History
Fort Donelson was garrisoned by the Confederate troops until 1862. The fort was captured by Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his army during a winter offensive to divide the Confederacy in two by controlling the Mississippi River. (see Battle of Fort Donelson)
The fort was attacked again on August 25, 1863, by a Confederate force demanding its surrender. The attack was unsuccessful and was repulsed.
Bushrod Johnson of the Corps of Engineers approved the build site. Construction was started by a large force of men brought from the nearby Cumberland Iron Works.
Confederate commanders
- Bushrod Johnson (Feb 9, 1862)
- Gideon J. Pillow (Feb 10-13, 1862)
- John B. Floyd (Feb 14-16, 1862)
- Simon B. Buckner, Sr. (Feb 16, 1862)
- Major Rice E. Graves, Jr., Artillery Commander
Read more about this topic: Fort Donelson
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“... all big changes in human history have been arrived at slowly and through many compromises.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)