“UNCONQUERABLE STRONGHOLD OF LOYALTY”: INVASION, OCCUPATION AND DEVOLVED COMMAND OF THE ARMY OF THE OHIO/CUMBERLAND, 1861-1863.

Abstract

Focusing on the Union Army in the midst and aftermath of invasion in Middle Tennessee, this thesis critically engages the literature on Civil War military and cultural history. It deviates from the traditional historiographical interpretation of “campaigns and battles” that combined three elements: Napoleonic maneuver and combat; invasion and occupation of the Confederacy by increments; informal as well as formal Confederate resistance and the Union army’s response to it. Instead, the work emphasizes a multi-dimensioned war that forced Federal commanders to respond to a myriad of issues on the ground—guerrilla and irregular warfare; emancipation and contraband labor; and conditional loyalty and unremitting secessionism. The Union invasion and occupation of Middle Tennessee in 1862 uncovered deep-rooted hostility toward the Federal government, dispelling any notion that the mere presence of blue-clad soldiers could pacify and unite the populace. As immediate invasion transformed into extended occupation, Federal forces were detached to garrison towns and guard strategic transportation and communication avenues throughout the region. Command and control of the army devolved to front-line commanders at the brigade and regimental level. The Federal officers, a mix of Regular Army veterans and civilian appointees, faced the complicated task of pacifying an indignant population, defeating Confederate forces, reacting to the demise of slavery, and restoring civic order with a volunteer soldier force. For the officers, every decision had consequences. By responding to specific issues on the ground, often without supervision from headquarters, commanders dictated the evolving Federal policy through personal observation and interpretation of orders.