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.