Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 134

The first of the three main theaters was the Eastern Theater, a relatively small triangle of territory in Virginia bounded by Washington, D.C., in the north, Norfolk to the east, and the Cumberland Gap in the west. Within the three points that made up this triangle was Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. The capital cities of both nations became strategic priorities. Both had to be protected at all costs — the effect on each nation’s morale would be devastating if either city was attacked and captured.

In strategic terms, Richmond was also a critical road and rail network, and the location of one of the Tredegar ironworks — one of the most important factories in the South. At Norfolk was the Chesapeake Bay, a water invasion route that led both to Washington, by way of the Potomac, and to Richmond, by way of the James River. Norfolk and the Chesapeake Bay had to be controlled by friendly naval forces. As a major outlet to the Atlantic, the Confederacy needed Norfolk and the access to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to sustain commerce and protect Richmond. Just as importantly, the Union forces had to cut off Confederate commercial and military access to the Chesapeake Bay. The western leg of the triangle included the Shenandoah Valley, a critical food-producing region for the Confederacy, as well as a major invasion route into and out of Virginia. Over the next four years within the Eastern Theater, hundreds of thousands of soldiers would be killed or wounded.