 Tennessee in the American Civil War

The war’s first serious fighting (February 1862) took place along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, recognized as major military highways, and mountain passes such as Cumberland Gap were keenly competed-for by both sides.The Battle of Shiloh and the fighting along the Mississippi brought glory to the little-known Ulysses S. Grant, while his area commander Henry Halleck was rewarded with promotion to General-in-Chief.