Battle of Fort Henry
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee
, during the American Civil War
. It was the first important victory for the Union
and Brig. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant
in the Western Theater
.
On February 4 and February 5, Grant landed two divisions just north of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River
. (Although the name was not yet in use, the troops serving under Grant were the nucleus of the Union's successful Army of the Tennessee
.) His plan was to advance upon the fort on February 6 while it was being simultaneously attacked by United States Navy
gunboats commanded by Flag Officer
Andrew Hull Foote
. A combination of effective naval gunfire and the poor siting of the fort, almost completely inundated by rising river waters, caused its commander, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
, to surrender to Foote before the Army arrived.
The surrender of Fort Henry opened the Tennessee River to Union traffic past the Alabama
border, which was demonstrated by a "timberclad" raid of wooden ships from February 6 through February 12. They destroyed Confederate
shipping and railroad bridges downriver. Grant's army proceeded overland 12 miles (19.3 km) to the Battle of Fort Donelson
.
. This neutrality was first violated on September 3, when Confederate
Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow, acting on orders from Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk
, occupied Columbus
. Two days later Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
, displaying the personal initiative that would characterize his later career, seized Paducah
, a major transportation hub of rail and port facilities at the mouth of the Tennessee. Henceforth, neither adversary respected the proclaimed neutrality of the state and the Confederate advantage was lost; the buffer zone that Kentucky provided was no longer available to assist in the defense of Tennessee.
By early 1862, on the Confederate side, a single general, Albert Sidney Johnston
, commanded all forces from Arkansas
to the Cumberland Gap
. But his forces were spread too thinly over a wide defensive line: his left flank was Polk in Columbus with 12,000 men; his right flank was Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner
in Bowling Green, Kentucky
, with 4,000; the center consisted of two forts under the command of Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
, also with 4,000. Fort Henry and Fort Donelson
were the sole positions to defend the important Tennessee
and Cumberland
rivers, respectively. If these rivers were opened to Union military traffic, two direct invasion paths would lead into Tennessee and beyond.
The Union military command in the West suffered from a lack of unified command, organized into three separate departments: the Department of Kansas, under Maj. Gen. David Hunter
; the Department of Missouri, under Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck; and the Department of the Ohio
, under Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell
. By January 1862, this disunity of command was apparent because they could not agree on a strategy for operations in the Western theater. Buell, under political pressure to invade and hold pro-Union eastern Tennessee, moved slowly in the direction of Nashville. In Halleck's department, Grant demonstrated up the Tennessee River to divert attention from Buell's intended advance, which did not occur. Halleck and the other generals in the West were coming under political pressure from President
Abraham Lincoln
to participate in a general offensive by Washington's Birthday
. Despite his traditional caution, Halleck eventually reacted positively to Grant's proposal that he move against Fort Henry. He hoped that this would improve his standing in relation to his rival, Buell. But he and Grant were also concerned about rumors that Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard would soon arrive in the theater with large numbers of reinforcements, so celerity was warranted. On January 30, 1862, Halleck authorized Grant to take Fort Henry.
Grant wasted no time, leaving Cairo, Illinois
, at the confluence
of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, on February 2. His invasion force consisted of 15–17,000 men in two divisions, commanded by Brig. Gens. John A. McClernand and Charles F. Smith
, and the Western Flotilla, commanded by United States Navy
Flag Officer
Andrew Hull Foote
. Foote had four ironclad gunboats (flagship USS Cincinnati
, USS Carondelet
, USS St. Louis, and USS Essex
) under his direct command, and three wooden ("timberclad") gunboats (USS Conestoga
, USS Tyler
, and USS Lexington
) under Lt. Seth Ledyard Phelps
. There were insufficient transport ships this early in the war to deliver all of the army troops in a single operation, so two trips upriver were required to reach the fort.
ed earthen structure covering 10 acre (0.0404686 km²) on the eastern bank of the Tennessee River, near Kirkman's Old Landing. The site was about one mile above Panther Creek and about six miles below the mouth of the Sandy River and Standing Rock Creek.
In May 1861, Isham G. Harris
, the governor of Tennessee, appointed the state's attorney, Daniel S. Donelson, as a brigadier general and directed him to build fortifications on the rivers of Middle Tennessee. Donelson found suitable sites, but they were within the borders of Kentucky, then still neutral. Moving upriver to just inside the Tennessee border, he selected the site of the fort that would bear his name on the Cumberland River. Colonel Bushrod Johnson
of the Tennessee Corps of Engineers approved of the site.
As construction of Fort Donelson began, Donelson moved 12 miles (19.3 km) west to the Tennessee River and selected the site of Fort Henry, naming it after Tennessee Senator Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr.. Since Fort Donelson was on the west bank of the Cumberland, he selected the east bank of the Tennessee for the second fort so that one garrison could travel between them and be used to defend both positions, which he deemed unlikely to be attacked simultaneously. Unlike its counterpart on the Cumberland, Fort Henry was situated on low, swampy ground, dominated by hills across the river. On the plus side, it had an unobstructed field of fire two miles (3 km) downriver. Donelson's surveying team—Adna Anderson, a civil engineer, and Maj. William F. Foster from the 1st Tennessee Infantry—objected strongly to the site and appealed to Colonel Johnson, who inexplicably approved it.
The fort was designed to stop traffic on the river, not to withstand infantry assaults, certainly not at the scale that armies would achieve during the war. Construction began in mid-June, using men from the 10th Tennessee Infantry and slaves
, and the first cannon was test fired on July 12, 1861. After this flurry of activity, however, the remainder of 1861 saw little more because forts on the Mississippi River had a higher priority for receiving men and artillery. In late December, additional men from the 27th Alabama Infantry arrived along with 500 slaves. They constructed a small fortification across the river on Stewart's Hill, within artillery range of Fort Henry, naming it Fort Heiman. At about the same time, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
assumed command of both Forts Henry and Donelson. At Fort Henry were approximately 3,000–3,400 men, two brigades commanded by Colonels Adolphus Heiman and Joseph Drake
. They were armed primarily with antique flintlock rifles from the War of 1812
.
Seventeen guns were mounted in Fort Henry by the time of the battle, eleven covering the river and the other six positioned to defend against a land attack. There were two heavy guns, a 10 inches (254 mm) Columbiad and a 24-pounder rifled cannon, with the remainder being 32-pounder smoothbores. There were two 42-pounders, but no ammunition of that caliber was available. When the river was at normal levels, the walls of the fort rose 20 feet (6.1 m) about it and were 20 feet (6.1 m) thick at the base, sloping upward to about 10 feet (3 m) thick at the parapet. But in February 1862, heavy rains caused the river to rise and most of the fort was underwater, including the powder magazine.
The Confederates deployed one additional defensive measure, which was then unique in the history of warfare: several torpedoes (in modern terminology, a naval mine
field) were anchored below the surface in the main shipping channel, rigged to explode when touched by a passing ship. (This measure turned out to be ineffective, due to high water levels and the leaking metal containers of the torpedoes.)
On February 4 and February 5, Grant landed his divisions in two different locations: McClernand's three miles (5 km) north on the east bank of the Tennessee River to prevent the garrison's escape and C.F. Smith's to occupy Fort Heiman on the Kentucky
side, which would ensure the fort’s fall. But the battle turned on naval actions and concluded before the infantry saw action.
Tilghman realized that it was only a matter of time before Fort Henry fell. Only nine guns remained above the water to mount a defense. 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 off on the overland route to Fort Donelson, twelve miles (19 km) away. Fort Heiman was abandoned on February 4, and all but a handful of artillerymen left Fort Henry on February 5. (Union cavalry pursued the retreating Confederates, but the poor conditions of the roads prevented any serious confrontation and they took only a few captives.)
Foote's seven gunboats began bombarding the fort on February 6. This was the first engagement for the Western Flotilla, using newly designed and hastily constructed ironclads. Foote deployed the four ironclads in a line abreast, followed by the three wooden ships, which held back for long-range, but less effective, fire against the fort. It was primarily the low elevation of Fort Henry's guns that allowed Foote's fleet to escape serious destruction; the Confederate fire was able to hit the ships only where their thin armor was strongest. One ship was seriously damaged, causing many casualties. A chance 32-pound shot penetrated USS Essex and hit her middle boiler, sending scalding steam throughout half of the ship. Thirty-two men were killed or wounded, including her commander, William D. Porter
, and the ship was out of action for the remainder of the campaign.
of the fort and pick up Tilghman for the surrender ceremony on Cincinnati, demonstrating the extent of flooding. Twelve officers and 82 men surrendered; other casualties are estimated to be 15 men killed and 20 wounded. The evacuating force left all of its artillery and equipment behind. Tilghman was imprisoned, but exchanged on August 15.
Tilghman wrote bitterly in his report that Fort Henry was in a "wretched military position. ... The history of military engineering records no parallel to this case." Grant sent a brief dispatch to Halleck: "Fort Henry is ours. ... I shall take and destroy Fort Donelson on the 8th and return to Fort Henry." Halleck wired to Washington: "Fort Henry is ours. The flag is reestablished on the soil of Tennessee. It will never be removed."
If Grant had been as cautious as other generals in the Union Army and had delayed his departure by two days, the battle would have never occurred, since by February 8, Fort Henry was completely underwater. The North treated Fort Henry as a glorious victory. On February 7, the gunboats Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Essex returned to Cairo with whistles blowing, flying Confederate flags upside down. The Chicago Tribune
wrote that the battle was "one of the most complete and signal victories in the annals of the world's warfare."
Fort Henry's fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping past the Alabama border. This was quickly demonstrated. Immediately after the surrender, Foote sent Lieutenant Phelps with the three timberclads, the Tyler, Conestoga, and Lexington, on a mission up river to destroy installations and supplies of military value. (The ironclads of the flotilla had sustained damage in the bombardment and were slower and less maneuverable for the mission at hand, which would include pursuit of Confederate ships.) The raid reached as far as Muscle Shoals
, just past Florence, Alabama
, the limit of navigability. The Union ships and their raiding parties destroyed numerous supplies and the important bridge of the Memphis & Ohio Railroad, 25 miles (40.2 km) upriver. They also captured a variety of Southern ships, including the Sallie Wood, the Muscle, and an ironclad under construction, the Eastport. The Union ships returned safely to Fort Henry on February 12. However, Phelps made a major blunder during his otherwise successful raid. The citizens of the town of Florence asked him to spare their town and its railroad bridge, of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Phelps told them that he would, seeing no military importance to the bridge. Yet the loss of the bridge would have essentially split the Confederate theater in half. It was this bridge that Johnston's army would ride across on their journey to Corinth, Mississippi
, in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh
.
After the fall of Fort Donelson
to Grant's army on February 16, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west became Union highways for movement of troops and material. And as Grant suspected, this action flanked the Confederate forces at Columbus, causing them to withdraw from that city and Western Kentucky soon thereafter.
as part of the Fort Donelson National Battlefield
. It is currently memorialized as part of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
. When the Tennessee River was dammed in the 1930s, creating Kentucky Lake, the remains of Fort Henry were submerged permanently. A small navigation beacon far from the Kentucky shoreline marks the location of the northwest corner of the former fortification. Fort Heiman was on privately owned land until October 2006, when the Calloway County, Kentucky
, executive office transferred 150 acre (0.607029 km²) associated with Fort Heiman to the National Park Service, for management as part of the Fort Donelson National Battlefield. Some of the entrenchments are still visible.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It was the first important victory for the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
in the Western Theater
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
.
On February 4 and February 5, Grant landed two divisions just north of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
. (Although the name was not yet in use, the troops serving under Grant were the nucleus of the Union's successful Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
.) His plan was to advance upon the fort on February 6 while it was being simultaneously attacked by United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
gunboats commanded by Flag Officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
Andrew Hull Foote
Andrew Hull Foote
Andrew Hull Foote was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of the...
. A combination of effective naval gunfire and the poor siting of the fort, almost completely inundated by rising river waters, caused its commander, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
Lloyd Tilghman
Lloyd Tilghman was a railroad construction engineer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Champion Hill...
, to surrender to Foote before the Army arrived.
The surrender of Fort Henry opened the Tennessee River to Union traffic past the Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
border, which was demonstrated by a "timberclad" raid of wooden ships from February 6 through February 12. They destroyed Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
shipping and railroad bridges downriver. Grant's army proceeded overland 12 miles (19.3 km) to the Battle of Fort Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
.
Background
In early 1861 the critical border state of Kentucky had declared neutrality in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. This neutrality was first violated on September 3, when Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow, acting on orders from Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk
Leonidas Polk
Leonidas Polk was a Confederate general in the American Civil War who was once a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk...
, occupied Columbus
Columbus, Kentucky
Columbus is a city in Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 229 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbus is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
. Two days later Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, displaying the personal initiative that would characterize his later career, seized Paducah
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
, a major transportation hub of rail and port facilities at the mouth of the Tennessee. Henceforth, neither adversary respected the proclaimed neutrality of the state and the Confederate advantage was lost; the buffer zone that Kentucky provided was no longer available to assist in the defense of Tennessee.
By early 1862, on the Confederate side, a single general, Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
, commanded all forces from Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
to the Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
. But his forces were spread too thinly over a wide defensive line: his left flank was Polk in Columbus with 12,000 men; his right flank was Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr.
Simon Bolivar Buckner fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later served as the 30th Governor of Kentucky....
in Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
, with 4,000; the center consisted of two forts under the command of Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
Lloyd Tilghman
Lloyd Tilghman was a railroad construction engineer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Champion Hill...
, also with 4,000. Fort Henry and Fort Donelson
Fort Donelson
Fort Donelson was a fortress built by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River leading to the heart of Tennessee, and the heart of the Confederacy.-History:...
were the sole positions to defend the important Tennessee
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
and Cumberland
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
rivers, respectively. If these rivers were opened to Union military traffic, two direct invasion paths would lead into Tennessee and beyond.
| Key commanders at the Battle of Fort Henry |
|---|
The Union military command in the West suffered from a lack of unified command, organized into three separate departments: the Department of Kansas, under Maj. Gen. David Hunter
David Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
; the Department of Missouri, under Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck; and the Department of the Ohio
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...
, under Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered...
. By January 1862, this disunity of command was apparent because they could not agree on a strategy for operations in the Western theater. Buell, under political pressure to invade and hold pro-Union eastern Tennessee, moved slowly in the direction of Nashville. In Halleck's department, Grant demonstrated up the Tennessee River to divert attention from Buell's intended advance, which did not occur. Halleck and the other generals in the West were coming under political pressure from President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to participate in a general offensive by Washington's Birthday
Washington's Birthday
Washington's Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. It is also commonly known as Presidents Day...
. Despite his traditional caution, Halleck eventually reacted positively to Grant's proposal that he move against Fort Henry. He hoped that this would improve his standing in relation to his rival, Buell. But he and Grant were also concerned about rumors that Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard would soon arrive in the theater with large numbers of reinforcements, so celerity was warranted. On January 30, 1862, Halleck authorized Grant to take Fort Henry.
Grant wasted no time, leaving Cairo, Illinois
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...
, at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, on February 2. His invasion force consisted of 15–17,000 men in two divisions, commanded by Brig. Gens. John A. McClernand and Charles F. Smith
Charles Ferguson Smith
Charles Ferguson Smith was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War and as a Union General in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
, and the Western Flotilla, commanded by United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Flag Officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
Andrew Hull Foote
Andrew Hull Foote
Andrew Hull Foote was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of the...
. Foote had four ironclad gunboats (flagship USS Cincinnati
USS Cincinnati (1862)
The City class ironclad USS Cincinnati was a stern-wheel casemate gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Cincinnati, Ohio and was the first ship to bear that name in the United States Navy....
, USS Carondelet
USS Carondelet (1861)
USS Carondelet was a gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War...
, USS St. Louis, and USS Essex
USS Essex (1856)
USS Essex was a 1000-ton ironclad river gunboat of the United States Army and later United States Navy during the American Civil War. It was named for Essex County, Massachusetts...
) under his direct command, and three wooden ("timberclad") gunboats (USS Conestoga
USS Conestoga
Three ships of the United States Navy have been named Conestoga after the Conestoga wagon, a broad wheeled, covered, wagon first built in Conestoga, Pennsylvania....
, USS Tyler
USS Tyler (1857)
USS Tyler was originally a merchant ship named A. O. Tyler, a commercial side-wheel steamboat with twin stacks and covered paddles positioned aft. Constructed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1857, it was acquired by the United States Navy, 5 June 1861 for service in the American Civil War and converted...
, and USS Lexington
USS Lexington (1861)
The third USS Lexington was a timberclad gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Purchase and conversion:Lexington was built as a sidewheel steamer at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1861 and was purchased by the War Department and converted into a gunboat at Cincinnati, Ohio,...
) under Lt. Seth Ledyard Phelps
Seth Ledyard Phelps
Seth Ledyard Phelps was an American naval officer, politician, and diplomat. He served with distinction in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War and afterward was appointed president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia and then as U.S...
. There were insufficient transport ships this early in the war to deliver all of the army troops in a single operation, so two trips upriver were required to reach the fort.
Fort Henry
Fort Henry was a five-sided, open-bastionBastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
ed earthen structure covering 10 acre (0.0404686 km²) on the eastern bank of the Tennessee River, near Kirkman's Old Landing. The site was about one mile above Panther Creek and about six miles below the mouth of the Sandy River and Standing Rock Creek.
In May 1861, Isham G. Harris
Isham G. Harris
Isham Green Harris was an American politician. He served as Governor of Tennessee from 1857 to 1862 and as a U.S. Senator from 1877 until his death....
, the governor of Tennessee, appointed the state's attorney, Daniel S. Donelson, as a brigadier general and directed him to build fortifications on the rivers of Middle Tennessee. Donelson found suitable sites, but they were within the borders of Kentucky, then still neutral. Moving upriver to just inside the Tennessee border, he selected the site of the fort that would bear his name on the Cumberland River. Colonel Bushrod Johnson
Bushrod Johnson
Bushrod Rust Johnson was a teacher, university chancellor, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was one of a handful of Confederate generals who were born and raised in the North.-Early life:...
of the Tennessee Corps of Engineers approved of the site.
As construction of Fort Donelson began, Donelson moved 12 miles (19.3 km) west to the Tennessee River and selected the site of Fort Henry, naming it after Tennessee Senator Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr.. Since Fort Donelson was on the west bank of the Cumberland, he selected the east bank of the Tennessee for the second fort so that one garrison could travel between them and be used to defend both positions, which he deemed unlikely to be attacked simultaneously. Unlike its counterpart on the Cumberland, Fort Henry was situated on low, swampy ground, dominated by hills across the river. On the plus side, it had an unobstructed field of fire two miles (3 km) downriver. Donelson's surveying team—Adna Anderson, a civil engineer, and Maj. William F. Foster from the 1st Tennessee Infantry—objected strongly to the site and appealed to Colonel Johnson, who inexplicably approved it.
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, and the first cannon was test fired on July 12, 1861. After this flurry of activity, however, the remainder of 1861 saw little more because forts on the Mississippi River had a higher priority for receiving men and artillery. In late December, additional men from the 27th Alabama Infantry arrived along with 500 slaves. They constructed a small fortification across the river on Stewart's Hill, within artillery range of Fort Henry, naming it Fort Heiman. At about the same time, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
Lloyd Tilghman
Lloyd Tilghman was a railroad construction engineer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Champion Hill...
assumed command of both Forts Henry and Donelson. At Fort Henry were approximately 3,000–3,400 men, two brigades commanded by Colonels Adolphus Heiman and Joseph Drake
Joseph Drake (soldier)
Joseph Drake lawyer and plantation owner, was a Colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, who commanded a brigade in two major battles...
. They were armed primarily with antique flintlock rifles from the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Seventeen guns were mounted in Fort Henry by the time of the battle, eleven covering the river and the other six positioned to defend against a land attack. There were two heavy guns, a 10 inches (254 mm) Columbiad and a 24-pounder rifled cannon, with the remainder being 32-pounder smoothbores. There were two 42-pounders, but no ammunition of that caliber was available. When the river was at normal levels, the walls of the fort rose 20 feet (6.1 m) about it and were 20 feet (6.1 m) thick at the base, sloping upward to about 10 feet (3 m) thick at the parapet. But in February 1862, heavy rains caused the river to rise and most of the fort was underwater, including the powder magazine.
The Confederates deployed one additional defensive measure, which was then unique in the history of warfare: several torpedoes (in modern terminology, a naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
field) were anchored below the surface in the main shipping channel, rigged to explode when touched by a passing ship. (This measure turned out to be ineffective, due to high water levels and the leaking metal containers of the torpedoes.)
Battle
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
side, which would ensure the fort’s fall. But the battle turned on naval actions and concluded before the infantry saw action.
Tilghman realized that it was only a matter of time before Fort Henry fell. Only nine guns remained above the water to mount a defense. 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 off on the overland route to Fort Donelson, twelve miles (19 km) away. Fort Heiman was abandoned on February 4, and all but a handful of artillerymen left Fort Henry on February 5. (Union cavalry pursued the retreating Confederates, but the poor conditions of the roads prevented any serious confrontation and they took only a few captives.)
Foote's seven gunboats began bombarding the fort on February 6. This was the first engagement for the Western Flotilla, using newly designed and hastily constructed ironclads. Foote deployed the four ironclads in a line abreast, followed by the three wooden ships, which held back for long-range, but less effective, fire against the fort. It was primarily the low elevation of Fort Henry's guns that allowed Foote's fleet to escape serious destruction; the Confederate fire was able to hit the ships only where their thin armor was strongest. One ship was seriously damaged, causing many casualties. A chance 32-pound shot penetrated USS Essex and hit her middle boiler, sending scalding steam throughout half of the ship. Thirty-two men were killed or wounded, including her commander, William D. Porter
William D. Porter
William David Porter was a flag officer of the United States Navy. He was the son of Commodore David Porter and brother of Admiral David Dixon Porter as well as foster brother of Admiral David Farragut .-Early career:Porter was born on 10 March 1808 in New Orleans, Louisiana He spent much of his...
, and the ship was out of action for the remainder of the campaign.
Aftermath and the timberclad raid
After the battle had lasted 75 minutes, Tilghman surrendered to the fleet, which had engaged the fort and closed within 400 yards (365.8 m). A small boat from the fleet was able to sail directly through the sally portSally port
The primary modern meaning for sally port is a secure, controlled entryway, as at a fortification or a prison. The entrance is usually protected in some way, such as with a fixed wall blocking the door which must be circumvented before entering, but which prevents direct enemy fire from a distance...
of the fort and pick up Tilghman for the surrender ceremony on Cincinnati, demonstrating the extent of flooding. Twelve officers and 82 men surrendered; other casualties are estimated to be 15 men killed and 20 wounded. The evacuating force left all of its artillery and equipment behind. Tilghman was imprisoned, but exchanged on August 15.
Tilghman wrote bitterly in his report that Fort Henry was in a "wretched military position. ... The history of military engineering records no parallel to this case." Grant sent a brief dispatch to Halleck: "Fort Henry is ours. ... I shall take and destroy Fort Donelson on the 8th and return to Fort Henry." Halleck wired to Washington: "Fort Henry is ours. The flag is reestablished on the soil of Tennessee. It will never be removed."
If Grant had been as cautious as other generals in the Union Army and had delayed his departure by two days, the battle would have never occurred, since by February 8, Fort Henry was completely underwater. The North treated Fort Henry as a glorious victory. On February 7, the gunboats Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Essex returned to Cairo with whistles blowing, flying Confederate flags upside down. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote that the battle was "one of the most complete and signal victories in the annals of the world's warfare."
Fort Henry's fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping past the Alabama border. This was quickly demonstrated. Immediately after the surrender, Foote sent Lieutenant Phelps with the three timberclads, the Tyler, Conestoga, and Lexington, on a mission up river to destroy installations and supplies of military value. (The ironclads of the flotilla had sustained damage in the bombardment and were slower and less maneuverable for the mission at hand, which would include pursuit of Confederate ships.) The raid reached as far as Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
, just past Florence, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
, the limit of navigability. The Union ships and their raiding parties destroyed numerous supplies and the important bridge of the Memphis & Ohio Railroad, 25 miles (40.2 km) upriver. They also captured a variety of Southern ships, including the Sallie Wood, the Muscle, and an ironclad under construction, the Eastport. The Union ships returned safely to Fort Henry on February 12. However, Phelps made a major blunder during his otherwise successful raid. The citizens of the town of Florence asked him to spare their town and its railroad bridge, of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Phelps told them that he would, seeing no military importance to the bridge. Yet the loss of the bridge would have essentially split the Confederate theater in half. It was this bridge that Johnston's army would ride across on their journey to Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,054 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alcorn County. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835.- History :...
, in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
.
After the fall of Fort Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
to Grant's army on February 16, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west became Union highways for movement of troops and material. And as Grant suspected, this action flanked the Confederate forces at Columbus, causing them to withdraw from that city and Western Kentucky soon thereafter.
Preservation
Although closely associated with Fort Donelson, the site of Fort Henry is not managed by the U.S. National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
as part of the Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Fort Donelson National Battlefield preserves Fort Donelson and Fort Heiman, two sites of the American Civil War Forts Henry and Donelson Campaign, in which Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Admiral Andrew Hull Foote captured three Confederate forts and opened two rivers to the Union navy...
. It is currently memorialized as part of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area is a designation for a protected area in the United States, often centered on large reservoirs and emphasizing water-based recreation for a large number of people. The first National Recreation Area was the Boulder Dam Recreation Area...
. When the Tennessee River was dammed in the 1930s, creating Kentucky Lake, the remains of Fort Henry were submerged permanently. A small navigation beacon far from the Kentucky shoreline marks the location of the northwest corner of the former fortification. Fort Heiman was on privately owned land until October 2006, when the Calloway County, Kentucky
Calloway County, Kentucky
Calloway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1823. As of 2010, the population was 37,191. Its county seat is Murray, Kentucky. The county is named for Colonel Richard Callaway, one of the founders of Boonesborough...
, executive office transferred 150 acre (0.607029 km²) associated with Fort Heiman to the National Park Service, for management as part of the Fort Donelson National Battlefield. Some of the entrenchments are still visible.
Further reading
- Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. 2 vols. Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885–86. ISBN 0-914427-67-9. - Simpson, Brooks D. Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822–1865. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-395-65994-9.