Forts Henry and Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland
The front in Virginia was relatively narrow (Chesapeake Bay to Blue Ridge Mountains) while in Tennessee the front stretched hundreds of miles from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. To cover this extensive area the Confederates had a much smaller force than in Virginia

Fort Henry
Civil War Tennessee

American Civil War
February 6, 1862


Struggle for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth
The military campaign that began in early 1862 with the advance to Fort Henry and culminated in late May. The first significant Northern penetration into the Confederate west

By February 1862, Fort Henry, a Confederate earthen fort on the Tennessee River with outdated guns, was partially inundated and the river threatened to flood the rest. On February 4-5, Brigadier General U.S. Grant landed his divisions in two different locations, one on the east bank of the Tennessee River to prevent the garrison's escape and the other to occupy the high ground on the Kentucky side which would insure the fort's fall.

Flag-Officer Andrew H. Foote's seven gunboats began bombarding the fort.  Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman, commander of the fort's garrison, realized that it was only a matter of time before Fort Henry fell. While leaving artillery in the fort to hold off the Union fleet, he escorted the rest of his force out of the area and sent them safely off on the route to Fort Donelson, 10 miles away. Tilghman then returned to the fort and, soon afterwards, surrendered to the fleet, which had engaged the fort and closed within 400 yards.

Fort Henry's fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping as far as Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After the fall of Fort Donelson, ten days later, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west, bounded by the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, became Union highways for movement of troops and material.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Stewart County and Henry County, Tennessee, and Calloway County, Kentucky

Campaign: Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers (1862) Next Battle in Campaign   Campaigns

Date(s): February 6, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and Flag-Officer A.H. Foote [US]; Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman [CS]

Forces Engaged: District of Cairo [US]; Fort Henry Garrison [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 119 total (US 40; CS 79)



The Bridge Burners: A True Adventure of East Tennessee's Underground Civil War
The railroad that proved such a peacetime boon would become a point of conflict only three years later

 
Men of Fire: Grant, Forrest, and the Campaign That Decided the Civil War
In the winter of 1862, on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee, two extraordinary military leaders faced each other in an epic clash that would transform them both and change the course of American history forever



Glory in the Name: A Novel of the Confederate Navy
From Norfolk to Hampton Roads, from Roanoke Island to the nighttime battle on the river below New Orleans, Glory in the Name tells the story of the Confederate States Navy, and the brave men who carried forward against overwhelming odds




Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy
A tantalizing glimpse into the hardships endured by the naval leadership to build and recruit a fighting force. The seaman endured periods of boredom, punctuated by happy social times and terrifying bouts of battle horror

Line engraving after a drawing by Rear Admiral Henry Walke, published in the "History of the Great Rebellion", by Harper. The print depicts the Federal gunboats Saint Louis, Carondelet, Essex and Cincinnati bombarding Fort Henry

Situation Prior to Start of Campaign - Click to enlarge Map
Fort Henry Tennessee Battle Map

72 Piece Civil War Army Men
Play Set 52mm Union and Confederate Figures, Bridge, Horses, Canon		 Tennessee State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
Civil War Summary
Documents of the Civil War
Civil War Cooking
Civil War Submarines
Kids Zone Causes of the War
Civil War Store
Guide to Civil War Nashville
The importance of Nashville during the Civil War, the campaigns that led up to and followed the battle, the actual Battle of Nashville, landmarks, tour guides, historic structures, markers, maps and GPS coordinates are given for many of the historic sites

Chattanooga Tennessee City History Current Weather Hotel Motel camping and attractions

American Civil War Book Titles

John Hunt Morgan and His Raiders
The "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy" John Hunt Morgan from Tompkinsville, Kentucky to Greeneville, Tennessee.
The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army: Memoirs of General Adam R. Johnson
The capture of Newburg, Indiana, with only twelve men and two joints of stovepipe mounted on the running gear of a wagon. This episode won him a nickname of "Stovepipe." He was promoted to Brigadier General in June 1864
The Longest Raid of the Civil War: Little-Known & Untold Stories of Morgan's Raid into Kentucky, Indiana & Ohio
Kentucky, a slave state, did not secede. Many were pro Confederate however. Jefferson Davis was from Kentucky, Lincoln was also born there.
Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History
The Army of Northern Virginia was able to compile a large number of impressive victories during the war. The Army of Tennessee was only able to win at Chickamauga, and even that victory proved barren strategically.

The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville
John Bell Hood rallied his demoralized troops and marched them off the Tennessee, desperately hoping to draw Sherman after him and forestall the Confederacy's defeat
Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign
The war probably could have been over in 1862 had Lieutenant Phelps destroyed the bridge at Florence. Not doing so provided a retreat for A. S. Johnston to move his men to Corinth and then to Shiloh
FAME'S ETERNAL CAMPING-GROUNDS: A Historical AND the Original Authentic Accounts of the Civil War Battles Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg
This two-part book  has something for everyone from the Civil War novice to the Civil War buff; for those who enjoy historicals and those who want authentic material
Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia
The Southern view of slavery as essential to the Southern economy is reiterated. Slavery was the great Southern irony, viewed as a foundation of white liberty. From that perspective, the Confederate soldier's choice was simply victory or death

American Civil War DVD Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
Shiloh: The War is Civil No More

American Experience: The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry
After Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the governor of Massachusetts was authorized to raise the first northern black regiment,  the Massachusetts 54th colored infantry.
Brother Against Brother: The American Civil War
Fort Sumter, to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Features battle reconstructions and depictions of army life, eyewitness accounts, period photographs and engravings, plus commentary and analyses.

History's Mysteries: Family Feud:
The Hatfields And McCoys
Millions of dollars worth of timber and coal rich land were at stake, the courts were involved and once the national press got wind of what was happening, the backwoods folk found that their fight was being followed nationwide
Civil War: A Concise History
The best collection of Civil War visuals ever assembled in one 75-minute program. A breathtaking and first-hand account of the war. Great DVD Bonuses


Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
US Military Academy
U.S. Library of Congress

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