Tennessee in the American Civil War
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The American Civil War, to a large extent, was fought in cities and farms of Tennessee—only Virginia had more battles. Among the last Southern states to secede from the Union, Tennessee saw more than its share of devastation from years of warring armies criss-crossing the state. Its rivers were key arteries to the Deep South, and, from the early days of the war, Union efforts focused on securing control of those transportation routes, as well as major roads and mountain passes such as Cumberland Gap.
A large number of important battles occurred in Tennessee, including the vicious fighting at the Battle of Shiloh, which at the time, was the deadliest battle in American history (it was later surpassed by a number of other engagements). Other large battles in Tennessee included Stones River, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Franklin.
Although the state became a part of the Confederacy, pockets of strong pro-Union sentiments remained throughout the war, particularly in the mountains in East Tennessee. The Vice President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was a loyalist, as were a number of congressmen and state politicians. On the Confederate side, significant leaders included noted cavalryman Nathan B. Forrest and corps commanders Leonidas Polk and Benjamin F. Cheatham, as well as Governor Isham Harris.
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[edit] Secession
Most Tennesseans initially showed little enthusiasm for breaking away from a nation whose struggles it had shared for so long. In 1860, they had voted by a slim margin for the Constitutional Unionist John Bell, a native son and moderate who continued to search for a way out of the crisis.
In February 1861, fifty-four percent of the state’s voters voted against sending delegates to a secession convention. With the attack on Fort Sumter in April, however, followed by President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to coerce the seceded states back into line, public sentiment turned dramatically against the Union.
Thus historian Daniel Crofts reports:
- Unionists of all descriptions, both those who became Confederates and those who did not, considered the proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand troops "disastrous." Having consulted personally with Lincoln in March, Congressman Horace Maynard, the unconditional Unionist and future Republican from East Tennessee, felt assured that the administration would pursue a peaceful policy. Soon after April 15, a dismayed Maynard reported that "the President's extraordinary proclamation" had unleashed "a tornado of excitement that seems likely to sweep us all away." Men who had "heretofore been cool, firm and Union loving" had become "perfectly wild" and were "aroused to a phrenzy of passion." For what purpose, they asked, could such an army be wanted "but to invade, overrun and subjugate the Southern states." The growing war spirit in the North further convinced southerners that they would have to "fight for our hearthstones and the security of home."[1]
Governor Isham Harris began military mobilization, submitted an ordinance of secession to the General Assembly, and made direct overtures to the Confederate government.
In a June 8, 1861, referendum, East Tennessee held firm against separation, while West Tennessee returned an equally heavy majority in favor. The deciding vote came in Middle Tennessee, which went from 51 percent against secession in February to 88 percent in favor in June. Having ratified by popular vote its connection with the fledgling Confederacy, Tennessee became the last state to withdraw from the Union. However, East Tennessee, the only area of the state that did not practice slavery on a wide scale, continued to oppose secession during the war, and became an early base for the Republican Party. The region also supplied significant quantities of troops for the Federal army, while the rest of Tennessee was a prime recruiting area for the Confederate army. (See also Nickajack).
[edit] Battles
Many battles were fought in the state—most of them Union victories. Ulysses S. Grant and the United States Navy captured control of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in February 1862 and held off the Confederate counterattack at Shiloh in April of the same year.
Capture of Memphis and Nashville gave the Union control of the Western and Middle sections. Control was confirmed at the battle of Murfreesboro in early January 1863.
After Nashville was captured (the first Confederate state capital to fall) Andrew Johnson, an East Tennessean from Greeneville, was appointed military governor of the state by Lincoln. During this time, the military government abolished slavery.
The Confederates continued to hold East Tennessee despite the strength of Unionist sentiment there, with the exception of pro-Confederate Sullivan County.
The Confederates besieged Chattanooga in early fall 1863 but were driven off by Grant in November. Many of the Confederate defeats can be attributed to the poor strategic vision of General Braxton Bragg, who led the Army of Tennessee from Shiloh to Confederate defeat at Chattanooga.
The last major battles came when the Confederates invaded in November 1864 and were checked at Franklin, then totally destroyed by George Thomas at Nashville in December.
[edit] Battles in Tennessee
Bean's Station, Blountsville, Blue Springs, Brentwood, Bull's Gap, Campbell's Station, First Chattanooga, Second Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Collierville, Columbia, Danbridge, Dover, Fair Garden, Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, Fort Pillow, Fort Sanders, First Franklin, Second Franklin, Hartville, Hatchie's Bridge, Hoover's Gap, Island Number Ten, Jackson, Johnsonville, First Memphis, Second Memphis, Mossy Creek, First Murfreesboro, Third Murfreesboro, Nashville, Parker's Cross Roads, Shiloh, Spring Hill, Stones River, Thompson's Station, Vaught's Hill, Wauhatchie
[edit] Notable leaders from Tennessee
 Andrew Johnson |
 Nathan Bedford Forrest |
 Leonidas Polk |
 Benjamin F. Cheatham |
 Alexander P. Stewart |
 William B. Bate |
 Henry S. Foote |
 Isham G. Harris |
