Beauregard at Columbus, Kentucky, with 12,000 men, and William J.
Albert Sidney Johnston's two main forces: P.G.T. Grant's army now divided Confederate Gen.
With the surrender of Fort Henry, the Confederates faced some difficult choices. In the days following the surrender at Fort Henry, Union troops cut the railroad lines south of the fort, restricting the Confederates' lateral mobility to move reinforcements into the area to defend against the larger Union forces. About 2,500 of Fort Henry's Confederate defenders escaped before its surrender by marching the 12 miles (19 km) east to Fort Donelson. Fort Henry had been a key position in the center of a line defending Tennessee, and the capture of the fort now opened the Tennessee River to Union troop and supply movements. The battle of Fort Donelson, which began on February 12, took place shortly after the surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee, on February 6, 1862. The battle resulted in virtually all of Kentucky as well as much of Tennessee, including Nashville, falling under Union control. Simon Bolivar Buckner, who accepted Grant's demand of unconditional surrender later that day. The following morning, Floyd and Pillow escaped with a small detachment of troops, relinquishing command to Brig. Pillow's attack succeeded in opening the route, but Floyd lost his nerve and ordered his men back to the fort. Grant was away from the battlefield at the start of the attack, but arrived to rally his men and counterattack. The intention was to open an escape route for retreat to Nashville, Tennessee. Gideon Johnson Pillow, against the right flank of Grant's army. Floyd, launched a surprise attack, led by his second-in-command, Brig. On February 15, with the fort surrounded, the Confederates, commanded by Brig. 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 14, Union gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew H. Grant from an obscure and largely unproven leader to the rank of major general, and earned him the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.įollowing his capture of Fort Henry on February 6, Grant moved his army (later to become the Union's Army of the Tennessee ) 12 miles (19 km) overland to Fort Donelson, from February 11 to 13, and conducted several small probing attacks. 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 Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.
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