Fort Donelson Invested

After capturing Fort Henry on February 9, Grant and his superiors moved the army and fleet to attempt to capture Fort Donelson, a few miles away on the Cumberland River. Johnson, Confederate commander in the west, decided to reinforce Fort Donelson with 12,000 more men. He appointed Brigadier General Floyd to the command of the place. Floyd was the senior Confederate brigadier General. He was Secretary of War during secession, and it was believed in the North that he had attempted to help the South in the position, although that was probably not the case. Fort Donelson controled was a very important position, and if captured it would open up the Cumberland river to be used to ferry Union troops to invade deeper into the South.

Forrest

Fort Donelson was located in a much better position than Fort Henry. It was 100 feet above the river, allowing for the guns to fire down on passing ships. On the land side there were three miles of trenches on a ridge, supported by artillery. The fort's garrison was 17,000 men to resist the Union force of 25,000. The Confederates had a force of cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest. He would show himself to be one of the greatest cavalry generals in the Civil War.

Floyd

On February 12 Grant marched his troops the five miles from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson. The gunboats came up as well, and fired a few shells to test the defenses of the fort. Although Grant ordered there to be no attacks on the Southern trenches, his orders were disobeyed. Several attacks were ordered by subordinates, and were repulsed by the Confederates. On the night of February 13th it turned cold, and three inches of snow fell. The soldiers on both sides were miserable, being under enemy fire and not being able to light fires to warm themselves.

Battle of Roanoke Island – Day 2

After having landed the night before, Burnside's 10,000 Federal troops moved toward the Confederates forts on the morning of February 8th. They encountered the Confederate forces in position along a swampy part of the island. 400 troops held a redoubt with three cannons, with supposedly impenetrable swamps on either side. 1,000 more Confederates were behind them in reserve. For two hours the first Union brigade attempted to break the Confederate position, but all their efforts were useless. The larger Union force could not all be put into position in the restricted area.

When the second brigade arrived its commander suggested an attempt to be made to flank through the impenetrable swamps. This was done with two forces attempting to flank on both sides of the Confederate position. Although uncoordinated, they were both able to march through the swamp to strike the Confederates at the same time. As they appeared, the Union center attacked as well. Under this unexpected attack from three directions, the Confederates broke and ran.

With no further defensive positions and being greatly outnumbered by the Union troops, Colonel Shaw, the Confederate commander decided to surrender. The North had lost 37 killed, 214 wounded and 13 missing, the South 23 killed, 58 wounded and 62 missing. 2,500 men surrendered, along with 40 cannons from the fort. Several regiments of reinforcements had arrived after the battle, but soon enough to be surrendered. The capture of Roanoke Island gave the Federals a location from which to launch attacks on other locations in North Carolina. Colonel Shaw wrote this in his official report:

I cannot close this report without giving expression to the deep grief which I feel on account of the disaster which has befallen us, and at the same time expressing the earnest hope that the Great Being who holds the destinies of nations in the hollow of His hand will soon enable us to retrieve the losses we have sustained.

Battle of Roanoke Island

Landing

Burnside's expedition to attack Roanoke Island, North Carolina encountered rough weather on the way. To encourage his men, Burnside took up quarters in the worst ship in the fleet. Three vessels were wrecked and their crews rescued, but Burnside's boat arrived safely. Pamlico Sound was shallower than had been thought, and so significant time was spent either lightening the ship or offloading men and supplies to be transported by a smaller ship. The Confederates received no reinforcements to their 1,400 men as this large invasion force approached. The Confederate commander fell sick, and was unable to supervise the battle directly.

On February 7th, 150 years ago today, the Union fleet began a bombardment to feel out the Confederate positions, which were found to be very weak. The Confederates had a “Mosquito Fleet” of small gunboats, but they were no match for the Union vessels. Of the four Confederate forts, two were not in a position to fire only the Union fleet, and one other was rendered useless when a small Confederate gunboat was hit and ran aground, directly covering the guns of the fort. There were few casualties and little damage done, other than the one Confederate gunboat. Burnside landed 10,000 of his men through the afternoon and night. The 200 Southerners that had been posted at the landing area were driven off by fire from the ships. The Union troops were then in position to move against the Confederate forts by land the next day.

Battle of Fort Henry

Ironclads Attacking the Fort

One Hundred and Fifty years ago today Grant attacked the Confederate held Fort Henry. His 15,000 men and seven ships were much more powerful than the weak Confederate garrison in its badly positioned fort. Fort Henry was mostly flooded, with only nine guns remaining above water. Tilghman, the Confederate commander, realized there was no hope of holding the fort, so he pulled out all but a skeleton garrison.

USS Essex

The assault began on February 6th with Flag Officer Foote's seven gun boats sailing into position to attack the fort. The four new ironclads were positioned in front, followed by three wooden ships. This was the first engagement for the ironclads. Fort Henry's guns were at such low elevation that they were not able to effect any serious damage on the gunboats. Their balls hit the strongest parts of the iron plating. However one 32 pound shell did penetrate the Essex. It hit a boiler, which in steam-powered vessels contained hot steam to propel the ship. The boiler was the most vulnerable part of the ironclads because if it was hit it would not only limit its movement, but also would send scalding steam through the ship. That is exactly what happened on the Essex. It suffered thirty-two casualties, including its commander. Although this was a success for the Confederates, they were discouraged by the explosion of one of their cannons, which killed tree men. Another gun was hit by fire from the gunboats and its crew disabled. A third was rendered useless by its crew because while attempting to load it quickly, the priming wire was broken off.

After 75 minutes realizing the defence was hopeless, Tilghman surrendered the fort. Only two of the fort's cannon were in use, and General Tilghman had been manning one himself to attempt to encourage his men. The water was so high inside the fort that a small boat from the fleet sailed directly in through the salley port to accept the surrender. The Confederates suffered around 15 killed and 20 wounded, with almost 100 surrendering.

Battle Hymn of the Republic Published

150 years ago today the Battle Hymn of the Republic was published in The Atlantic Monthly. It was written by Julia Ward Howe, whose husband was Samuel Gridley Howe. He was a Boston doctor, Unitarian and an abolitionist. Samuel Howe was one of the Secret Six, who funded John Brown to go to Virginia to incite a slave rebellion at Harper's Ferry.

Julia Ward Howe

In November, 1861, Julia Howe met Abraham Lincoln at the White House. A popular song at the time was John Brown's Body, a marching song which glorified Brown and portrayed him as the forerunner of the Civil War. While the Howes were in Washington a friend suggested, "Why do you not write some good words for that stirring tune?" Howe did so, and wrote this of writing the song:

I went to bed that night as usual, and slept, according to my wont, quite soundly. I awoke in the gray of the morning twilight; and as I lay waiting for the dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to twine themselves in my mind. Having thought out all the stanzas, I said to myself, 'I must get up and write these verses down, lest I fall asleep again and forget them.' So, with a sudden effort, I sprang out of bed, and found in the dimness an old stump of a pen which I remembered to have used the day before. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper.

The song was printed in The Atlantic Monthly 150 years ago today, and went on to become one of the most famous American songs, even to this day. In the words, the author's Unitarian and abolitionist beliefs shine forth clearly. Today it is viewed by many as a hymn, but although biblical words are used they are not used in a Biblical sense. The "coming of the Lord" is used to refer to the Northern armies attacking the South. She even likens Christ's death to the death of the Union soldiers. The lyrics printed where these:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Fort Henry Invested

Plant of the fort

Grant, having embarked on February 2nd, arrived near Fort Henry and began disembarking his troops on February 4th and 5th. Fort Henry and Fort Donelson were constructed by the Tennessee state government in 1861.They did not occupy the best sites, because Kentucky had declared itself neutral and so the forts had to be built in Tennessee. They were also primarily designed to stop river traffic, not repell a land attack. Fort Henry was the weaker of the two. Although it had a good view of the river, it was built on swampy ground and was overlooked by nearby hills. Tilghman, the Confederate commander in the area, recorded this in the Official Records:

To understand properly the difficulties of my position it is right that I should explain fully the unfortunate location of Fort Henry.... The entire fort, together with the intrenched camp spoken of, is enfiladed from three or four points on the opposite shore, while three points on the eastern bank completely command them both, all at easy cannon range. ... The history of military engineering records no parallel to this case. Points within a few miles of it, possessing great advantages and few disadvantages, were totally neglected, and a location fixed upon without one redeeming feature.

By the time of Grant's arrival the Confederates had 17 cannosn and over 3,000 men to defend the Fort against Grant's 15,000 men and powerful ironclads. At the time of the Federal attack the water was very high, and because of the swampy ground of the fort, eight of the guns were already under water. Tilghman realized the fort would fall, and pulled out any unnecessary troops and sent them to Fort Donelson.

On February 4th the Union gunboats approached and opened a preliminary bombardment prior to their main attack.

Gunboats approaching the fort

Grant Leaves for Fort Henry

In early 1862, the Confederate position through Kentucky and beyond centered on two forts, Forts Henry and Donelson. They were a few miles apart just over the border in Tennesse and were to defend the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. If the Northern forces held these positions, they could use the rivers to invade deep into Confederate territory. The Southern commander of these important positions was Brigader General Tilghman, who had 4,000 men.

The Union command was disorganized, with Buell over the Department of the Ohio and Halleck over the Department of Missouri vying for the attention of their superiors. General Ulysses S. Grant, Halleck's subordinate, proposed a plan to capture Fort Henry. Halleck approved it, since it would be in accordance with Lincoln's order a few days before, and he hoped it would gain him the aprobation of Lincoln.

Just three days after having his plan approved, Grant departed from Cairo, Illinois. His 15,000 – 17,000 men embarked on ships, which would take them within a few miles of the Fort. He was accompained by Flag Officer Andrew Foote with four new ironclads and three wooden gunboats.