Photo above: Reenactors and Visitors at Fort Donelson National Battlefield. Courtesy National Park Service. Right: Lithograph by Kurz and Allison of the Battle of Fort Donelson. Courtesy Library of Congress.

Fort Donelson Then

The Confederate fort had taken seven months to build, begun in 1861, with soldiers and slaves preparing the fifteen acre earthen fort to protect this position along the Cumberland River from any possible Union attack. The vistas around the fort, with all trees felled within two hundred yards, would surely insure a victory against anything the Federal forces could provide. It would not be so in the end, although the first salvos of battle would inure the South into thinking that the fort would provide solace and victory, all this despite the fact that another fort, Fort Henry, had just succumbed to Union forces on February 6. However, Fort Donelson was larger, more impressive, and should be harder to defeat.

On February 14, the Union sent their ironclads and other vessels up the river to shell Fort Donelson under the command of General Andrew H. Foote. They would fight against the eleven large guns of the fort for one and one half hours, but be forced to retreat. However, while the Southern generals in command at the fort were pleased with this initial action and victory, it indicated a large problem brewing to their east. General Grant was getting reinforcement on his right flank, cutting off a possible route of retreat to Nashville for the Confederate forces and encircling the fort. On the morning of February 15, the South would try to break through while they still had the chance, and by the afternoon, had forced Grant to retreat. That retreat would not be the final bout, however, and a counterattack amidst the confusion of Confederate orders would close off the planned retreat route for most, although two thousand Rebel soldiers would make it out. For the others, over 12,000, they would become prisoners under the unconditional terms of surrender imposed by General Grant.

Fort Donelson would be the first major victory of the war for the Union Army. It would lead to Grant's elevation in stature, to the rank of Major-General, and later conquests. Kentucky and northern Tennessee would become a base for Union, not Confederate, operations. The war was beginning a slow turn.

How important was the Battle of Fort Donelson and what would its outcome portend? Nashville and Clarksville would fall within a week, with Nashville being the first Confederate capital to be captured. The Confederacy would know that keeping hold of a bellweather state would be difficult, if not eventually, impossible. And it would unleash that Unconditional Surrender General with a confidence that would lead to more Union victories.

Image above: Storming of Fort Donelson, 1862, Currier and Ives. Courtesy Library of Congress. Below: Huts at Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Carol Highsmith Colleciton. Courtesy Library of Congress.

Fort Donelson Now

There are eleven stops on the tour road that take you to the important sites on the battlefield such as the Union batteries that overlook the Cumberland River, the site of Smith's attack, the Dover Hotel (Surrender House), and the National Cemetery. If you want to venture outside the park's main border, you can visit the site of Nathan Bedford Forest's retreat across Lick Creek.

Prior to taking out on your auto tour, stop in the Visitor Center, which includes new exhibits installed for the 150th Anniversary, a film, and bookstore. Check for the ranger scheduled walks for the day (usually available from mid-June to September).