The American Civil War - This Mighty Scourge of War

114 The American Civil War

The campaign in Kentucky

and Tennessee, 1861-62

As winter approached, the prospects of
campaigning were dismal and the difficulty of
moving men in the winter brought the
Federal offensive to a halt. Both Union and
Confederate armies went into winter quarters
expecting little military activity, but
commanders began to exploit the natural
advantages afforded them by the rivers. In the
months that followed, the Union's edge on
the water helped it recover from the defeat at
First Bull Run, Wilson's Creek, and Belmont.
Union commanders pondered the best
avenues of invasion. They could move down
the Mississippi River against Columbus, which
had proven to be impregnable; they could
move by railroad from Louisville to Bowling
Green into central Kentucky, which the
Confederates could easily stall; or they could
move up either the Tennessee or Cumberland
River or both toward the river forts.
Whatever the case, the western
commanders would first have to agree on the
same avenue and, secondly, be willing to
commit significant numbers of troops to
hold on to supply areas as they moved

south, which would reduce the number of
troops for combat. A seemingly logical
solution at the time, the divided
departments would come to plague Union
operations in the west, as neither Halleck

nor Buell, cautious by nature and sensitive
about administering their departments,
could agree on the same route of invasion.
Thus, the better part of the winter of
1861-62 was spent campaigning with a map.

They convinced themselves that because the
Confederates had the advantage of interior
lines, any Union assault would have a
distinct disadvantage. Consequently, an
impatient Northern public and a frustrated

president, tired of the inactivity, demanded
an end to procrastination and the beginning
of some movement in the west.

It was the subordinates of Halleck and
Buell who, disheartened by the inactivity of
camp life, convinced their superiors to allow
them to take the initiative. The war began to

Commodore Andrew Foote was wounded by splinters

of wood in his foot while on deck of the USS St Lous.

Though somewhat incapacitated, he took part in the

attack on Island No. 10 in April. His injury forced him to

shore duty and in June he was transferred to

Washington. (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

move in the west in early January when

Halleck ordered Grant to send a small

expeditionary force up the Tennessee River

to test the defenses at Fort Henry. This

diversionary trip, Halleck thought, might

also force Johnston to consider his options as

to where he might concentrate his force.

At the other end of the Confederate

defensive line, Major-Generals George B.

Crittenden and George H. Thomas engaged

and defeated Confederate forces under

Brigadier-General Felix Zollicoffer at the

Battle of Mill Springs or Logan's Cross Roads,

Kentucky. The battle, on 19 January 1862,

revealed the weakness in Johnston's line and

advanced the Union cause in the eastern

portion of the Bluegrass state and in

eastern Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Grant had finally convinced

Halleck that Fort Henry could easily be

taken. In early February about 15,000 troops