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Fort Henry and Fort Donelson Campaign |
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| February 6-16, 1862 |
A combined Federal army/navy campaign to dominate the "Two Rivers" (the Tennessee and the Cumberland Rivers were vital to the South's "internal lines" of transportation and communication) and most of the area of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee resulted in the first great Confederate defeat of the War and the ascendancy of little known Union BG Ulysses S. Grant. Confederate Ft. Henry (on the Tennessee - 78 men - BG Lloyd Tilghman, commanding) was surrendered to U.S. naval forces (6 gunboats - Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, commanding) on 6 February. The rising river and U.S. Navy firepower made the fort indefensible, and the majority of its garrison had already slipped away to reinforce Ft. Donelson. Now the Union campaign (27,000 men - BG Ulysses S. Grant and Foote's 6 gunboats) shifted to the more formidable Ft. Donelson (on the Cumberland - 21,000 men - MG Gideon J. Pillow, overall command with BG John B. Floyd, fort commander and BG Simon B. Buckner). A reinforced Federal advance encircled the fort, and it fell on 16 February. Grant's reply to Buckner's request for terms: "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender" gave the North a new hero, "Unconditional Surrender" Grant! The fall of Ft. Donelson was a disaster for the South. Tennessee was wide open, and Kentucky and the very important "Two Rivers" were in Union hands. Estimated Casualties: Union - 2,832; Confederate - 1,500-2,000 and 12,000-15,000 taken prisoner.
Notes:
Numbers in parentheses reflect estimated strength of armies or units.
Estimated casualty figures are totals for killed, wounded, missing in action, and taken prisoner.
Alternative names of battles and campaigns appear in parentheses.
Military and naval rank abbreviations in text: LT - Lieutenant, CPT - Captain, MAJ - Major, LTC - Lieutenant Colonel, CDR - Commander (Navy), COL - Colonel, BG - Brigadier General, MG - Major General, RADM - Rear Admiral (Navy), LTG - Lieutenant General, VADM - Vice Admiral (Navy), and GEN - General.
Army Organization: Although authorized and actual strength and the rank of the commanding officer often varied, the standard military unit during the War was the infantry regiment (1,000 men, COL commanding) which was comprised of 10 companies (100 men each, CPT commanding). 3-4 Regiments = 1 Brigade (3,000-4000 men, BG commanding). 3 (sometimes 4) Brigades = 1 Division (9000-12,000 men, BG or MG commanding). 2-4 (usually 3) Divisions = 1 Corps (18,000-24,000+ men, MG - North and MG or LTG -South commanding). 2 or more Corps = An Army (usually 20,000-100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding). 2 or more Armies = An Army Group (usually 100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding).
Sources:
Atlas for the American Civil War, The West Point Military History Series, 1986.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James M. McPherson. 1988.
Battlefields of the Civil War, by Roger W. Hicks and Frances E. Schultz. 1989.
The Centennial History of the Civil War, 3 Vols., by Bruce Catton. 1961-65.
The Civil War (Series), Editors of Time-Life Books. 1983.
The Civil War: A Narrative, 3 Vols., by Shelby Foote. 1958-1974.
The Civil War: An Illustrated History, by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns. 1990.
The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Ed. by Frances H. Kennedy. 1990.
The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, by E.B. Long with Barbara Long. 1971.
The Encyclopedia of Military History, Second Rev. Ed., by R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. 1986.
West Point Atlas of American Wars, Vol. I, Ed. by Vincent J. Esposito. 1959.
Who Was Who in the Civil War, by Stewart Sifakis. 1988.
Photographs courtesy of The Generals of the American Civil War Website.
