October 23, 2020 - Fort Donelson

In the morning, we drove to Fort Donelson National Battlefield, where in April 1862 U.S. Grant won his first victory and received national recognition. It was the first significant Union victory of the Civil War. Fort Donelson has long been on my bucket list.

A Ranger was operating out of a temporary Pop-up tent gave us the National Park brochure and answered questions. I asked her what the deal was with the Visitor Center. Apparently it has been under "renovation" for a ridiculous amount of time, more than five years. It sounded kind of fishy to me. That said, although a nice Visitors Center would have been nice, you really don't need one, because they have the National Park brochure, and the battlefield is well marked with informative placards.

The Confederate defense earthworks still stand in many places.

A map of the park. Lynnette and I hiked the Interpretive trail on the left side.

The park preserves much of the original battle site, including the river batteries and the eroded remains of the fort, but the area in which the Confederate States Army attacked on February 15, 1862, is largely in private hands and occupied by residential development. The Cumberland River was dammed in the 1960s; this area is currently referred to as Lake Barkley. It covers an area roughly similar to the original river while at flood stage, as it was during the battle.

The Battle of Fort Donelson

After taking Fort Henry on February 6, 1862. -- due west from Fort Donelson on the other side of the Land Between the Lakes -- General U.S. Grant moved his army 12 miles overland to Fort Donelson, from February 11 to 13, and conducted several small probing attacks. On February 14, Union gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote attempted to reduce the fort with gunfire, but were forced to withdraw after sustaining heavy damage from the fort's water batteries.

Hat tip to Hal Jespersen for these fantastic battle maps on Wikipedia. His maps of the Battle of Chattanooga were equally great.

On February 15, with the fort surrounded, the Confederates, commanded by Brig. Gen. Floyd, launched a surprise attack, led by his second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Pillow, against the right flank of Grant's army. The intention was to open an escape route for retreat to Nashville, Tennessee. Grant was away from the battlefield meeting with the wounded Flag Officer Foote on his flagship gunboat at the start of the attack, but arrived to rally his men and counterattack. Pillow's attack succeeded in opening the route, but Floyd lost his nerve and ordered his men back to the fort.

Grant said the following to one of his staff officers: "Some of our men are pretty badly demoralized, but the enemy must be more so, for he has attempted to force his way out, but has fallen back: the one who attacks frist now will be fictorious and the enemy will have to be in a hurry if he gets ahead of me." And also in his memoirs: "It was clear to my mind that the enemy had started to march out with his entire force, except a few pickets, and if our attack could be made on the left before the enemy could redistribute his forces along the line, we would find but little opposition except from the intervening abatis. ... The outer line of rifle-pits was passed, and the night of the 15th General Smith, with much of his division, bivouacked within the lines of the enemy. There was now no doubt but that the Confederates must surrender or be captured the next day."

On the morning of February 16, General Buckner, who was now the Confederate commander, the two Generals senior to him having abandoned their command and fled, sent a note to Grant requesting a truce and asking for terms of surrender. Buckner had hoped that Grant would offer generous terms because of their earlier friendship. (In 1854 Grant was removed from command at a U.S. Army post in California, allegedly because of alcoholism. Buckner, a fellow U.S. Army officer at that time, loaned Grant money to return home to Illinois after Grant had been forced to resign his commission.) To Buckner's dismay, Grant showed no mercy towards men he considered to be rebelling against the federal government. Grant's brusque reply became one of the most famous quotes of the war, earning him the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender":

Grant's reply

Sir: Yours of this date proposing Armistice, and appointment of Commissioners, to settle terms of Capitulation is just received. No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.

I am Sir: very respectfully

Your [obedient servant]
U.S. Grant
Brig. Gen.

Grant was not bluffing. Smith was now in a good position to move on the fort, having captured the outer lines of its fortifications, and was under orders to launch an attack with the support of other divisions the following day. Grant believed his position allowed him to forego a planned siege and successfully storm the fort.

Grant, who was courteous to Buckner following the surrender, offered to loan him money to see him through his impending imprisonment, but Buckner declined. The surrender was a personal humiliation for Buckner and a strategic defeat for the Confederacy, which lost more than 12,000 men, 48 artillery pieces, much of their equipment, and control of the Cumberland River, which led to the evacuation of Nashville.

Of interest, the famous Confederate Cavalry General Nathan Bedford Forrest was also at Fort Donelson. Having no intention of allowing his cavalry command to be captured, he led 4,000 men across Lick Creek and escaped.

The outer Confederate earthworks are still clearly visible. This is the right side of the Confederate outer earthworks. That's a 9-pounder iron gun. The cannon is original but the carriage is a reproduction.

More Confederate earthworks.

A single example of a Confederate log hut. At the time of the battle, there were four hundred of them. Remember, it was February, and very cold. Grant comments on the cold at Fort Donelson in his memoirs.

An artist's conception of what Fort Donelson would have looked like from the air at the time.

The Upper River Battery, which featured one 6.5 inch rifled cannon and two 32-pounder ship carronades protected by sandbags and a strong parapet. The Confederate gunners were excellent shots against the Union ironclads on February 14, 1862 and caused them to withdraw.

This is the 6.5 inch rifled cannon.

The lower river battery. Both batteries were armed with heavy seacoast artillery, manned by inexperienced [but effective] gunners. This lower river battery contained eight 32-pounder smoothbore cannon and one 10-inch Columbiad on the extreme left.

A C-130 flies by in the distance. He's probably going to land at nearby Fort Campbell which is home to the famous 101st Airborne re;l

Division, the Screaming Eagles.

Lynnette and I hiked the loop trail by Hickman Creek. There were more ups and downs that we anticipated but we made it.

This is the Confederate earthworks on their left from which they attacked on the morning of February 15.

The Dover Hotel, also known as the surrender hotel, where Buckner surrendered to Grant.

Departing Fort Donelson, we headed north to Cairo, Illinois. It started raining on the way. At Cairo, it was very windy and rainy. Behind Lynnette, the Ohio (from the left) joins the Mississippi River (on the right). I flew over this point in my plane about a month ago in much better weather than this.

A Tugboat rounds the point, leaving the Mississippi River for the Ohio River.

We drove north through the town of Cairo, crossed the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau into Missouri, then headed north up Interstate 55 to the St. Louis area.

I must way that Cairo, Illinois was one of the most depressing, devastated towns I've ever seen -- right up there with Camden, New Jersey. Half the buildings were boarded up or abandoned. No stores or restaurants open for business. Bad.

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