In Tennessee in the early months of 1862, Ulysses S. Grant captured forts Henry and Donelson and opened the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers to military and commercial shipping. In April the first of many terrible battles of the Civil War was fought near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River around a decrepit meeting-house known as Shiloh. This costly victory established Federal control over much of central Tennessee.

These early Union victories gave the Federals control of two of the major rivers in the region--the highways of the period--opening large areas of the Confederacy to Federal invasion. Other important results were the end of the Confederate threat to control Kentucky and possibly close off the Ohio River. These victories also were a major factor in forcing the abandonment of a key Confederate fort on the Mississippi River at Columbus, Kentucky. This book describes not only the actual fighting that took place but how important political and economic factors influenced the overall military strategy in the region.