Reference Entry
SURRENDER AT FORT DONELSON
On February 16th, 1862, Confederate forces at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River surrendered to Union troops under Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, marking one of the first major Union victories in the Western Theater of the Civil War. The campaign had begun with the capture of nearby Fort Henry earlier that month, opening the Tennessee River and rattling Confederate defenses in the region.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Surrender at Fort Donelson
On February 16th, 1862, Confederate forces at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River surrendered to Union troops under Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, marking one of the first major Union victories in the Western Theater of the Civil War. The campaign had begun with the capture of nearby Fort Henry earlier that month, opening the Tennessee River and rattling Confederate defenses in the region. At Donelson, hard fighting and winter weather tested both sides, but the Confederate attempt to break out failed, leaving their army trapped. When Confederate commanders asked for terms, Grant’s reply that he would accept nothing but “unconditional surrender” became famous across the North. The fall of Fort Donelson forced the Confederacy to abandon much of Tennessee, opened key river routes deep into the South, and boosted Union morale. It also catapulted Grant into national prominence as the kind of relentless commander Lincoln believed the war required.
Read the complete weekly DispatchTrackpads Source Register
