Geography

Most of the major Confederate ports were located on the Atlantic coast.

The Appalachian mountains a geographic barrier to the easy movement of military forces between the east and the west.

The Cumberland River was one of three river avenues for Union forces to use to invade the south.

The Gulf coast provided access to New Orleans and Mobile. These were major ports not on the Atlantic coast.

The James River flowed from Richmond, VA to the Chesapeake Bay. It needed to be defended to prevent the Union navy from attacking Richmond directly.

The Mississippi River flows north to south and once under the control of Union forces it split the Confederacy in half.

The Ohio River provided a natural barrier to Confederate military operations north of the river.

The Potomac River was the boundary between the Confederate States and the United Sates in the Eastern Theater of military operations.

The Rapidan River flows into the Rappahannock River and was one of several rivers that flowed west to east providing natural barriers to Union forces moving south.

The Rappahannock River was one of several rivers that flowed west to east which were natural defensive barriers to Union forces moving south. Union forces suffered a major defeat crossing the river at Fredericksburg.

The Shenandoah River flows south to north joining the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry. It is divided into the North and South forks by the Massanutten Mountains.

The Shenandoah valley was the "bread basket" of the Confederacy. Especially suppling the Army of Northern Virginia.

Southern Railroads

The Tennessee River provided a natural invasion route for Union forces into Tennessee and northern Alabama.

Trans-Mississippi Campaigns

The United States and its territories between 1861 and 1865.