The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

380 Chapter 14 The War to Save the Union

New Orleans was captured by a naval force under the
command of Captain David Farragut, Vicksburg, key
to control of the Mississippi, remained firmly in
Confederate hands. A great opportunity had been lost.
Shiloh had other results. The staggering casual-
ties shook the confidence of both belligerents. More
Americans fell there in two days than in all the battles
of the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Mexican
War combined. Union losses exceeded 13,000 out of
63,000 engaged; the Confederates lost 10,699,
including General Johnston. Technology in the
shape of more accurate guns that could be fired far
more rapidly than the muskets of earlier times and
more powerful artillery were responsible for the car-
nage. Gradually the generals began to reconsider
their tactics and to experiment with field fortifica-
tions and other defensive measures. And the people,

North and South, stopped thinking of the war as a

romantic test of courage and military guile.

McClellan: The Reluctant Warrior

In Virginia, General McClellan, after unaccountable

delays, was finally moving against Richmond. Instead

of trying to advance across the difficult terrain of

northern Virginia, he transported his army by water to

the tip of the peninsula formed by the York and James

rivers in order to attack Richmond from the southeast.

After the famous battle on March 9, 1862, between

the USSMonitorand the Confederate Merrimack, the

first fight in history between armored warships, con-

trol of these waters was securely in northern hands.

While McClellan’s plan alarmed many congress-

men because it seemed to leave Washington relatively

Gulf of Mexico

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ILLINOIS

INDIANA

MISSOURI

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

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Vicksburg

Mobile

Area controlled by Union

Area seized by Union

Area controlled by Confederacy

Union advance

Confederate advance

Union victory

Date of victory

Port Hudson

Fort Henry

(Feb 6, 1862)

Battle of Pea Ridge

(March, 1862) Shiloh

(April 6–7,

Memphis 1862)

(June 6, 1862)

Baton Rouge

(May 12,1862)

(May 12,1862)

Fort Jackson

(April 24,1862)

New Orleans

(April 25,1862)

Fort Donelson

(Feb 16, 1862)

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Battles in the WestThe Anaconda Plan called for the North to gain control of the Mississippi

River. To that end, in the spring of 1862 Grant seized western Kentucky and Tennessee and

won a major battle at Shiloh, just north of Corinth. Farragut, attacking by sea from the Gulf of

Mexico, moved up the mouth of the Mississippi, seizing New Orleans and Baton Rouge. But

the South retained Vicksburg: The Confederacy had not been sliced in two.