Hey everyone, thanks for tuning into episode number 388 of our Civil War Podcast.

I'm Rich.

And I'm Tracy.

Hello y'all.

Welcome to the podcast.

In most histories of the Civil War that you'll pick up, little if any attention is paid

to the battles and actions in the Transmississipi area, that is the vast region west of the

Mississippi River.

While the scale and scope of the fighting in the Transmississipi was overshadowed by

the clashes of the major armies farther east, the stakes nonetheless were still high.

Those stakes included access to the region's abundant resources, which became increasingly

important to the Confederacy as federal armies overran vital agricultural areas in other

parts of the South.

So at stake was control of Kansas and the border state of Missouri for the Federals.

And on the Confederate side, control of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

Then two thrown into the mix was the Indian Territory, which encompassed present day

Oklahoma.

For federal and Confederate forces, the aim of the war in the Indian Territory was control

of the Texas Road.

The road was the major North-South transportation artery through the region.

Control of the Texas Road, much of which ran through the eastern part of the Indian Territory,

was crucial to one side or the other exerting control over the entire region.

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