Okla-homey
2/16/2009, 07:37 AM
February 16, 1862: Capture of Fort Donelson
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/4342/fortbattlefortdonelsonnf4.jpg
157 years ago today, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant finishes a spectacular campaign by capturing Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee. This was the first significant Federal victory in a war that had been going almost totally for the Confederates.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3350/fortfrs3960bk2.png
The battle came ten days after Grant's capture of Fort Henry, just ten miles to the west on the Tennessee River, and opened the way for Union occupation of central Tennessee.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7060/fortgrant1he4.jpg
Sam Grant. The war in the east would rage on two more years before he would be called there to command the eastern Federal army and lead it to victory in the war.
After Grant surround Fort Henry and forced the surrender of 100 men, he moved east to the much more formidable Fort Donelson. The fort sat on a high bluff and had a garrison of 6,000. After the fall of Fort Henry, an additional 15,000 reinforcements were sent to aid Fort Donelson.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8813/fortfull722ae7.jpg
Donelson was vital because it commanded the Cumberland River. Whoever controlled the fort could control use of that river as an invasion artery. Donelson's loss to the Rebs meant Nashville was doomed, which effectively took Tennessee out of the war.
Grant crossed the narrow strip of land between the two rivers with only about 15,000 troops. One of Grant's officers, Brigadier General John McClernand, initiated the battle on February 13 when he tried to capture a Rebel Battery along Fort Donelson's outer works. Although unsuccessful, this action probably convinced the Confederates that they faced a superior force, even though they actually outnumbered Grant.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2014/fortdonelsonfeb14li6.png
Grant's pre-attack positions. Grant's brigade commander BG Lew Wallace is the very same guy who wrote a book about a Hebrew nobleman named Ben-Hur.
Over the next three days, Grant tightened the noose around Fort Donelson by moving a flotilla up the Cumberland River to shell the fort from the east.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/9426/fortgunboatsatfortdonelda0.png
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5024/fortgunboatyf5.jpg
USS St Louis which participated in the attack on Fort Donelson
On February 15, the Confederates tried to break out of the Yankee perimeter. An attack on the Union right flank and center sent the Federals back in retreat, but then Confederate General Gideon Pillow made a fatal miscalculation.
Thinking he could win the battle, Pillow threw away the chance to retreat from Fort Donelson. Instead, he pressed the attack but the Union retreat halted. Now, Grant assaulted the Confederate right wing, which he correctly suspected had been weakened to mount the attack on the other end of the line.
The Confederates were surrounded, with their backs to the Cumberland River. They made an attempt to escape, but only about 5,000 troops got away. These included Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest and 500 cavalrymen. Forrest later became a legendary leader in the west and his exploits over the next three years caused much aggravation to the Union army.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3048/fort359271105hdvzkcfskv9.jpg
Inn where the surrender was made official. At the nearby landing, thousands of Confederate prisoners were shipped to northern prisons.
When the Rebels asked for terms of surrender, Grant replied that no terms "except unconditional and immediate surrender" would be acceptable. This earned Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant. The loss of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson were unmitigated disasters for the Confederates. Kentucky was lost and Tennessee lay wide open to the Yankees.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/9063/fortvcsignbb2.jpg
It's really a beautiful site that is immaculately maintained. About two hours from downtown Nashville.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1842/fort359273940wqcpiqfswy0.jpg
The site contains one of the first national cemeteries established in the US. The cemetery contains the remains of Federal soldiers lost in the battle. Unfortunately, the victors buried the dead Rebs in a common grave nearby. Thier remains are marked by a single pylon erected after the war.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/283/fortjoethefig35591815b6yu8.jpg
Confederate monument erected post-war by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC)
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7899/fort5185822954bfa644a9bin3.jpg
The site is also a popular bald eagle nesting site
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6513/insane7zovq3.jpg
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/4342/fortbattlefortdonelsonnf4.jpg
157 years ago today, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant finishes a spectacular campaign by capturing Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee. This was the first significant Federal victory in a war that had been going almost totally for the Confederates.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3350/fortfrs3960bk2.png
The battle came ten days after Grant's capture of Fort Henry, just ten miles to the west on the Tennessee River, and opened the way for Union occupation of central Tennessee.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7060/fortgrant1he4.jpg
Sam Grant. The war in the east would rage on two more years before he would be called there to command the eastern Federal army and lead it to victory in the war.
After Grant surround Fort Henry and forced the surrender of 100 men, he moved east to the much more formidable Fort Donelson. The fort sat on a high bluff and had a garrison of 6,000. After the fall of Fort Henry, an additional 15,000 reinforcements were sent to aid Fort Donelson.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8813/fortfull722ae7.jpg
Donelson was vital because it commanded the Cumberland River. Whoever controlled the fort could control use of that river as an invasion artery. Donelson's loss to the Rebs meant Nashville was doomed, which effectively took Tennessee out of the war.
Grant crossed the narrow strip of land between the two rivers with only about 15,000 troops. One of Grant's officers, Brigadier General John McClernand, initiated the battle on February 13 when he tried to capture a Rebel Battery along Fort Donelson's outer works. Although unsuccessful, this action probably convinced the Confederates that they faced a superior force, even though they actually outnumbered Grant.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2014/fortdonelsonfeb14li6.png
Grant's pre-attack positions. Grant's brigade commander BG Lew Wallace is the very same guy who wrote a book about a Hebrew nobleman named Ben-Hur.
Over the next three days, Grant tightened the noose around Fort Donelson by moving a flotilla up the Cumberland River to shell the fort from the east.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/9426/fortgunboatsatfortdonelda0.png
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5024/fortgunboatyf5.jpg
USS St Louis which participated in the attack on Fort Donelson
On February 15, the Confederates tried to break out of the Yankee perimeter. An attack on the Union right flank and center sent the Federals back in retreat, but then Confederate General Gideon Pillow made a fatal miscalculation.
Thinking he could win the battle, Pillow threw away the chance to retreat from Fort Donelson. Instead, he pressed the attack but the Union retreat halted. Now, Grant assaulted the Confederate right wing, which he correctly suspected had been weakened to mount the attack on the other end of the line.
The Confederates were surrounded, with their backs to the Cumberland River. They made an attempt to escape, but only about 5,000 troops got away. These included Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest and 500 cavalrymen. Forrest later became a legendary leader in the west and his exploits over the next three years caused much aggravation to the Union army.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3048/fort359271105hdvzkcfskv9.jpg
Inn where the surrender was made official. At the nearby landing, thousands of Confederate prisoners were shipped to northern prisons.
When the Rebels asked for terms of surrender, Grant replied that no terms "except unconditional and immediate surrender" would be acceptable. This earned Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant. The loss of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson were unmitigated disasters for the Confederates. Kentucky was lost and Tennessee lay wide open to the Yankees.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/9063/fortvcsignbb2.jpg
It's really a beautiful site that is immaculately maintained. About two hours from downtown Nashville.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1842/fort359273940wqcpiqfswy0.jpg
The site contains one of the first national cemeteries established in the US. The cemetery contains the remains of Federal soldiers lost in the battle. Unfortunately, the victors buried the dead Rebs in a common grave nearby. Thier remains are marked by a single pylon erected after the war.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/283/fortjoethefig35591815b6yu8.jpg
Confederate monument erected post-war by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC)
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7899/fort5185822954bfa644a9bin3.jpg
The site is also a popular bald eagle nesting site
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6513/insane7zovq3.jpg