Fort Donelson

Fort Donelson
Tennessee (near Dover, Tennessee)
Part of the lower river battery at Fort Donelson, overlooking the Cumberland River
Type	Fort
Site information
Controlled by	Confederate States (1862)  United States (1862–1865)
Site history
Built	1862
In use	1862–1865
Materials	earth
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson Battle of Dover

Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Daniel S. Donelson.^[1]

The Union Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, who later became president, captured the fort in February 1862 from the Confederate Army in the Battle of Fort Donelson. This was a great strategic victory for the Union forces, and part of Grant's campaign to gain control of the Mississippi River. Union forces occupied the fort (and much of Tennessee) for the remainder of the war. A small detachment of Confederate troops made one unsuccessful attempt in 1863 to regain it.