On This Day

Feb. 22, 1862—(Roland’s brother James was stationed at Ft. Donelson, with the 51st Tenn. Infantry Division) Saturday 22nd. Nashville. We arrived last night and have set up camp.  It appears we are not staying for long, as Johnson had decided to regroup  further south, rather than defend Nashville. We are likely pulling out tomorrow. Morgan is here with his Lexington Rifles.  Unknown to us, they had been stationed near Bells Tavern, near Bowling Green, until the 14th, when they fell back to Nashville. Forrest is here, having beaten a quick path from his escape at Fort Donelson to the capital. Together with Morgan’s men, they have been detailed to patrol the streets, and try to quell the panic of the citizens.

All is chaotic here, as the people of Nashville know the Yankees are on the way. I was able to pick up a newspaper and read the details about Fort Donelson’s fall.

Grant had over 50,000 men. Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, of Virginia, commanded the Confederate forces, divided into two corps, commanded by General Pillow on the left and General Buckner the right.

Many sons of Tennessee were present in the garrison (regimental commanders names appear after regimental number): the Third Tennessee,  Col. John C. Brown, the Eighteenth, Col. Joseph B. Palmer, the Twenty-sixth, Col. John M. Lillard, the Thirty-Second, Col. Ed. C. Cook, the Forty-First, Col. Robert Farquharson, the  Tenth, Col. A. Heiman, the Forty-Second, Col. W. A. Quarles, the Thirtieth, Col. John W. Head, the Forty-Ninth, Col. James E. Bailey, the Forty-Eighth, Col. W. M. Voorhees, the Tennessee Battalion (including elements of the 51st Tennessee evacuated from Fort Henry before it fell), Colonel Browder, the Fiftieth, Colonel Sugg, the  Fifty-Third,  Col. Alfred H. Abernathy and  Forrest's regiment of cavalry, Col. N. B. Forrest, and the Ninth battalion of cavalry, Lieut. Col. George Gantt. Besides Generals Floyd, Pillow and Buckner, General Bushrod R. Johnson also commanded but General Floyd held supreme command. The Tennessee brigade commanders were Col. A. Heiman, Col. John C. Brown and Col. James E. Bailey, who commanded  the  garrison  of  the  fort and Col. N. B. Forrest who was in charge of all the cavalry.

On the 13th an unsuccessful assault was made on the left wing commanded by Bushrod Johnson. General Johnson and Col. Heiman both praised the defense in complimentary terms.  A second and third attack was also repulsed. The Yankees left their dead and wounded on the field. However, Yankee sharpshooters had devastated some of the artillery crews, reducing the amount of cannon that could be effectively manned.  Colonel Brown reported that for two hours, a Yankee field battery had been bombarding the left side of his line from less than 300 yards.  A duel between artillery lasted for about 15 minutes, before one Captain Graves placed a well-aimed shell and knocked a Yankee  cannon from its carriage.

Minutes later, another shot destroyed the other Yankee gun, sending the infantry fleeing amid a hail of grape and  canister.  General  Buckner reported, "…the enemy made a vigorous attack on Hanson's position,” (the 2nd Kentucky, commanded by Col. Roger W. Hanson) “but was repulsed with heavy loss. The attack was subsequently renewed by three heavy regiments, but was again repulsed by the Second Kentucky, aided by a part of the Eighteenth Tennessee” (Colonel Palmer). “In both of these affairs, also in a third repulse of the enemy from the same position, Porter's battery played a conspicuous part.”

Having failed to overrun the fort, General Grant turned to his fleet for the assault on the 14th. Flag-Officer A. H. Foote, USN, reported (portions of his report were printed in northern newspapers and thus came into this newspaper editor’s possession) "…in the latter part of the action his fleet was less than 400 yards from the fort. The wheel of this vessel [the flagship], by a shot through her pilot-house, was carried away, and the tiller-ropes of the Louisville also disabled by a shot, which rendered the two boats wholly unmanageable. They then drifted down the river. The two remaining boats, the Pittsburg and Carondelet, were also greatly damaged between wind and water, and soon followed us, the enemy rapidly renewing the fire as we drifted helplessly down the river. This vessel, the St. Louis, alone received 59 shots, four between wind and water, and one in the pilot-house, mortally wounding the pilot and others. There were 54 killed and wounded."

Capt. Joseph H. Dixon, was killed on the evening of the 13th by a freak shot from the gunboats, that drove a bolt through his forehead.  He was the only gunner casualty inside the fort.  All of the gun crews are to be commended for their skill and courage, during the fleet’s exchange with their heavy river guns. During the night, General Floyd determined that holding Donelson was impossible and that eventually, the overwhelming Yankee force would break through.

It was decided that on the 15th, a combined attack would be made by General Pillow’s and Buckner’s Divisions to punch their way out of the fort and through the Yankee lines. This battle raged for 5 hours and was successful in  driving the Yankees back along a wide front. The soldiers had been sent into the fighting with three days cooked rations and their packs and bedrolls. Their commanders were confident they would break through and escape on the Wynn’s Ferry Road, to rejoin Gen. Albert S. Johnson at Nashville.  Col. Brown’s regiment (Buckner’s Division) overran a Yankee battery and captured its guns. Again the Yankees fled, with 800 casualties at a loss of only 50 killed and wounded.

General Pillow’s Division also swept the Yankees from his front and Col. Forrest's cavalry charged and captured a battery composed of four field pieces and two 24-pounders. He was supporting General Bushrod Johnson’s Tennessean Brigade, General Pillow reported, "…engaged the enemy in a hot contest of nearly one hour, with large forces of fresh troops that had now met us. This position of the enemy being carried by our joint forces, I called off further pursuit after seven hours of continuous and bloody conflict, in which our loss was severe, and leaving not less than 1,000 of the enemy dead on the field."

For inexplicable reasons, the garrison was ordered back into the fort!  Retreat would never again be possible for the majority of the defenders. The Yankees regrouped, and forces under Gen. C. F.  Smith took a  portion of the fort  behind the river batteries, making their position untenable. General Buckner reported "…the enemy made repeated attempts to  storm my line on the  right,  but   the well-

Directed fire of Porter's and Graves' artillery, and the musketry fire of the infantry, repelled the attempts and forced him to shelter. Porter's battery, from its exposed position, lost more than half its gunners, and the intrepid commander was severely wounded late in the afternoon of Saturday, being succeeded in command by the gallant Lieutenant Morton."

General Floyd, in his report of the battle of the 13th, said, "Too high praise cannot be bestowed upon the battery of Captain Porter for their participation in the rout of the enemy in this assault. My position was immediately in front of the point of attack, and I was thus enabled to witness the incidents of it.  N. B. Forrest, then colonel of Forrest's Tennessee cavalry, disputed the advance of General Grant on Fort Donelson with commendable enterprise and skill, no other obstacle being offered to the march from Fort Henry, and pending the engagement he was actively employed on the flanks of our army. Besides his own regiment, three mounted companies from Kentucky, commanded by Captains Williams, Wilcox and Henry, were assigned to his command, and gallantly assisted him. He also had assigned to him Gantt's Tennessee battalion. Forrest reported that he ‘charged two batteries of artillery, taking nine pieces of artillery with 4,000 stand of arms.’ He lost between 300 and 400 men, killed, wounded and missing, a greater loss than was sustained by any other regiment of the army.”

Gen. Floyd left Gen. Buckner to negotiate surrender terms with Grant, then escaped on transports with his brigade and Gen. Pillow and his staff. Col. Forrest refused to be surrendered with Buckner’s forces and slipped through the Yankee lines with his entire regiment.

The Yankee casualties were approximately 2,500 killed, wounded and missing. The Confederate loss was 1,420. The exact number surrendered by Gen Buckner is estimated at over 10,000 men. Grants only terms were “unconditional surrender.”