The largely-divided state of Tennessee was the last of the Southern states to declare secession from the Union. Its rivers were key arteries to the Deep South, and the Union armies fought hard to secure control of them, as well as major roads and mountain passes such as the Cumberland Gap. Tennessee would experience many of the biggest battles, including Shiloh, Stones River, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Franklin, and its people suffered great devastation throughout the war.