Answer:
By capturing Vicksburg and New Orleans, the Union divided the Confederacy.
Explanation:
From the start of the war, the Union had set itself the objective of capturing the Mississippi River, so as to split the Confederate territory in two. The key to this major watercourse was New Orleans, the largest port in the South and the most important of its industrial centers.
In April 1862, a Union squadron commanded by David Dixon Porter attacked forts Jackson and St. Philip, which guarded river access to the city from the south. While part of the fleet bombed the forts, other ships made their way through the obstacles that dotted the river bed and cleared the way for the rest of the squadron. A Union army commanded by Major-General Benjamin Butler took ground near the forts and forced them to surrender.
The following year, Union forces organized into the Army of the Gulf, commanded by Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks, besieged Port Hudson for almost 8 weeks. To cut the supply lines of Port Hudson by the Red River, Banks first advanced across Bayou Teche, seizing the course of the Atchafalaya River and the Red River to Alexandria
The Confederate defenders of the city surrendered on July 9, after learning of the surrender of Vicksburg. These two surrenders gave the Union control of all of Mississippi and allowed it to cut Confederation in half.
