Illinois 13th Infantry (Union)

Fort Donelson

Early in the war, Union commanders realized control of the major rivers would be the key to success in the Western Theater.READ MORE

ColonelJohn B. Wyman

Lieutenant ColonelAdam B. Gorgas

Brigadier GeneralFrancis Preston Blair Jr.

ColonelJohn B. Wyman

Lieutenant ColonelAdam B. Gorgas

Arkansas Post

The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as the Battle of Fort Hindman, was a combined land-river assault by Union forces on the Confederate Fort Hindman, which loomed over a bend in the Arkansas River near the town of Arkansas Post. As the Union advance down the Mississippi River passed the mouth of the Arkansas, the presence of Fort Hindman outflanked the Federal forward positions.READ MORE

ColonelAdam B. Gorgas

ColonelBernard G. Farrar

ColonelFrancis H. Manter

Vicksburg

In mid-May, 1863, after six months of unsuccessful attempts, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee finally converged on Vicksburg, defended by a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton. Capture of the Mississippi River town was critical to Union control of the strategic river. Vicksburg was located on a high river bluff defended with artillery, and Pemberton's men had constructed a series of fortifications in an 8-mile arc surrounding the city on the landward side. After crossing the…READ MORE

Chattanooga Campaign

After taking charge of the Union's western armies in October of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant focused on lifting the Confederate siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee, which had been in place since the Battle of Chickamauga in September. Grant opened the 'Cracker Line' across the Tennessee River to bring supplies to the beleaguered Army of the Cumberland inside the city, and, in mid-November, brought Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Army of the Tennessee into the city as well. The Confederates under Maj. Gen.…READ MORE

Lookout Mountain

A month after opening the 'Cracker Line,' Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was ready to lift the siege of Chattanooga. On November 23, 1863, a reconnaissance in force by Gen. George H. Thomas' Army of the Cumberland overran the Confederate position on Orchard Knob, and gave Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg deep concerns about the strength of the center of his line along Missionary Ridge. In shoring up this portion of the Confederate position, Bragg moved Gen. William H. T. Walker's division from the base of Lookout Mou…READ MORE

Bentonville

After his march to the sea, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman headed north in early 1865 to unite with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army in Virginia. Only Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston's army stood between Sherman and Grant. After briefly blocking Sherman's advance at Averasboro, North Carolina on March 16, Johnston struck Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum's wing of Sherman's army near Bentonville on March 19. The Confederates ran into stiff resistance, as Slocum established a defensive position. Johnston's assaults con…READ MORE