“In those days, rivers were like our interstate highways; they were vitally important for transportation,” Bissland said. “So once Vicksburg was captured by General Grant in 1863, the western Confederacy was split in half vertically, and they lost control of the Mississippi River, which was critically important to them.”

He said Ohio contributed more soldiers than any state west of the Appalachians to fight in “several of the most important battles” and the third most overall in all campaigns in the war. More than 35,000 casualties among Ohioans surpassed all but one other state; however, Ohio suffered the highest ratio of one casualty for every 10 men in combat.

During three years of research, Bissland said he combed historic archives throughout the region as well as the Internet to compile the accounts supporting his claim.

A lot of eyewitnesses left behind letters and memoirs and things like that,” he said. “And we happen to be very fortunate in Ohio in this area in having a lot of those collected at BGSU in the BGSU archives and also at the Rutherford Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont and at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus.”

Originally from New England, Bissland said he has focused on historical topics rich in human interest as the author or editor of several works. Recently he also published “Long Winding River: Life, Love and Death Along the Connecticut” and “Bountiful Ohio: Good Food and Stories from Where the Heartland Begins.”

“I'm always interested in American, regional and local history and culture and so it's just one more book of that nature,” he said.