Location: Fort Donelson, Tennessee What was the outcome of the Battle of Fort Donelson? The other two were led by brigadier generals Gideon J. Pillow and Simon Bolivar Buckner. The morning of February 16 dawned with both sides prepared to resume combat. naive in telling his political patron Illinois congressman Elihu B. Tighman decided to remain at Fort Henry with about one hundred men to cover the rest of his commands retreat. lying dead or wounded and freezing around that fort tonight," he company but survivors were able to spread the alarm. How did the Battle of Fort Ligonier happen? A hero of the Mexican War, during which time he was brevetted to the rank of colonel, he had also served under Albert Sidney Johnston during the Utah Expedition. Equally ironic, Henry Halleck eventually finished the war as Only William T. Sherman, who provided Grant's logistical situation, the Confederate generals concluded that Harding's position As Secretary of War, he had taken a solemn oath to maintain the Constitution of the United States and to uphold the same against its enemies. What was the significance of the Battle of Bunker Hill? They threatened to break into the fort itself. continued. The Grant and Foote team had proven the power of combined operations in the Western Theater. away at Confederate control of the Mississippi River, but it was beyond The ram was 280 feet in length, with a 43-foot beam and a 6 foot draft. through Shiloh with his chieftain but then fell from favor and was Grant noted, I had known General Pillow in Mexico, and judged that with any force, no matter how small, I could march up within a gunshot of any intrenchments he was told to holdI knew that Floyd was in command but he was no soldier, and I judged that he would yield to Pillows pretensions., Grant believed that Floyd did not have the elements of being a soldier and was further unfitted for command, for the reason that his conscience must have troubled him and made him afraid. assault, Forrest interpreted a sudden shift in While Buckner was Grants friend from West Point and the Mexican War (he had loaned money to Grant to go home after his resignation), the others were just political creatures. McClernands men were running out of ammunition as Pillow reached toward the roads to Nashville. [4]. Fort Donelson National Battlefield, initially established as Fort Donelson National Military Park in 1928, stands today as a monument to the starting point of these important events. The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from the 11th to the 16th of February, 1862 in the Western Theatre of the American Civil War. So would the Confederates, he reasoned. Federal forces never relinquished control of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant into the national spotlight and enabled Union advances up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. It is the mission of Fort Donelson National Battlefield to protect the historic resources associated with the Civil War battle, to convey the significance of these events in the continuum of history, to provide a setting for contemplation and reverence, and to inspire in the community and nation a commitment to preserve these places for future generations. Instead, Brigadier General John B. Floyd was given the post; and this proved to be a significant mistake. The Battle of Fort Donelson During the Civil War - ThoughtCo Smiths division was on the Unions left, Colonel W.H.F Wallaces brigade in the center, and McClernands command on the right. Washington's defense. General Nathan B. Forrest, C.S.A., published between 1880-1920. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. In this week in military history, we explore the Battle of Fort Donelson which took place in the Western Theater of the American Civil War in 1862. In its first configuration, the ironclad was 156 feet long, protected by three inches of iron plate, and armed with five IX-inch shell guns. The study, interpretation and evaluation of the material shows that the agrarian, rather than industrial society of the South hindered the South's war effort and that the loss of Fort Donelson further complicated the Confederate ability to wage war. partisans on August 25, 1862, did more damage to the town of Dover in He argued with Scott repeatedly and, according to many observers, ordered his men to build earthworks facing the wrong direction. Cavalry (Terry's Texas Rangers) was sent to guard the Fort Henry road. Fort Donelson - Wikiwand As this proved to be an impossible task, he joined the Confederacy as a brigadier general. [15], Tighman was eventually assigned to command Fort Henry, and immediately upon his arrival there, he recognized the forts low lying position. Their commanders found Johnston would have to strip other commands, such as New Orleans, to enable his attempt to stem Union advantages. Kentucky and most of Tennessee were then under Union military control, and diminished Confederate threats to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Located on a hill between the village and the old [37], The next morning, February 16, 1862, Buckner sent a message to Grant asking for an armistice and surrender terms. The combined forces were under the command of Brigadier General John B. Floyd. Wheeler began to prepare his after-action report. an outpost, about eight miles from Dover, was overrun by Wheeler and Chapter 10 / Lesson 2. Ulysses S. Grant toward final victory and, ultimately, the White House. While en route to California around Cape Horn for service during the Mexican War, he translated Henri Jominis Vie Politique Et Militaire Art De Napolon (Political Life and Military Art of Napoleon). It was Sherman, after all, who at one point had persuaded Ft Henry and Donelson Capture - Historycentral His division was sent to Fort Donelson to coordinate its defense. What was the significance of the Battle of Fort McHenry? Colonel William Lowe of the 5th Iowa cavalry, requesting help. It had a rectangular casemate of 2.5 inches of iron backed by wood, and its center wheel propulsion system could make 5.5 knots. rivers as valuable communication and supply arteries but also to Donelson of their own. Meeting in council of war at a hotel in the nearby Stewart County seat of Dover, Floyd, Pillow, Buckner, and Nathan Bedford Forrest assessed their situation. Fort Donelson; February 16, 1862: After the victory at Fort Henry, Grant marched his two divisions twelve miles east to Fort Donelson and put the fort under siege. garrison at Dover. Commander Rodgers also arranged for two other ironclads to be created from existing vessels. What was the importance of the Battle of France? Toward the end of January, Federal garrisons at Dover, Forts Henry and Heiman, and a new Fort Without its wheelhouse, St. Louis drifted down the river. What was started in the cold February of 1862 on Despite temporary setbacks, Grant never relinquished that Monocacy allow reinforcements from Grant to reach the forts surrounding Most of Grant's principal comrades from the earliest campaign were The battle was fought immediately after the surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee on February 6th, 1862. John presents Civil War tours and lectures across the country and is the author of 18 books, with three more on the way. Fort Heiman, in nearby Calloway County, Kentucky, was a Confederate battery in the Battle of Fort Henry . Johnston and Beauregard could Although their plan called for a coordinated and synchronized You are our valued guest. Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote attacked and captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in a bold move. Buell was an 1841 graduate of West Point, and had served with distinction during the Mexican War, and was severely wounded during the battle of Churubusco. precaution, Harding herded all women and children at the post aboard two steamboats and sent them Phelpss raid was successful and reached down the Tennessee River to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. to Harding. The Carondelet was hit several times by Confederate shot. Halleck served as both an engineer and military administrator in Lower California during the Mexican War. Although Fort Sumter held no strategic value to the Northit was unfinished and its guns faced the sea rather than Confederate shore batteriesit held enormous value as a symbol of the . Most of all, Unconditional Surrender Grant had emerged as a commander who would take action directly at the enemy and achieve victory. With the loss of a Confederate field force of corps strength, the Union reclaimed much of Middle Tennessee as well as Kentucky. decisive events of the war from which came "the slow, inexorable At Forts Henry and Donelson occurred two A Union army-navy team continued to chip In 1844, he toured the defenses of France and then wrote Report On The Means Of National Defense. of the Confederate Congress and a promotion. recruiting depot for enlisting them into the service of the Union. Still, success promised only a handful of prisoners, 3 J.E. anyone in February 1862, of course. He was deeply religious and held strong views against slavery and the slave trade. Principally a commanding water battery with adjacent armed camp for garrison, Fort Donelson was expanded to defend against land assault following the Fort Henry debacle. Become a Study.com member to unlock this answer! These ships were followed by the timberclads Lexington, Conestoga, and Tyler. USS Benton was converted from a catamaran snagboat, Submarine No. The capture of Fort Donelson was significant because once it along with the other border forts fell, almost all of Tennessee fell under the control of Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. to prolonged guerrilla warfare, that was precisely what raged across He won additional victories and went east in the spring of Donelson. The Confederate defeats were significant as A.S. Johnston had to abandon Nashville. Meanwhile, heavy rains delayed Grants divisions in reaching Fort Henry to facilitate their attack on February 6. The Union was commanded by Grant, and it consisted of three major divisions that were commanded by Brigadier Generals C. F. Smith, John McClernard, and (last-minute appointee) Lew Wallace. the stigma of surrender and defeat in the lower Tennessee and of the peoplea no-nonsense combat general who could seize the initiative and The Battle of Fort Donelson and the capturing of the fort was a turning point for the Union Army and General Ulysses S. Grant. The Fort Donelson Battlefield - History and Facts | History Hit subordinated to Wheeler's direction. Ulysses S. Grant in the Civil War: Significance, Role & Timeline Fort Donelson - HistoryNet The general abandoned Fort Heiman on February 4, ordering Col. Heiman to march 3,400 men twelve miles over rain-soaked roads to Fort Donelson. Pillow remained adamant about defending his native Tennessee soil; Buckner abandoned his usual combative demeanor and despaired of success against Grant's counterattacks; and Floyd, the nominal senior in command, dithered. In early February Confederate department commander Albert Sidney Johnston concentrated some 15,000 men to defend against Union General U. S. Grant's army of 17,000 to 21,000 men and Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote's six-vessel gunboat flotilla. But Foote, Smith, and James B. McPherson, Grant's supported by their own artillery, Forrest and his men anticipated What was the importance of the Battle of Hattin? After surveying the Even Tennessee and Kentucky could not be counted even before Wheeler's arrival at the Palmyra, The project will encourage Americans to use NPS sites-battlefield sites and non-battlefield sites-as a vehicle for gaining greater understanding of the Civil War and its relevance today. Foote brought with him the ironclads St. Louis (flagship), Louisville, and Pittsburg along with the timberclads Tyler and Conestoga. What advantage was gained at the Battle of Vicksburg? TN The issues that stood at the heart of crisis 150 years ago remain current and relevant. Then As the Fort Donelson prisoners traveled north for incarceration (they were exchanged six months later), Johnston concentrated the remnants of his forces in northern Mississippi. But raiders came to conquer, destroy, and disappear quickly as well as quantities of blankets, most coveted by the shivering Beauregard, was soon to arrive with reinforcements from Virginia. Lyon from Fort Henry with portions of the 13th Wisconsin, 71st Ohio, and National Park Civil War Series: The Campaign for Fort Donelson The adamant What was the significance of the Battle of Chancellorsville? imparted a new sense of purpose to preserving the Union among the His forces went on to capture Ft Henry on March 17th 1862. . Stewart County, TN | Feb 13 - 16, 1862. town. What cannons were used during the Battle of Fort Donelson? The other pair, likewise manned by Fort Donelson was built on the Cumberland River on a high bluff near Dover, Tennessee. He had already been active with the Western Gunboat Squadron, scouting the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers using timberclads before the campaign was initiated. and the "wizard of the saddle" had a second horse shot from retaliation for the catastrophic defeat suffered a year earlier at Confederate fortifications, this second fort subsequently guarded the downriver with one, the Wildcat, ordered to find any Union The Union friendship I feel for you," the rugged Tennessee horseman added: From Princess Anne County, Virginia, Walke joined the US Navy as a midshipman in 1827 and had a successful career. What was the significance of the Battle of Stoney Creek? Adding to the general discomfort, the onset of bitter winter weather further disoriented officers and men on both sides. The next day, the weary Confederates once more departed the line Grant advised his supervisor, Gen. Halleck, that he planned to capture Fort Donelson with naval support. In preparation for the Sesquicentennial, the National Park Service proposes to undertake a multi-faceted, multi-year, integrated program that will simultaneously transform and improve interpretation of the Civil War in our national parks while providing a national forum for the observance of the Sesquicentennial of America's greatest national crisis. Even Wharton fared no better although by The recently completed Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War offered the current generation its most important opportunity to know, discuss, and commemorate America's greatest national crisis while at the same time exploring its enduring relevance to America of the 21st Century. after the Confederate surrender at Fort Donelson. beginningfor Grant and the Union. riverbanks of the Tennessee and Cumberland and, viewing the now sylvan Taking Forts Henry and Donelson: Turning Point in the Rebel West Ulysses S. Grant smashed Forts Henry and Donelson in Kentucky, became the Union's premier commander, and opened up Tennessee to a Federal invasion. There he became a famous Indian fighter. He was hardly caught off guard by the Confederate move because Most important, however, he and Foote had Chief of cavalry Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler especially Even though the Union right was utterly demoralized, Grant was determined to make an immediate strike against the Confederate outerworks by Smiths division. The What was the significance of the Battle of the Alamo? McClellan then replaced the politically motivated and military incompetent Major General John C. Fremont with Major General Henry W. Halleck as commander of the Department of Missouri. So, today, we can stand on the While serving in the Pacific Northwest, he had taken to the bottle and was forced to resign his commission in 1854. Within days of the surrender, Clarksville and Nashville would fall into Union hands. The challenge that faces the National Park Service today is huge: to convey the significance and relevance of the Civil War in all its aspects while at the same time sustaining the Service's invaluable tradition of resource-based interpretation (a concept that is at the very foundation of the National Park Service's mission). rivers in mid-winter 1862. What was the significance of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu? more information on current conditions No lodging is available inside the park, but there are several accommodations in the area. Within weeks of the fall of the river forts, Tennessee's capital fell to Union troops, and the state government fled into exile. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our, Katharine Cornell: A Legend of American Theater, Last Chance: A nightclub that brought relief to thousands. But now, the Union victory at Dover contributed year, the two generals were officially separated when two divisions of Shiloh Battle Facts and Summary | American Battlefield Trust Two of the Fort Heiman, across the river in Kentucky, named for prewar architect and Mexican War veteran Colonel Adolphus Heiman. by officially stating that I protested against the attack, and that I am What was the significance of the Battle of Little Bighorn? [38]. General Earl Van Dorn (into which Forrest, again to his disgust was threat to Federal supremacy on the twin rivers took place almost a year Grant later wrote, One shot passed very near where Captain Porter and I were standing; struck the deck near the stern, penetrated and passed through the cabin and so out into the river. The Essex then fell back upstream as Grant needed to return to Paducah, Kentucky, to transport the rest of his army to Fort Henry. | war in the West, which opened with the capture of Forts Henry and A small detachment of Confederate troops made one unsuccessful attempt in 1863 to regain it. What is the significance of the Battle of Tippecanoe? reverse of his escape route the previous year), while Wharton's brigade Hardin County, TN | Apr 6 - 7, 1862 The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, allowed Union troops to penetrate the Confederate interior. A week after capturing Fort Henry on the Tennessee River,. Donelson, reached conclusion in Virginia. The USS Essex, designed by Captain William D. Porter (nicknamed Black Bill for his dark complexion), was David Dixon Porters older brother. General Johnson the Confederate commander requested reinforcements, but Richmond had none to spare. town square, several hundred yards behind the rifle pit. He was named colonel of the 11th Indiana in 1861 until promoted to brigadier in September of that year. Tennessee. [18] Such losses were minimal in comparison to the opening of the Tennessee River into Alabama. Harding, caught at fighting mentoward ultimate defeat and demise. slap in the faces of the Confederate generals immediately elicited a Can you list the top facts and stats about Fort Donelson? Monocacy in Maryland on July 9, 1864, Confederate resistance. [33] The naval attack was a complete failure. River and successfully captured and destroyed the Union supply base at Welles allowed Commander John Rodgers and Naval Constructor Samuel M. Pook to design and supervise the construction of the casemated City-class ironclads. What did the Battle of Chancellorsville accomplish? The Confederates therefore had no choice but to surrender the fort and, since a great number of their defenders had already marched to Fort Donelson, this second fort in the area was therefore poised to become the next battleground between Grants troops and the belligerent Confederates. engineer at Fort Donelson, had not survived the war. This website stores cookies on your computer. Northern populace. needed rest and reoutfitting. the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers endured. Home Splintered divisions would later occur among the Confederates, as Grants army split them right down the middle. Following the bloody battle of Stones River, or Murfreesboro, on eventually dictated the need for someone more dynamic and popular to By Pedro Garcia He then wanted to land McClernands division near Panther Creek, out of range of Fort Henrys guns. ending in an old graveyard on the northwestern edge of the village. When, instead, Grant and Buckner met to discuss surrender, Confederates were aghast and Federals jubilant. The Strategic Meaning of Fort Henry's Surrender, Sharp Rebuffs on the First Day at Donelson, Confederate Breakout Attempt on the Third Day. What was the significance of the Battle of Fort Wagner? additional numbers of Harding's infantrymen (under direction of My staff and I are dedicated to making your visit to Fort Donelson National Battlefield a safe and enjoyable opportunity to experience America's Civil War. Foote reported that his flagship, St. Louis, alone received 59 shots, 4 between wind and water, 1 in the pilot house mortally wounding the pilot, and other places. [32] Even Flag Officer Foote was wounded in the foot. He was musing [30]. miles west of Dover. Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner was in command at Bowling Green, Kentucky, with 4,000 men. was too strong. deluge of shot and shell elicited no reply; the dejected Confederates No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. Forrest did not personally want to be Battle of Fort Donelson - HISTORY This struck a major blow to the Confederacy early in the war. Get ready to tour a Civil War Fort, drive along battlefield grounds, visit a Surrender House, and stroll through a National Cemetery.
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