Geography
Chapter 4 of Across Five Aprils begins in, February of 1862, with the Creightons receiving word of the first real victory for the North.
Fort Henry, in Tennessee, just a few miles south of the Kentucky line, had been taken by the Union forces under the command of Generaly Ulysses S. Grant.
People hugged one another in the streets. Guns were fired. This was something that made them proud, something to give them hope after a string of defeats at Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Wilson’s Creek, and Ball’s Bluff.
A couple of weeks later came the news that Fort Donelson had also been taken by General Grant. People went wild with joy. Once again, people began to hope that the war would soon be over. Others, while optimistic, doubted that it would be so easy.
Once again, the reality of war was brought home to the Creightons when they received a letter from Tom, who had written of the horrors of the fighting at Fort Donelson.
Shadrach Yale was finishing up his last week as a teacher before going to do his part as a soldier with the Union army. Spending the night at Shad’s, Jethro receives an impromptu lesson on geography and battlefronts.
The natural path for an invasion of Tennessee was along the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. To guard these river gateways, the Confederates had constructed twin forts just below the Kentucky line at the points where the rivers approach, within ten to twelve miles of one another.
Fort Henry on the east bank of the Tennessee River, was on low ground, so that some of its guns were subject to being flooded.
Fort Donelson was on the southwest bank of the Cumberland River, near Dover, Tennessee. On higher ground, it was much stronger than Fort Henry, but was entirely too large for the size of the Confederate forces stationed there.
Fort Henry
Fort Henry was an earthen fort on the banks of the Tennessee River. By February, 1862, the Confederate fort, with its outdated fortifications, was partially flooded, and the swollen river threatened to flood the rest.
On February 4th, Union General Grant occupied the high ground on the Kentucky side, while another division was sent to the east bank of the river to prevent a Confederate escape. Seven Union gunboats then began bombarding the fort.
Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the fort fell, Brig. General Lloyd Tilghman, commander of the Confederate garrison, left his artillery in place to hold off the Union onslaught, while he engineered a retreat of the rest of his forces to Fort Donelson, ten miles away. He then surrendered to the Union fleet.
- Estimated Casualties = 119
- Union Victory
Fort Donelson
After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, General Grant advanced to Fort Donelson, supported by six ironclads under the command of Flag Officer Foote.
The assault on Fort Donelson began on February 11th when the ironclads began firing on the fort. The Confederates responded, Foote was wounded, and the ironclads withdrew temporarily.
Grant’s troops surrounded the fort, while the ironclads moved in once more. On February 16th, after a powerful effort to break through the Union lines, the fort’s garrison surrendered unconditionally.
This was a major victory for Brig. General Grant and a catastrophe for the Confederacy. It ensured that Kentucky would remain in the Union and opened Tennessee to a Union advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.
Grant received a promotion to Major General, and great stature in the North.
- Estimated Casualties = 17,398
- North = 2,331
- South = 15,067
- Union Victory
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