Tennessee in the American Civil War
| State of Tennessee | |||||
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| Nickname(s): The Volunteer State | |||||
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| Capital | Nashville | ||||
| Largest City | Memphis | ||||
| Admission to confederacy | July 2, 1861 (11th) | ||||
| Population |
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| Forces supplied |
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| Governor | Isham G. Harris (1861–1862) | ||||
| Senators |
Landon Carter Haynes Gustavus Adolphus Henry |
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| Representatives | List | ||||
| Restored to the Union | July 24, 1866 | ||||
To a large extent, the American Civil War was fought in cities and farms of Tennessee, as only Virginia saw more battles. Tennessee was the last of the Southern states to declare secession from the Union as a substantial portion of the population were against secession, but saw more than its share of the devastation resulting 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 the 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, East Tennessee was strongly pro-Union before secession, and strongly pro-Union Tennesseans remained there and existed in pockets throughout the state during the war. The Vice President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was a Tennessee Union 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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