Battle of Fort Donelson
Fort Donelson, Stewart County, Tennessee, USA
What happened
Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew Foote attacked a Confederate fort commanded in the end by Simon Bolivar Buckner. Grant marched his army overland from Fort Henry, and Union gunboats attacked the fort from the Cumberland River but were driven off. A Confederate breakout attempt nearly worked, but the commanders called their men back. The two senior Confederate generals slipped away, and Buckner surrendered.
Why it matters
Why it matters: The capture opened the Cumberland River into the South, and Nashville soon fell. Grant became famous as 'Unconditional Surrender' Grant.
What came next
Nashville became the first Confederate state capital to fall. Buckner was later exchanged and, after the war, became Governor of Kentucky.
Did you know?
Grant and Buckner were old friends; Buckner had once paid for Grant's lodging when Grant had no money.
Timeline
- 11 February 1862Grant's army begins the attack.
- 14 February 1862Union gunboats are driven off.
- 16 February 1862Buckner surrenders.
- 23 February 1862Confederates leave Nashville.