In this week in military history, we explore the Battle of Fort Donelson which took place in the Western Theater of the American Civil War in 1862.
The battle was part of a series of battles meant to cut Confederate supply lines and stop river traffic in support of the Confederacy.
At this point in the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant and other Union commanders realized that they needed to control the major rivers in the western theatre to defeat the Confederacy.
After capturing Fort Henry along the northern branch of the Tennessee River on February 6th, 1862, Grant led the Tennessee Army to advance 12 miles cross country to Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River to meet the Confederate forces that had withdrawn from Fort Henry.
Meanwhile, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston sent an additional 12,000 men under the command of Brig.
Gen. John B. Floyd to Donelson as reinforcements.
On the morning of February 15th, the battle commenced as the Confederates attacked the right flank of Grant's forces.
Union forces counterattacked that afternoon before Floyd ordered his men to retreat to the fort.
As Confederate commanders decided upon their next move, Grant ordered counterattacks all along the lines, capturing much of the outer battlements by day's end.
The Confederate forces were able to break out, but instead of retreating from the fort, they decided to pull into entrenchments.
Grant continued to attack them and gained ground.
The Confederates eventually escaped, but casualties were high.
2,000 Confederates were killed or wounded and another 11,000 captured.
By contrast, Union casualties were 724 killed and 2,000 wounded.
The Union victory and their ability to maintain control of the rivers, cutting off the Confederacy's supply lines, would eventually lead to the Union success at the Battle of Vicksburg.
Join us next time for another segment of This Week in Military History with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.
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