Fort Donelson - History

History

Fort Donelson was garrisoned by the Confederate troops until 1862. The fort was captured by Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his army during a winter offensive to divide the Confederacy in two by controlling the Mississippi River. (see Battle of Fort Donelson)

The fort was attacked again on August 25, 1863, by a Confederate force demanding its surrender. The attack was unsuccessful and was repulsed.

Bushrod Johnson of the Corps of Engineers approved the build site. Construction was started by a large force of men brought from the nearby Cumberland Iron Works.

Confederate commanders

  • Bushrod Johnson (Feb 9, 1862)
  • Gideon J. Pillow (Feb 10-13, 1862)
  • John B. Floyd (Feb 14-16, 1862)
  • Simon B. Buckner, Sr. (Feb 16, 1862)
  • Major Rice E. Graves, Jr., Artillery Commander

Read more about this topic:  Fort Donelson

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    The true theater of history is therefore the temperate zone.
    Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)

    I saw the Arab map.
    It resembled a mare shuffling on,
    dragging its history like saddlebags,
    nearing its tomb and the pitch of hell.
    Adonis [Ali Ahmed Said] (b. 1930)