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Dorothy Copus Brush Civil War took romance out of Feb. 14 Feb. 14, 1862 was not remembered as a day
of hearts and flowers in Tennessee history. For the Yankees it
marked the first major victory of the Civil War, but for the
Rebels it was a staggering blow. In the early war years, authority over the
Mississippi, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers was uppermost in
the minds of both Confederates and Unionists. At that time two
forts, Henry and Donelson, guarded the approaches to the Tennessee
and Cumberland rivers, and Gen. A.S. Johnston's Confederate forces
held both those forts in late 1861. The weak point in this defense
was where the Memphis & Ohio Railroad crossed the rivers.
It was so close to both forts that if those forts were captured,
Johnston's line of communication with the Mississippi would be
cut. The Confederates had no gunboats on these
rivers early in February 1862, which allowed Union gunboats,
ironclad and timberclad, to steam up the Cumberland and right
up to the Confederate gun emplacements. Once there, the Rebel
cannons let loose and did great damage to the boats. This action did not stop Gen. U.S. Grant's
assault on the forts. His ground-based troops captured Fort Henry
and destroyed the bridge. Confederate Gen. Lloyd Tilghman had
2,600 men at Fort Henry, which was still unfinished. Realizing
the end was near, he kept 56 artillerists to provide covering
fire while the rest of the men escaped to Fort Donelson. On Feb.
6, the general raised the white flag, and the Tennessee River
was open to the lower southland. On Feb. 13, Grant marched his 15,000 men toward
Fort Donelson, 12 miles away. Fickle February on that day was
very warm, and the men discarded coats, blankets and tents during
the march. That night the soldiers waited at the outer defense
line of the fort. The weather changed, temperatures dropped,
the winds howled, and snow and sleet fell. Campfires were prohibited,
and during the freezing night many of those soldiers who had
dropped their coats and blankets along the way froze to death. Fort Donelson was defended by a force of 15,000
under the command of Gens. Gideon J. Pillow, John B. Floyd and
Simon Bolivar Buckner, a professional soldier. They had received
a message that Grant had been stopped by the attack on the gunboats.
They relayed that message on to Johnston in Nashville and assured
him they could hold the fort. By the evening of Feb. 14, they realized Grant's
forces had them trapped. The next morning they were determined
to break out of that trap, and they fought valiantly and violently
to open a route so they could march the 75 miles south to Nashville. It was Pillow who had doubts about an escape,
and he ordered the troops back into the fort. Before the day
ended Fort Donelson was surrendered unconditionally as Grant
demanded. Nashville's fate was sealed. For the Yankees one of the few Zouave regiments
from the Midwest fought in the fall of both forts. The volunteer
regiment, Company B, 11th Indiana Infantry was commanded by Gen.
Lew Wallace, who later wrote Ben Hur. This unit did not
wear the flamboyant uniforms usually associated with the Zouaves
but a tamer gray twilled uniform, blue flannel shirts open at
the neck and visor caps with a red top. However, the baggy breeches
and Greek-styled jackets set them apart as did their training
in precision drilling. They were young, daring men filled with an
esprit de corps because of their unique training. They had been
training in Paducah, KY, before they took part in the battles
at both forts. One of the men of that regiment wrote a long poem
about all the battles he had seen. Near the top of that remembrance
he wrote, "I have long been a soldier, I good service done
on the Cumberland's bank at Fort Donelson." Near the small town of Dover the Fort Donelson National Battlefield was established. The surrender was signed at the nearby Dover Hotel which is still there. |