On February 6th, Fort Henry surrendered after being pounded by the Union fleet. BGen. Tilghman in holding off the Union fleet as long as he did allowed 2,500 troops to retreat to Fort Donelson.

         

          In his personal memoirs, Gen. Grant described Fort Donelson as being “2 miles north or down river from Dover. The fort, as it stood in 1861, embraced about one hundred acres of land. On the east it fronted the Cumberland (River); to the north it faced Hickman's Creek, a small stream which at that time was deep and wide because of the backwater from the river; on the south was another small stream, or rather a ravine opening into the Cumberland. This also was filled with back-water from the river. The fort stood on high ground, some of it as much as a hundred feet above the Cumberland. Strong protection to the heavy guns in the water batteries had been obtained by cutting away places for them in the bluff. To the west there was a line of rifle-pits some two miles back from the river at the farthest point. This line ran generally along the crest of high ground, but in one place crossed a ravine which opens into the river between the village and the fort. The ground inside and outside of this entrenched line was very broken and generally wooded. The trees outside of the rifle-pits had been cut down for a considerable way out, and had been filled so that their tops lay outwards from the entrenchments. The limbs had been trimmed and pointed, and thus formed an abatas in from of the greater part of the line. Outside of this intrenched line, and extending about half the entire length of it, is a ravine running north and south and opening into Hickman Creek at a point north of the fort”.

          On February 11th, BGen. Floyd was resolved to concentrate the troops at Cumberland City. He sent BGen. Buckner to Fort Donelson ordering BGen. Pillow to Cumberland City with his troops. However, Pillow refused until he could discuss the orders directly with Floyd. When Floyd arrived at Fort Donelson, he had a poor opinion of the fort. The fort was earthen work and had 12 mounted guns with different calibers. He felt it had no commanding position or military significance.

          Editor's Note: The area around Cumberland City is relatively flat at an elevation of 384 feet. Around Dover and Fort Donelson are rolling hills at an elevation of 455 feet.

          After the fall of Fort Henry, Grant's troops marched overland to Fort Donelson. During the march, the troops started throwing their blankets and overcoats aside. This would prove to be a crucial mistake during the battle. During the afternoon of February 13th, the weather turned cold with snow and sleet. The troops having dropped their gear had nothing for protection. They did not build fires to stay warm for fear of revealing their numbers and to stay hidden from snipers.

          On the 13th, Grant was looking over the enemy defenses. Grant sent a dispatch to Commander Walke asking him to take the U.S.S. Carondelet upstream and test the lower batteries and the fort. As the Carondelet start firing, but the Confederate lower batteries started firing with the 10-inch Columbiad and the rifled 6.5 inch guns. The Carondelet did very little damage to the batteries till its last shot. With the last shot, it hit the batteries #2 gun, a 32-pounder. A bolt was sheared off killing Capt. Dixon.

          On the 14th, the Confederate were going to make a break and join Gen. Johnston's army. However, communication was poor and the orders were not given to advance till noon. As Pillow moved his troops forward, a Union sharpshooter taking aim at Pillow, hit a soldier next to him. He immediately ordered the troops back to the trenches stating the advance had been discovered. Later in the afternoon, the Union gunships moved downriver toward the fort. By 4pm, the battle was in full with the gunboats still advancing. By 4:30, the gunboats were still taking a pounding and could not take much more. The U.S.S. Louisville was the first to leave the battle drifting downstream. The U.S.S. St. Louis was next when it lost its steering. The U.S.S. Pittsburg broke a rudder on the Carondelet and was hit twice under the water line. The Pittsburg drifted downstream. The Carondelet took a heavy beating when it turned broadside to the water batteries. She eventually turned downstream firing her bow guns until out of range.

          On the night of the 14th, Floyd called a council and it was decided to attack the enemy's extreme right flank and right center at 5am. It was hoped the enemy would be thrown back and secure a safe withdraw of the Confederate forces. However, specific details were not arranged for an orderly retreat once started.

·         Number of rations needed to be prepared.

·         Whether blankets and knapsacks should be taken or not.

·         What should be the order of march on retreat for the different commands.

·         Who should take the advance and who should protect the rear.

          The next morning, the 15th, Col. Baldwin led the attempt to open a road for the army to retreat from the fort. He pushed the Union troops back, but when requested further instructions, Pillow instructed him to do his best. Baldwin had pushed the enemy back and had opened the road for an orderly retreat. He observed troops returning to the trenches and directed his troops back to the trenches.

          In a staff meeting that evening, Buckner stated he could not resist another assault. Stated if Gen. Johnston had reached Nashville, they should surrender. Floyd and Pillow agreed, but Floyd stated he was taking his men out on two steamers. Pillow left when Floyd did. Col. Forrest was not going to surrender and fled with his cavalry across the icy waters.

          Early on the morning of the 16th as Grant was preparing to assault the Confederate lines when the white flag was raised over Fort Donelson. Buckner had surrendered with nearly 11,000 soldiers.

          Confederate Secretary of War, J. P. Benjamin, sent a dispatch to Johnston stating Floyd's and Pillow's reports were unsatisfactory. Benjamin wanted the relieved of command and to amend their reports to answer the following questions:

·         Failure to give timely notice of the insufficiency of the garrison of Fort Donelson to repel attack.

·         Failure of any attempt to save the army by evacuating the post when found to be untenable.

·         Why they abandoned the command to their inferior officer, instead of executing themselves whatever measure was deemed proper for the entire army?

·         What was the precise mode by which each and the regiments abandoned which formed part of the senior general's brigade?

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