126 The American Civil War
by Confederates to be the 'Gibraltar of
the West.'
By June 1862, no commander in either
army could boast of successes like Halleck's
in the Western Theater of war. With
Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and much of
Arkansas in Federal hands, 'Old Brains', as
Halleck was commonly known before the
war (an inference due to the size of his
forehead and his intellect), had become the
architect of success. Northern hopes for an
end to the war escalated. But as the rivers
began to shrink due to the summer heat, so
too did Union activity in the west begin
to decelerate.
Waging a limited war for limited goals, at
a time when Union armies were now poised
to strike at the South's vital slavery districts
in the west, proved cumbersome for Union
commanders whose armies occupied a region