In this assessment, the decisive Union advances developed through the western river, railroad, and coastal supply system. Taking ports mattered because they supplied the forces advancing through Confederate territory. Battles such as Shiloh and the operations around Corinth and Chattanooga formed part of this wider campaign of movement. Virginia's fighting tied Confederate forces to the defence of Richmond, while western operations progressively undermined their ability to continue the war. The final judgment places the Confederacy's decisive defeats in the west, despite the attention given to its capital.
Notable Point · 2:25:19-2:29:07
Shiloh and the maritime strategy of the western war
The closing assessment places Shiloh within a river, railroad, and sea campaign that broke the Confederacy in the western theatre.