As the Union's general in chief, George B. McClellan was responsible for the Union's war efforts to end the Southern rebellion. In January of 1862, McClellan began pushing Major General Henry Halleck to prevent Confederate forces in neutral Kentucky from being reinforced. He wanted Halleck to aid General Buell in that slave border state. He ordered Halleck to send one or two divisions supported by gunboats sent up the Cumberland River. Both McClellan and General Buell agreed that Columbus, Kentucky had to be taken out of Rebel control.
Major General Henry W. Halleck saw merit in the pre-war plans of the then Union general in chief, Winfield Scott. Halleck expected a Southern counter attack on General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. As the Union's commander in the Western Theater, he ordered the forces of General Buell to move down the Tennessee River and reinforce Grant. Anxious to control the Mississippi River, Halleck did not concentrate his entire force on the Tennessee River. Halleck kept General John Pope and an army of 25,000 troops west of the Mississippi, working with the Union navy, to capture Confederate strongholds there. He therefore, by his actions, agreed with Scott's idea of using the Mississippi River as a control point to keep as many Confederate forces as possible separated from each other.
Major General Henry W. Halleck decided it was time to move against Chattanooga in early June of 1862. He had received rumors that Confederate troops were beginning to form a concentration there.
Major General Albert S. Sidney was killed on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Union General Halleck took over the armies of general grant and Buell and pursued the Rebels to Corinth. On May 30, 1862, the Rebels abandoned Corinth to Halleck.
Under the cover of darkness, Confederate forces evacuated Corinth, Mississippi. As a result Halleck was able to break the Memphis and Charleston railway.
General in Chief Henry Wager Halleck had just arrived in Washington DC and he already was under pressure to solve the three Confederate offensives under way. General Lee had crossed into Maryland and Confederate General Kirby Smith had brought his army into Kentucky. At the same time, General Braxton Bragg was marching northward into Tennessee.
As the Union's general in chief, George B. McClellan was responsible for the Union's war efforts to end the Southern rebellion. In January of 1862, McClellan began pushing Major General Henry Halleck to prevent Confederate forces in neutral Kentucky from being reinforced. He wanted Halleck to aid General Buell in that slave border state. He ordered Halleck to send one or two divisions supported by gunboats sent up the Cumberland River. Both McClellan and General Buell agreed that Columbus, Kentucky had to be taken out of Rebel control.
With the surrender of Confederate Fort Donelson, General Halleck realized he faced a golden opportunity to destroy half of the divided Confederate command before they concentrated. US Grant, then reporting to Halleck, agreed and that a vigorous push forward was required. Perhaps the best option Halleck had was to use the Tennessee River as a shield against Confederate General Albert Johnston and march Grant's forces to Hickman, Kentucky 70 miles west of Fort Donelson. or on to Hickman, Kentucky, or to Union City, Tennessee. With Union General John Pope advancing from the north and Grant's army from the west, Polk could have been caught in a pincer movement and either be defeated or forced to surrender. Halleck's best opportunity, however, was lost due to his politics of command. There was many political distractions that had Halleck involved with his desire to run the West by himself. The other problem that this best option failed to take place was the perceived lack of cooperation from Union General Buell, who in the previous campaign showed himself to be "no in the loop" concerning the West.
Although General Halleck was not perfect, he did become the Union's general in chief in the Summer of 1862. With that said, Halleck deserved the opportunity President Lincoln offered to him. Halleck was a great strategist and realized that General Grant was a logical target for a Confederate assault at Pittsburg Landing, leading to the Battle of Shiloh. Halleck ordered General Buell to make a hasty trip down river to reinforce Grant. Halleck believed that unless these two armies were united, they might be outnumbered. Grant failed to follow one crucial order from Halleck, Halleck had ordered Grant to take a strong defensive position at Pittsburg Landing and to entrench his army. This General Grant failed to do.
General Henry Halleck spent the rest of his life after the US Civil War in the army. President Andrew Johnson sent him to Richmond to sort out the after war situation there in the former Rebel capital. He did history a valuable service there by finding and preserving Confederate war correspondence. This added to the publication of Official Records of the war. Halleck was also placed in charge of the west coast's military operations and later commanded a division in Kentucky. He died as a soldier in 1872
Major General Henry W. Halleck saw merit in the pre-war plans of the then Union general in chief, Winfield Scott. Halleck expected a Southern counter attack on General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. As the Union's commander in the Western Theater, he ordered the forces of General Buell to move down the Tennessee River and reinforce Grant. Anxious to control the Mississippi River, Halleck did not concentrate his entire force on the Tennessee River. Halleck kept General John Pope and an army of 25,000 troops west of the Mississippi, working with the Union navy, to capture Confederate strongholds there. He therefore, by his actions, agreed with Scott's idea of using the Mississippi River as a control point to keep as many Confederate forces as possible separated from each other.
General in Chief Henry W. Halleck saw a clear weakness in the situation of Genral John Pope's newly created Army of Virginia. He believed it was a clear Confederate target in that it was unentrenched and he knew Pope from his days in the Western Theater. Halleck was of the opinion that Pope was limited as a field commander.
Major General Henry W. Halleck decided it was time to move against Chattanooga in early June of 1862. He had received rumors that Confederate troops were beginning to form a concentration there.
For months, Union General Henry Wager Halleck had achieved his goal of breaking the railway called the Memphis and Charleston. From the Southern point of view this was bad news. At one time the former Confederate Secretary of War Walker declared that this very railroad was the backbone of the South. Perhaps that was a bit exaggerated.
Major General Albert S. Sidney was killed on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Union General Halleck took over the armies of general grant and Buell and pursued the Rebels to Corinth. On May 30, 1862, the Rebels abandoned Corinth to Halleck.
Major General Henry W. Halleck pursued General PT Beauregard to Corinth, Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh. Halleck had taken personal control of the armies of Buell and Grant. At Corinth, the Rebels were outnumbered by a two to one margin, and under the cover of night evacuated the city.
Under the cover of darkness, Confederate forces evacuated Corinth, Mississippi. As a result Halleck was able to break the Memphis and Charleston railway.