Battle of Fort Donelson

Battle of Fort Donelson
Part of the American Civil War
Date February 11–16, 1862 Location Fort Donelson, Stewart County, Tennessee 36°29′35″N 87°51′22″W / 36.49306°N 87.85611°W / 36.49306; -87.85611 Result Union victory[1]
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant Andrew H. Foote	John B. Floyd Gideon J. Pillow Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. (POW)
Units involved
Army of the Tennessee (District of Cairo) Mississippi River Squadron	Army of Central Kentucky Fort Donelson Garrison
Strength
24,531[2] 4 Ironclads, 3 timberclads	16,171[2]
Casualties and losses
2,691 total (507 killed 1,976 wounded 208 captured/missing)[3] 4 ironclads damaged, 2 heavily	13,846 total (327 killed 1,127 wounded 12,392 captured/missing)[3]

The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important avenue for the invasion of the South. The Union's success also elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant from an obscure and largely unproven leader to the rank of major general, and earned him the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

Following his capture of Fort Henry on February 6, Grant moved his army (later to become the Union's Army of the Tennessee^[4]) 12 miles (19 km) overland to Fort Donelson, from February 11 to 13, and conducted several small probing attacks. On February 14, Union gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote attempted to reduce the fort with gunfire, but were forced to withdraw after sustaining heavy damage from the fort's water batteries.

On February 15, with the fort surrounded, the Confederates, commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, launched a surprise attack, led by his second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Gideon Johnson Pillow, against the right flank of Grant's army. The intention was to open an escape route for retreat to Nashville, Tennessee. Grant was away from the battlefield at the start of the attack, but arrived to rally his men and counterattack. Pillow's attack succeeded in opening the route, but Floyd lost his nerve and ordered his men back to the fort. The following morning, Floyd and Pillow escaped with a small detachment of troops, relinquishing command to Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, who accepted Grant's demand of unconditional surrender later that evening. The battle resulted in virtually all of Kentucky as well as much of Tennessee, including Nashville, falling under Union control.