The Union had several war goals including cutting off the South by taking control of the Mississippi River, blockading Southern ports to prevent foreign aid, and making Richmond the capital of the Confederacy. General Ulysses S. Grant took the Confederate forts of Henry and Donelson along the Tennessee River in early 1862. This led to the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, where Union and Confederate forces suffered heavy casualties in the first major battle of the war. The battle was initially a surprise Confederate attack but the Union forces were able to hold their line and gain reinforcements.