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THE MEANING OF FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON
Grant may have been too optimistic when he felt that the rebellion
was about played out in Tennessee after Fort Donelson. He was similarly
naive in telling his political patron Illinois congressman Elihu B.
Washburn that "a powerful change" was taking place in the minds of
people throughout the state that early spring. Nonetheless, this was a
season of missed opportunities all around. Johnston and Beauregard could
not make the necessary countermove to annihilate Grant's very isolated
expeditionary force on the twin rivers in late February and early March.
But northern generals Halleck and Buell were just as incapable of
exploiting Grant's breakthrough. Halleck thought that working together,
he and Buell could end the war in the West in less than a month. Then
the two fell prey to fears about Grant's exposed position as well as to
which of them should have supreme command in the West. Differing agendas
among the generals, logistical difficulties with supply and movement,
communication problems and uncertain enemy intentions as well as
distance from the nerve centers of war control in Washington and
Richmond stymied both sides after Forts Henry and Donelson. The
expedition that broke open the stalemate in the Mississippi valley
languished for a time. The month following his victories passed in deep
frustration and mounting problems for Grant's army. No Napoleonic-like
"battle for the West" occurred. A Union army-navy team continued to chip
away at Confederate control of the Mississippi River, but it was beyond
the power of either side to effect a quick decision at this stage of the
conflict.
THE BATTLE OF DOVERFEBRUARY 3, 1863
Federal forces never relinquished control of
the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers after the capture of Forts Henry
and Donelson. They established garrisons not only to protect those
rivers as valuable communication and supply arteries but also to
control the region and its inhabitants as part of a slow process of
reconstructing the nation even before the war ended. Their Confederate
opponents, however, made several attempts to recover such control,
always failing in the effort. Partisan and guerrilla bands harassed
Federal garrisons at Dover, Forts Henry and Heiman, and a new Fort
Donelson. A thirty-minute attack by Colonel Tom Woodward and his
partisans on August 25, 1862, did more damage to the town of Dover in
thirty minutes than the previous February's major battle. In the fall of
1864, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest led a raid to the Tennessee
River and successfully captured and destroyed the Union supply base at
Johnsonville, upriver from Forts Henry and
Heiman. But raiders came to conquer, destroy, and disappear quickly
rather than reoccupy territory for a prolonged period. The most serious
threat to Federal supremacy on the twin rivers took place almost a year
after the Confederate surrender at Fort Donelson. This occurred during
the so-called battle of Dover, February 9, 1863.
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BRIGADIER GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER (LC)
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Following the bloody battle of Stones River, or Murfreesboro, on
December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863, Confederate cavalry resumed the
task of protecting the flanks of General Braxton Bragg's Army of
Tennessee. They also engaged in raiding Union supply routes and
outposts. Chief of cavalry Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler especially
harassed Union river traffic on the Cumberland and received the thanks
of the Confederate Congress and a promotion. Toward the end of January,
Bragg directed that he take a force, to include the brigades of fellow
generals Forrest and John Wharton, to shut down river navigation at some
specific point on the Cumberland. Forrest had just returned from his own
highly successful West Tennessee raid in December, and his command
needed rest and reoutfitting. Forrest did not personally want to be
subordinated to Wheeler's direction. In fact, misfortune shadowed this
expedition from the beginning.
The Union high command suspended shipping altogether on the river
even before Wheeler's arrival at the Palmyra,
Tennessee, landing. Wheeler was chagrined about the apparent failure
of his mission and, to avoid returning to base without some action,
decided to move twenty miles further downstream to attack the Federal
garrison at Dover. The wisdom of this move was questionable despite
success the previous fall with cowing reluctant enemy garrisons into
surrender. Still, success promised only a handful of prisoners,
temporary occupation of the fortified county seat, and questionable
retaliation for the catastrophic defeat suffered a year earlier at
nearby Fort Donelson. Heavy casualties might ensue, and even remaining
at Palmyra offered a better blocking position on the river. Moreover,
inspection of the command revealed glaring shortages of ammunition and
rations. Forrest's men carried perhaps fifteen rounds of small arms
ammunition and a total of forty-five rounds for their four cannon.
Wharton was only slightly better endowed on this count.
Forrest therefore protested vehemently about assaulting Dover's
garrison. The cold weather, low ammunition, and possible losses argued
against the assault. Moreover, a rumored Federal pursuit column from
Franklin to cut off the expeditions, retreat back to Columbia,
Tennessee, further suggested the inadvisability of the move. The adamant
Wheeler, spoiling for a fight, rejected Forrest's protests, however. The
Tennessean was so nonplussed that he called aside an aide and told him
bluntly: "If I am killed in this fight, will you see that justice is done
by officially stating that I protested against the attack, and that I am
not willing to be held responsible for any disaster that may
result." This request came on the morning of February 3, and even
then his cavalry with the rest of Wheeler's column was pounding down the
Dover road, eager for action.
The expedition soon got it. The Union garrison at Dover was
commanded by feisty Colonel Albert Clark Harding of the 83d Illinois
infantry. He was hardly caught off guard by the Confederate move because
an outpost, about eight miles from Dover, was overrun by Wheeler and
company but survivors were able to spread the alarm. Harding, caught at
his midday meal, immediately telegraphed his superior at Fort Henry,
Colonel William Lowe of the 5th Iowa cavalry, requesting help. He then
prepared his defense at Dover. Bolstering Harding's 600 infantrymen
were two sections of rifled 12-pounder cannon and a 32-pounder heavy gun
that had been removed from the old Confederate water batteries at Fort
Donelson. This force occupied a long rifle pit extending from the
riverbank upstream or east of Dover around the town to the south, and
ending in an old graveyard on the northwestern edge of the village.
Harding positioned the 32-pounder on a swivel mount in a redoubt at the
town square, several hundred yards behind the rifle pit. Two of the
field guns supported this position. The other pair, likewise manned by
Captain James H. Flood's battery, 2d Illinois Light Artillery, with
additional numbers of Harding's infantrymen (under direction of
Lieutenant Colonel A. A. Smith) defended at the graveyard. The Union
position commanded various ravines surrounding the town. But as a final
precaution, Harding herded all women and children at the post aboard two steamboats and sent them
downriver with one, the Wildcat, ordered to find any Union
gunboats and speed them to the garrison's relief.
(click on image for a PDF version)
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THE BATTLE OF DOVER
This map depicts the positions of the Union garrison under Colonel
Harding and the attacking Confederate forces under General Wheeler. The
attack took place on the afternoon of February 3, 1863.
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Wheeler, Forrest, and Wharton appeared in the outskirts of Dover
about 1:00 P.M. with some 3,000 Confederates. Skirmishing became brisk
immediately as Forrest was ordered to attack from the east (almost a
reverse of his escape route the previous year), while Wharton's brigade
would simultaneously assault Smith's position. The famous 8th Texas
Cavalry (Terry's Texas Rangers) was sent to guard the Fort Henry road.
Then Wheeler dispatched the customary surrender ultimatum
to Harding. What had worked elsewhere with frightened Union garrisons
did not work at Dover; here the garrison was not intimidated by threats
of superior force even though the note contained the veiled threat: "If
you surrender, you will be treated as prisoners of war; if not, you must
abide the consequences." Harding, a banker by profession and untested in
combat, shot back the terse reply: "I decline to surrender the forces
under my command or the post, without an effort to defend them." Such a
slap in the faces of the Confederate generals immediately elicited a
response. Although their plan called for a coordinated and synchronized
assault, Forrest interpreted a sudden shift in
enemy lines to be an escape attempt. He launched a reckless mounted
charge that was literally blown apart by the Union artillery.
Unable to dislodge the defenders, Forrest's battered men retired to
the crescent shaped ridge running parallel to the Union position east of
town. They dismounted and regrouped and prepared for another attack. Now
supported by their own artillery, Forrest and his men anticipated
greater success. Yet it was not forthcoming for while the Confederate
guns drove Harding's men back to the protection of the redoubt at the
square, the 32-pounder quickly riddled Forrest's dismounted attackers
and the "wizard of the saddle" had a second horse shot from
beneath him that afternoon. Even Wharton fared no better although by
midafternoon he finally succeeded in pushing Smith out of the graveyard,
capturing one of the Federal guns and its caisson. Then, just as his
advance moved into the immediate environs of Dover, Wharton's men ran
out of ammunition. He pulled back, harassed by terrific Union
counterfire.
Dusk settled over the battlefield with the Union position intact and
a bright winter moon illuminating the scene. After surveying the
situation, the Confederate generals concluded that Harding's position
was too strong. Ammunition shortages were acute, and several enemy
relief columns could be seen approaching Dover.
In view of such developments, Wheeler, Forrest, and Wharton decided
to break off the fighting. In doing so, they barely escaped arrival of
Lyon from Fort Henry with portions of the 13th Wisconsin, 71st Ohio, and
5th Iowa cavalry, which pushed through the Texans' roadblock about five
miles west of Dover. The arrival of Lieutenant Leroy Fitch's gunboat
flotilla was equally crucial.
Warned of the Dover battle by the captain of the Wildcat,
Fitch rushed ahead and reached Dover at 8:00 P.M. He had six so-called
tin-clad boats with him, and though their lightly armored sides meant
little at this point, they quickly poured a heavy cannon fire on the
general area held by the Confederates at the close of the action. The
deluge of shot and shell elicited no reply; the dejected Confederates
had already departed. They carried Flood's cannon and caisson with them
as well as quantities of blankets, most coveted by the shivering
Southerners. But they left behind at least seventeen dead and sixty
wounded from Wharton's command while Forrest suffered losses
approximately one-quarter of his thousand-man command. By contrast,
Harding reported thirteen killed, fifty-one wounded and sixteen missing.
He had held his post and defeated three of the Confederacy's best
generals.
That night, the tired and hungry Confederates bivouacked about four
miles from the scene of their afternoon defeat. Their commanders found
shelter in a road-side house, and by the light of a roaring fire,
Wheeler began to prepare his after-action report. He was musing
about the day's events when
Forrest brusquely interrupted. Addressing his superior, Forrest told
Wheeler, "You know that I was against this
attack." "I said all I could and should against itand nowsay
what you like, do what you like, nothing'll bring back my brave fellows
lying dead or wounded and freezing around that fort tonight," he
continued. Disclaiming any disrespect and proclaiming "the personal
friendship I feel for you," the rugged Tennessee horseman added:
"You've got to put one thing in that report to Bragg: tell him I'll
be in my coffin before I'll fight again under your command."
Furthermore, "if you want it, you can have my sword."
Cooler heads prevailed. Wheeler declined Forrest's sword and calmly
admitted that he willingly assumed blame for the failure to capture
Dover. The next day, the weary Confederates once more departed the line
of the Cumberland and, avoiding threatened interception by the Federals,
gained sanctuary south of the Duck River at Columbia on February 17. As
so often in the intervening year, the Confederacy had failed to redeem
the stigma of surrender and defeat in the lower Tennessee and
Cumberland valleys. But now, the Union victory at Dover contributed
another lasting effect on the war in the West. Forrest's determination
not to serve again under Wheeler's command led to permanent separation
of two of the most successful and brilliant Confederate cavalry
chieftains. The two men remained friends until death, but Forrest always
managed to be positioned on the opposite flank of the army whenever he
and Wheeler found themselves thrown together in a campaign. Later in the
year, the two generals were officially separated when two divisions of
cavalry were established, one commanded by Wheeler, the other by Major
General Earl Van Dorn (into which Forrest, again to his disgust was
subordinated.) Eventually, Forrest gained independent command in West
Tennessee and northern Mississippi, where he successfully campaigned
against several Federal opponents. But he never returned to the scenes of earlier ignominy as
Fort Donelson, and Dover remained a synonym for defeat and humiliation
throughout the short life of the Confederacy.
Union leaders decided that their victory at Dover suggested that the
now thoroughly battle-scarred community afforded little strength for
defense of the Cumberland River. So they built a new and improved Fort
Donelson of their own. Located on a hill between the village and the old
Confederate fortifications, this second fort subsequently guarded the
river while providing a rallying point for refugee freedmen and a
recruiting depot for enlisting them into the service of the Union. In
time, the site of the Union Fort Donelson became the present national
cemetery with occupants including not only Civil War dead but the
nation's fallen from more recent contests.
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THE CEMETERY AT PRESENT DAY FORT DONELSON NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD. (NPS)
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They established the pattern of joint army-navy operations that
would provide the war-winning team for the Union.
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Sustained by William T. Sherman's support base at Paducah, Grant's
expeditionary force eventually moved upstream and appointments with
destiny at other places and in other battles. Grant personally
weathered difficulties with Halleck and another near disaster when he
was surprised at Shiloh. Most important, however, he and Foote had
demonstrated that Federal land and naval forces working together could
open control of the water highways into the Confederate heartland. They
established the pattern of joint army-navy operations that would
provide the war-winning team for the Union. In addition, their victories
imparted a new sense of purpose to preserving the Union among the
Northern populace. Citizens had discovered a general who fought hard and
won, "Unconditional Surrender" Grant was appropriately viewed as a man
of the peoplea no-nonsense combat general who could seize the initiative and
bring success. Despite temporary setbacks, Grant never relinquished that
initiative. He won additional victories and went east in the spring of
1864 to command of all the armies of the Union. In one sense, then, the
war in the West, which opened with the capture of Forts Henry and
Donelson, reached conclusion in Virginia.
There, in Wilbur McLean's Appomattox farmhouse on April 9,
1865, the honor of receiving Robert E. Lee's surrender went to the
hero of Fort Donelson. What was started in the cold February of 1862 on
the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers endured. Three additional years of
strife had incurred more blood and sacrificefrom Shiloh to Vicksburg,
from Stones River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga to Atlanta and the sea.
And this is not to mention all the battles in Virginia and elsewhere
before it was over. Even Tennessee and Kentucky could not be counted
fully under Union control until the battles of Franklin and Nashville
late in 1864 reflected the last surge of Confederate hopes for
recapturing the upper South. Despite the aversion of Confederate leaders
to prolonged guerrilla warfare, that was precisely what raged across
much of the region until well past the final surrender of organized
Confederate resistance. Still, Forts Henry and Donelson had been a
beginningfor Grant and the Union.
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THE BATTLE OF MEMPHIS ON JUNE 6, 1862. (BL)
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UNION LOYALISTS IN TENNESSEE MAKE A PLEDGE TO THE FLAG. (HW)
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Most of Grant's principal comrades from the earliest campaign were
no longer with him by the time of Appomattox. True, his aide John A.
Rawlins remained. But Foote, Smith, and James B. McPherson, Grant's
engineer at Fort Donelson, had not survived the war. McClernand had
outstayed his welcome through too much political intrigue and was
eventually thrust aside. Like McClernand, Lew Wallace had suffered
through Shiloh with his chieftain but then fell from favor and was
relegated to administrative assignments despite memories of his heroic
stand, which had saved Grant's army on February 15 at Fort Donelson.
Interestingly, the Hoosiers equally meritorious action at the battle of
Monocacy in Maryland on July 9, 1864,
may have similarly preserved Grant's career. Here, the last
Confederate invasion of Union territory in the East threatened the
nation's capital on the very eve of pivotal national elections. Grant's
focus was on capturing Richmond and Petersburg, and he had neglected
Washington's defense. Only at the last moment did Wallace's action at
Monocacy allow reinforcements from Grant to reach the forts surrounding
Washington and thus save President Lincoln's government. Grant thanked
Wallace but did not restore him to a combat command, the Hoosier's most
cherished desire.
Equally ironic, Henry Halleck eventually finished the war as
Grant's bureaucratic chief of staff in Washington. He had preceded
Grant in going east as top Union general, but the fortunes of war
eventually dictated the need for someone more dynamic and popular to
take charge. Only William T. Sherman, who provided Grant's logistical
support from the first campaign, advanced to take his rightful place
beside Grant in the Union's pantheon of warrior heroes by the time of
Appomattox. It was Sherman, after all, who at one point had persuaded
Grant to persevere and stay the course in those early, transitional
months of frustration after the twin rivers victories. Vicksburg,
Chattanooga, and Appomattox were added to Forts Henry and Donelson as
the result.
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A RIVER BATTERY AT FORT DONELSON IN SPRING. (PHOTO BY JAMES P. BAGSBY)
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The long, hard road to victory began then on those two Tennessee
rivers in mid-winter 1862. To the historian Bruce Catton, Forts Henry
and Donelson were not just a beginning but also one of the most
decisive events of the war from which came "the slow, inexorable
progression that led to Appomattox." Little of this was obvious to
anyone in February 1862, of course. Events never become so until later
generations declare them to be so. Writing perceptively in 1882, a
chronicler of the wartime military telegraph operation, William R. Plum,
noted about Fort Donelson, "doubtless, if Grant were to fight that battle again, he
would do better." So would the Confederates, he reasoned. They would
evacuate before they were invested. So, today, we can stand on the
riverbanks of the Tennessee and Cumberland and, viewing the now sylvan
settings of two Confederate forts, ponder what they mean to us. The
facts are inescapable. At Forts Henry and Donelson occurred two
surrenders. Those singular events propelled the Southern Confederacyhowever
noble its fighting spirit, however valorous its
fighting mentoward ultimate defeat and demise. The battles
enabled the nation's government to commence the passage toward reunion
and a new nation. They vaulted an unassuming midwestern brigadier named
Ulysses S. Grant toward final victory and, ultimately, the White House.
The rest, as they say, is history.
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Back cover: Crossing Lick Creek by Gary Lynn Roberts, courtesy
of Newmark Publishing, Louisville, Kentucky.
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