Bragg was often criticized for a perceived lack of military skill.