...less it could be defended and held. Grant was at Cairo and Paducah with 20,000 men; and Polk, to oppose his invasion, had seized Columbus, Ky., with about 11,000 Confederates, and had fortified it. Tennessee was twice divided: first by the Tennessee River, and then by the Cumberland, both of which invited the advance of a hostile force. Some small pretense of fortifications had been made on both ri...