

February 6, 1862



	Forces	Losses
Union	N/A	N/A
Confederacy	N/A	N/A
Total	N/A	N/A

Battle Location: Stewart County and Henry County, Tennessee, and Calloway County, Kentucky

Campaign: Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers

Theatre: Main Western Theater

Winner: Union



Brig. Gen. Ulysses Simpson Grant	Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
Union Commander	Confederate Commander

Battle Writeup 1

On January 30, 1862, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at last received the reluctant permission of Gen. Henry W. Halleck to attempt to capture Fort Henry, a Confederate earthwork fort on the Tennessee River just south of Kentucky that was one of a string of outposts built to protect Confederate territory. Grant was to be assisted by Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote's flotilla of seven gunboats in this first attempt to penetrate the western Confederacy by using the major rivers as lines of operations.

Confederate Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, commander of the 3,400 Rebel troops at Fort Henry, knew his post was indefensible. Located on low ground on the edge of the river, Fort Henry was subject to flooding and was dominated by high ground on both sides of the river. Tilghman was determined not to give up his position without a fight, but he wisely decided not to sacrifice his men in the effort. Holding back 100 artillerymen, he sent the rest of the garrison to Fort Donelson, 10 miles away on the Cumberland River. With 11 of the fort's 17 guns placed where they commanded a three mile stretch of the main channel, Tilghman and his brave gunners gamely defended their post.

At 12:00 noon on February 6, while Grant's infantry was still approaching the fort overland, Foote's powerful flotilla steamed upriver, firing rapidly into the open fort. The courageous defenders returned the fire when the approaching gunboats were still a mile distant, but the Rebels were severly outgunned, and the Union fire knocked one Rebel cannon after another out of action. After two hours of furious cannon fire, and with only four cannon still operating, Tilghman had done all that honor demanded; he struck the flag and surrendered the fort to Foote. The Confederates had suffered 5 killed and 11 wounded; the Union sailors lost 11 killed and 31 wounded. Grant and his army, much to the navy's delight, did not arrive on the scene until after the fort had surrendered.

Fascinating Fact:: Grant decided to proceed from Fort Henry and capture Fort Donelson but feared his cautious superior, General Halleck, would not approve the action. According to legend, Grant sent a message from Fort Henry that he was proceeding overland to Fort Donelson--then cut his own telegraph communications so he could receive no reply.

My Source: us-civilwar.com

Battle Writeup 2

By February 1862, Fort Henry, a Confederate earthen fort on the Tennessee River with outdated guns, was partially inundated and the river threatened to flood the rest. On February 4-5, Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant landed his divisions in two different locations, one on the east bank of the Tennessee River to prevent the garrison’s escape and the other to occupy the high ground on the Kentucky side which would insure the fort’s fall; Flag-Officer Andrew H. Foote’s seven gunboats began bombarding the fort. Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, commander of the fort’s garrison, realized that it was only a matter of time before Fort Henry fell. While leaving artillery in the fort to hold off the Union fleet, he escorted the rest of his force out of the area and sent them safely off on the route to Fort Donelson, 10 miles away. Tilghman then returned to the fort and, soon afterwards, surrendered to the fleet, which had engaged the fort and closed within 400 yards. Fort Henry’s fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping as far as Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After the fall of Fort Donelson, ten days later, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west, bounded by the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, became Union highways for movement of troops and material.

My Source: National Park Service

Battle Writeup 3

Grant had a couple of divisions with naval support against a badly-built fort.

Total casualties were light, under 150.

By February 1862, Fort Henry, a small Confederate earthen fort on the Tennessee River with seventeen outdated guns, was partially inundated and the river threatened to flood the rest. Tilghman was working on one weakness of the fort, and had started building Fort Heiman on the high ground across the river. Before he could finish the job, Union troops arrived.

On February 4-5, Grant landed his divisions in two different locations, one on the east bank of the Tennessee River to prevent the garrison’s escape and the other to occupy the high ground on the Kentucky side which would insure the fort’s fall; Foote’s seven gunboats began bombarding the fort. Tilghman realized that it was only a matter of time before Fort Henry fell. While leaving seventy artillerymen in the fort to hold off the Union fleet, he escorted the rest of his force out of the area and sent them safely off on the route to Fort Donelson, 10 miles away. (They escaped since the creeks were too high for Union troops to cut them off.) Tilghman then returned to the fort and, soon afterwards, surrendered to the fleet, which had engaged the fort and closed within 400 yards. (Since the Confederate fort was basically at water level the gunboats could easily and accurately shell it, while a fort on high ground was a harder target and could use plunging fire. Fort Henry was a problem waiting to happen for the South.)

Despite a two-hour gun duel, armor plate saved Foote’s ships from serious damage, and only the USS Essex needed much repair. Fort Henry’s fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping as far as Muscle Shoals, Alabama. (Foote sent his three wooden gunboats up the almost undefended river, holding his four ironclads to support the attack on Fort Donelson.) After the fall of Fort Donelson, ten days later, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west, bounded by the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, became Union highways for movement of troops and material.

My Source: E-History