Before the modern era, rivers were either great defensive positions, or offensive highways into your enemy's heartland. For the western half of the Confederacy, the North-South rivers were a mortal danger. The Confederacy knew they had to defend their rivers no matter what... and Grant knew he had to take them.

This episode tells the story of the first battle of the River War, the Battle of Belmont - Ulysses S. Grant's first Civil War engagement and the first step of Grant's campaign that ultimately led to Vicksburg in 1863.

See the maps that accompany the podcast: https://www.usnavalhistory.com/the-river-war-the-plan-to-strangle-the-south/

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