Okla-homey
2/16/2007, 07:38 AM
Feb 16, 1862: Capture of Fort Donelson
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/12486/2004200770374717482_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004200770374717482)
Early in the Civil War, while eastern Confederate armies were running amok and repeatedly defeating and humiliating US forces, tough western US forces under a bold young general handed the Cornfederates a decisive defeat that shocked the Confederate cause and was a deadly portent of things to come.
145 years ago on this day in 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant finishes a spectacular campaign by capturing Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee. This 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://aycu38.webshots.com/image/11277/2005766384356137378_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005766384356137378)
Grant overseeing things as his force assailed Ft Donelson
After Grant surrounded Fort Henry and forced the surrender of its garrison of approximately 100 men, he marched his force eight miles east to the much more formidable Fort Donelson. The earthen fort sat on a high bluff and had a normal garrison of 6,000.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/9776/2004292345675747706_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004292345675747706)
http://aycu29.webshots.com/image/10308/2004264063398312446_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004264063398312446)
Powerful Fort Donelson overlooking the Cumberland
After the fall of Fort Henry, an additional 15,000 Confederate troops were rushed to reinforce Fort Donelson. 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 on Fort Donelson's ring of outer defenses. Although unsuccessful, this action probably convinced the Confederates that they faced a superior force, even though they actually outnumbered Grant.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/10323/2002101247427567457_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002101247427567457)
Lew Wallace also accompanied Grant as one of his subordinate commanders. Wallace would write a pretty cool book after the war called "Ben Hur"
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/9546/2006363787990633669_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2006363787990633669)
Recreation of two huts built within Fort Donelson where the CS garrison lived. There were literally thousands of these dwellings built within the fort by reseasonably supplied and well-rested CS troops. Note: The parking lot at these cabins did not exist at the time.
Over the next three days, Grant tightened the noose around Fort Donelson by coordinating with his naval counterpart who moved a flotilla of gunboats up the Cumberland River to shell the fort from the east. Contemporary accounts from within Donelson wrote of the deadly "iron Valentines" sent with love and affection from the little gunboat fleet.
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/9863/2004263708732616314_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004263708732616314)
Admiral Andrew Foote commanded the US gunboat flotilla
On February 15, the Confederates tried to counter-attack and break Grant's line which surrounded the fort. 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 not just prevent the loss of the fort, but could scatter and defeat the besieging force in detail, Pillow threw away the chance to retreat from Fort Donelson.
Instead, Pillow pressed the attack but the Union retreat halted and bucked up. The Cornfeds did not press their assault and instead scurried back into the fort. 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.
http://aycu13.webshots.com/image/10132/2002182745560768631_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002182745560768631)
The Confederates were surrounded, with their backs to the Cumberland River. All was lost but some CS troops got away. These included Lieutenant Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Nathan Bedford Forrest and 500 of his 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://aycu19.webshots.com/image/10098/2006362319176043633_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2006362319176043633)
Forrest and his troopers bailing Ft Donelson in the pale moonlight. Forrest probably disobeyed orders in doing so, but to use his words, "I did not raise this force in order to surrender it."
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/9797/2005703422502504018_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005703422502504018)
John Floyd, former US Secretary of War under President Buchanan
http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/9328/2005725156357519614_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005725156357519614)
Gideon Pillow
Finally, when the Rebels decided all was lost, they asked for terms. Interestingly, CS Generals John Floyd and Gideon Pillow had split. Floyd was afraid he would be dealt with harshly if captured because he had been US Secretary of War immediately prior to the establishment of the Confederacy and in that capacity, with war looming, Floyd deliberately did nothing to prevent Southern capture of US installations and arms in the South.
IOW, Floyd remained in office as Secretary in order to ensure he wouldn't be replaced by a loyal man who would take steps to protect US property. By the standards of the day, that was deemed dishonorable by most everyone, and Floyd figured that would result in his hanging if captured.
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/12466/2005744619590318933_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005744619590318933)
The inn in neaby Dover TN where the surrender was concluded.
They left Simon Bolivar Buckner in charge because he was a pre-war friend of Sam Grant which they believed would result in favorable terms for the fort. They were wrong.
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/12486/2004204141679881163_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004204141679881163)
Grant's response to Buckner's request for terms. That line after the "Unconditional surrender" line that states "[Grant] proposes to immediately move against works" means, [B]"either you guys quit or I'm coming in there and hanging half a hundred on you."
Grant replied that no terms "except unconditional and immediate surrender" would be acceptable. This earned Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant. The surrendered force of Confederate troops was placed on riverboats and sent to US prisoner of war camps in Yankeeland.
Estimated Casualties: US - 2,832; CS - 1,500-2,000 and 12,000-15,000 taken prisoner.
The loss of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson were unmitigated disasters for the Confederates. Unimpeded access to the Tennessee and Cumberland meant an artery was open for the movement and riverine re-supply of US forces. Kentucky was lost and Tennessee lay wide open to the Yankees. Nashville, the capital of Tennessee fell weeks later and was never recovered by Confederates.
Later, in 1863 when Father Abraham was casting about for a leader who could command US forces in the East and lead them to victory against the wily Bobby Lee, Grant's name was at the top of the list. Grant was appointed as supreme US commander.
Grant knew that the best way to beat Lee was to force him to fight and never let Lee break contact in order to catch his breath. No dancing, no manuevering, just a plain old non-stop slugfest straight up the middle. The strategy killed an awful lot of Bluecoats, but the jig was now up for the South and the rest is history.
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/10753/2004245726262709809_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004245726262709809)
The site is administered by the NPS and is remarkably well preserved. It's only about a two hour drive from Nashville. Check it out...and you might run into Hank Williams Jr. because Bocephus lives nearby and loves the place!.
http://aycu39.webshots.com/image/12358/2002142682608164974_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002142682608164974)
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/12486/2004200770374717482_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004200770374717482)
Early in the Civil War, while eastern Confederate armies were running amok and repeatedly defeating and humiliating US forces, tough western US forces under a bold young general handed the Cornfederates a decisive defeat that shocked the Confederate cause and was a deadly portent of things to come.
145 years ago on this day in 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant finishes a spectacular campaign by capturing Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee. This 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://aycu38.webshots.com/image/11277/2005766384356137378_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005766384356137378)
Grant overseeing things as his force assailed Ft Donelson
After Grant surrounded Fort Henry and forced the surrender of its garrison of approximately 100 men, he marched his force eight miles east to the much more formidable Fort Donelson. The earthen fort sat on a high bluff and had a normal garrison of 6,000.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/9776/2004292345675747706_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004292345675747706)
http://aycu29.webshots.com/image/10308/2004264063398312446_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004264063398312446)
Powerful Fort Donelson overlooking the Cumberland
After the fall of Fort Henry, an additional 15,000 Confederate troops were rushed to reinforce Fort Donelson. 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 on Fort Donelson's ring of outer defenses. Although unsuccessful, this action probably convinced the Confederates that they faced a superior force, even though they actually outnumbered Grant.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/10323/2002101247427567457_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002101247427567457)
Lew Wallace also accompanied Grant as one of his subordinate commanders. Wallace would write a pretty cool book after the war called "Ben Hur"
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/9546/2006363787990633669_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2006363787990633669)
Recreation of two huts built within Fort Donelson where the CS garrison lived. There were literally thousands of these dwellings built within the fort by reseasonably supplied and well-rested CS troops. Note: The parking lot at these cabins did not exist at the time.
Over the next three days, Grant tightened the noose around Fort Donelson by coordinating with his naval counterpart who moved a flotilla of gunboats up the Cumberland River to shell the fort from the east. Contemporary accounts from within Donelson wrote of the deadly "iron Valentines" sent with love and affection from the little gunboat fleet.
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/9863/2004263708732616314_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004263708732616314)
Admiral Andrew Foote commanded the US gunboat flotilla
On February 15, the Confederates tried to counter-attack and break Grant's line which surrounded the fort. 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 not just prevent the loss of the fort, but could scatter and defeat the besieging force in detail, Pillow threw away the chance to retreat from Fort Donelson.
Instead, Pillow pressed the attack but the Union retreat halted and bucked up. The Cornfeds did not press their assault and instead scurried back into the fort. 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.
http://aycu13.webshots.com/image/10132/2002182745560768631_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002182745560768631)
The Confederates were surrounded, with their backs to the Cumberland River. All was lost but some CS troops got away. These included Lieutenant Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Nathan Bedford Forrest and 500 of his 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://aycu19.webshots.com/image/10098/2006362319176043633_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2006362319176043633)
Forrest and his troopers bailing Ft Donelson in the pale moonlight. Forrest probably disobeyed orders in doing so, but to use his words, "I did not raise this force in order to surrender it."
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/9797/2005703422502504018_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005703422502504018)
John Floyd, former US Secretary of War under President Buchanan
http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/9328/2005725156357519614_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005725156357519614)
Gideon Pillow
Finally, when the Rebels decided all was lost, they asked for terms. Interestingly, CS Generals John Floyd and Gideon Pillow had split. Floyd was afraid he would be dealt with harshly if captured because he had been US Secretary of War immediately prior to the establishment of the Confederacy and in that capacity, with war looming, Floyd deliberately did nothing to prevent Southern capture of US installations and arms in the South.
IOW, Floyd remained in office as Secretary in order to ensure he wouldn't be replaced by a loyal man who would take steps to protect US property. By the standards of the day, that was deemed dishonorable by most everyone, and Floyd figured that would result in his hanging if captured.
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/12466/2005744619590318933_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005744619590318933)
The inn in neaby Dover TN where the surrender was concluded.
They left Simon Bolivar Buckner in charge because he was a pre-war friend of Sam Grant which they believed would result in favorable terms for the fort. They were wrong.
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/12486/2004204141679881163_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004204141679881163)
Grant's response to Buckner's request for terms. That line after the "Unconditional surrender" line that states "[Grant] proposes to immediately move against works" means, [B]"either you guys quit or I'm coming in there and hanging half a hundred on you."
Grant replied that no terms "except unconditional and immediate surrender" would be acceptable. This earned Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant. The surrendered force of Confederate troops was placed on riverboats and sent to US prisoner of war camps in Yankeeland.
Estimated Casualties: US - 2,832; CS - 1,500-2,000 and 12,000-15,000 taken prisoner.
The loss of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson were unmitigated disasters for the Confederates. Unimpeded access to the Tennessee and Cumberland meant an artery was open for the movement and riverine re-supply of US forces. Kentucky was lost and Tennessee lay wide open to the Yankees. Nashville, the capital of Tennessee fell weeks later and was never recovered by Confederates.
Later, in 1863 when Father Abraham was casting about for a leader who could command US forces in the East and lead them to victory against the wily Bobby Lee, Grant's name was at the top of the list. Grant was appointed as supreme US commander.
Grant knew that the best way to beat Lee was to force him to fight and never let Lee break contact in order to catch his breath. No dancing, no manuevering, just a plain old non-stop slugfest straight up the middle. The strategy killed an awful lot of Bluecoats, but the jig was now up for the South and the rest is history.
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/10753/2004245726262709809_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004245726262709809)
The site is administered by the NPS and is remarkably well preserved. It's only about a two hour drive from Nashville. Check it out...and you might run into Hank Williams Jr. because Bocephus lives nearby and loves the place!.
http://aycu39.webshots.com/image/12358/2002142682608164974_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002142682608164974)