FORT HENRY.
General A.S. Johnston, on September 17, 1861, sent General S.B. Buckner,
who had left Kentucky and entered the Confederate service, to seize and
occupy Bowling Green, in Kentucky, with a force of 4,000 men. Bowling
Green is at the crossing of the Big Barren River by the Louisville and
Nashville road. A little to the south the Memphis and Ohio branches off
from the Louisville and Nashville. Bowling Green was therefore a gateway
through which all approach to the south from Louisville by rail must
pass. There was no access by rail from the Ohio River to the south, east
of Bowling Green. The road from Paducah led nowhere. The railroads to
the north from Mississippi ended, not on the Ohio, but at Columbus, on
the Mississippi. Defensive earthworks had already been begun at Fort
Donelson, on the left Bank of the Cumberland, Fort Henry, on the right
bank of the Tennessee, twelve miles west of Fort Donelson, and at
Columbus, on the Mississippi. General Johnston, with the aid of his
engineers, Lieutenant Dixon and Major J.F. Gilmer, afterward General and
Chief Engineer of the Confederate army, adopted these sites as places to
be strongly fortified. The line from Columbus to Bowling Green became
the line chosen to bar access from the North to the South, and to serve
as a base for invasion of the North.
The idea of breaking this line by an expedition up the Tennessee and
Cumberland Rivers seems to have presented itself to many. Colonel
Charles Whittlesy, of the Twentieth Ohio, a graduate of West Point and
formerly in the army, while acting as Chief Engineer on the staff of
General O.M. Mitchell in Cincinnati, wrote to General Halleck, November
20, 1861, suggesting a great movement by land and water up the
Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, on the ground that this was the most
feasible route into Tennessee, and would necessitate the evacuation of
Columbus and the retreat of Buckner from Bowling Green. In December,
1861, General Sherman, conversing with General Halleck, in St. Louis,
suggested that the proper place to break the line was the centre, to
which Halleck assented, pointing on the map to the Tennessee River, and
saying that is the true line of operations. On January 3, 1862, General
D.C. Buell, in a letter to General Halleck, proposed a combined attack
on the centre and flanks of General Johnston's line, and added: "The
attack on the centre should be made by two gunboat expeditions, with, I
should say, 20,000 men on the two rivers." General Halleck, writing to
General McClellan, January 20, 1862, said a movement down the
Mississippi was premature; that a more feasible plan was to move up the
Cumberland and Tennessee, making Nashville the objective point, which
movement would threaten Columbus and force the abandonment of Bowling
Green, adding "but the plan should not be attempted without a large
force--not less than 60,000 men." General McClellan, however, thought
such a movement should be postponed for the present. He wrote on January
6th, to General Buell, Commander of the Department of the Ohio, which
department included all of Kentucky east of the Cumberland River: "My
own general plans for the prosecution of the war make the speedy
occupation of East Tennessee and its lines of railway matters of
absolute necessity. Bowling Green and Nashville are in that connection
of very secondary importance at the present moment." General Grant wrote
no reasoned speculations about it, but throughout January pressed
Halleck for permission to make the attempt.
[Illustration: The Line from Columbus to Bowling Green.]
On January 6, 1862, Grant wrote to General Halleck for permission to
visit St. Louis. On the same day General Halleck, in pursuance of orders
received from General McClellan, who was then in Washington in supreme
command of the United States forces, directed General Grant to make a
demonstration on Mayfield, in the direction of Murray. He was directed
to "make a great fuss about moving all your force toward Nashville," and
let it be understood that twenty or thirty thousand men are expected
from Missouri. He was further directed to give this out to the
newspapers, and not let his own men or even his staff know the contrary.
At the same time he was advised that the real object was to prevent
reinforcements being sent to Buckner, and charged not to advance far
enough to expose his flank or rear to an attack from Columbus, and by
all means to avoid a serious engagement. On the 10th, Halleck
telegraphed to delay; but Grant was already gone, with McClernand and
6,000 men from Cairo and Bird's Point, and had sent General C.F. Smith
from Paducah with two brigades. The troops were out more than a week.
The weather was cold, with rain and snow. The excursion was good
practice in campaigning for the new volunteers, and detained
reinforcements at Columbus while General George H. Thomas fought and won
the battle of Mill Springs, in Kentucky.
General Grant, on his return to Cairo, wrote again on January 20th for
permission to visit St. Louis. Receiving General Smith's report on the
22d, in which Smith said that the capture of Fort Henry was
feasible--that two guns would make short work of it, he at once
forwarded the report to St. Louis, and on the same day obtained the
permission sought. When he began to unfold the object of his visit, to
obtain permission to capture Henry and Donelson, Halleck silenced him so
quickly and sharply that he said no more, and returned to Cairo
believing his commander thought him guilty of proposing a military
blunder. But, persisting still, he telegraphed on the 28th that, if
permitted, he would take Fort Henry and establish and hold a camp there.
Next day he wrote to the same effect in detail. On the 28th, Commodore
A.H. Foote, flag-officer of the gunboat fleet, wrote to General Halleck
that he concurred with General Grant, and asking if they had Halleck's
authority to move when ready. On January 30th, General Halleck
telegraphed to Grant to get ready, and made an order directing him to
proceed. The order was received on February 1st, and next day General
Grant started up the Tennessee with 17,000 men on transports, convoyed
by Commodore Foote with seven gunboats.
The sites of Forts Henry and Donelson were chosen, and the work of
fortifying them begun, by the State of Tennessee, when Kentucky was
still holding itself neutral. Fort Donelson, immediately below the town
of Dover, was a good position, and was near the Kentucky line. The site
chosen for Fort Henry commanded a straight stretch of the river for some
miles, and was near the State line and near Donelson. But it was low
ground, commanded by higher ground on both sides of the river, and was
washed by high water. Under the supervision of General A.S. Johnston's
engineers, the work had become a well-traced, solidly constructed
fortification of earth, with five bastions mounting twelve guns, facing
the river, and five guns bearing upon the land. Infantry intrenchments
were thrown up on the nearest high land, extending to the river both
above and below the main work, and commanding the road to Fort Donelson.
A work named Fort Heiman was begun on the bluff on the opposite side of
the river, but was incomplete.
General McClernand, commanding the advance, landed eight miles below the
fort. General Grant made a reconnoissance in one of the gunboats to draw
the fire of the fort and ascertain the range of its guns. Having
accomplished this, he re-embarked the landed troops, and debarked on
February 4th, at Bailey's Ferry, three miles below the fort and just out
of range of its fire. The river overflowed its banks, much of the
country was under water; a heavy rain fell. The entire command did not
get ashore till in the night of the 5th. In the night, General C.F.
Smith was sent across the river to take Fort Heiman, but it was
evacuated while Grant was landing his force at Bailey's Ferry.
McClernand was ordered to move out at eleven o'clock in the morning of
the 6th, and take position on the roads to Fort Donelson and Dover.
[Illustration: Fort Henry.]
General Tilghman had telegraphed for reinforcements, and had about
thirty-four hundred men with him, but only one company of artillerists.
At midnight of the 5th he telegraphed to General A.S. Johnston that
Grant was intrenching at Bailey's Ferry. But, on the morning of the 6th,
Tilghman gave up the idea of using his infantry in the defence, ordered
Colonel Heiman to move the command to Fort Donelson, while he remained
with the company of artillerists to engage the fleet and the land force,
if it should appear, with the heavy armament of the fort, and thus
retard pursuit.
At eleven o'clock in the morning of the 6th, General Grant moved with
his command, and at the same time Commodore Foote steamed up the river
with his fleet in two divisions. The first was of ironclads, the
Cincinnati, flag-ship, the Carondelet, and the St. Louis, each carrying
thirteen guns, and the Essex, carrying nine guns. The second division of
three wooden boats, under command of Lieutenant Phelps, followed half a
mile astern. At a quarter before twelve o'clock the first division
opened fire with their bow-guns at a distance of seventeen hundred
yards, and continued firing while slowly advancing to a distance of six
hundred yards from the fort. Here the four boats took position abreast,
and fired with rapidity. Lieutenant Phelps' division sent shells falling
within the work. The little garrison replied with spirit. Fifty-nine
shots from their guns struck the fleet, but most of them rebounded
without doing harm. One shot exploded the boiler of the Essex, scalding
twenty-eight officers and seamen, including Commander Porter. One seaman
was killed and nine wounded on the flag-ship, and one was killed by a
ball on the Essex. In the fort, the twenty-four pound rifled gun
exploded, disabling every man at the piece; a shell from the fleet,
exploding at the mouth of one of the thirty-two pounders, ruined the
gun, and killed or wounded all the men serving it. A premature
explosion at a forty-two pounder killed three men and wounded others. A
priming-wire accidentally spiked the ten-inch columbiad. Five men were
killed, eleven wounded, and five missing. Four guns were disabled. The
men were discouraged. General Tilghman took personal charge of one of
the guns and worked it, but he could no longer inspirit his men. Colonel
Gilmer, Chief Engineer of the Department, and a few others, not willing
to be included in the surrender, left the fort and proceeded to Fort
Donelson on foot. At five minutes before two o'clock General Tilghman
lowered his flag, and sent his adjutant by boat to report to the
flag-officer of the fleet. Twelve officers and sixty-six men in the
fort, and sixteen men in the hospital-boat, surrendered. Flag-officer
Foote, in his report, says the hospital-boat contained sixty invalids.
All the camp-equipage and stores of the force that retreated to Fort
Donelson were included in the surrender; the troops, having no wagons,
had left everything behind.
At eleven o'clock, General McClernand moved out with his division,
followed by the third brigade of General C.F. Smith's division.
McClernand had two brigades, the first commanded by Colonel R.J.
Oglesby, the second by Colonel W.H.L. Wallace. With each brigade were
two batteries--Schwartz and Dresser with the first brigade, Taylor and
McAlister with the second. The order to McClernand was to take position
on the road from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson and Dover, prevent all
reinforcements to Fort Henry or escape from it, and be in readiness to
charge and take Fort Henry by storm promptly on the receipt of orders.
The road was everywhere miry, owing to the wet season, and crossed
ridges and wet hollows. McClernand reports that the distance by road,
from the camp to the fort, was eight miles. The troops, pulling through
the mud, cheered the bombardment by the fleet when it opened. At three
o'clock McClernand learned that the enemy were evacuating the fort, and
ordered his cavalry to advance if the report was found to be true.
Captain Stewart, of McClernand's staff, came upon the rear of the
retiring force just as they were leaving the outer line of the
earthworks. Colonel Dickey, of the Fourth Illinois cavalry, coming up,
pursued the retreating column three miles, capturing 38 prisoners, six
pieces of artillery, and a caisson. The head of the infantry column
entered the fort at half-past three o'clock.
Commodore Foote turned over the prisoners and captured property to
General Grant, sent Lieutenant Phelps with the wooden gunboats on an
expedition up the Tennessee, and returned the same evening to Cairo with
two gunboats. Lieutenant-Commander Phelps proceeded up the river to
Florence, at the foot of the Muscle Shoals, in the State of Alabama. An
account of this expedition and its brilliant success belongs to the
naval history of the war.