CHAPTER XVII.

POSITION AND STRENGTH OF FORT DONELSON-GENERAL GRANT AND FLAG-OFFICER FOOTE PREPARE TO ATTACK IT-COMMENCEMENT OF THEIR OPERATIONS-REPULSE OF THE GUNBOATS-THE ASSAULT FROM THE LAND SIDE-INCIDENTS OF THE BOMBARDMENT-PROPOSITION OF GENERAL BUCKNER TO SURRENDER-THE FLIGHT OF GENERALS FLOYD AND PILLOW THE CAPITULATION OF THE Fort-resultS AND TROPHIES OF THE CONQUESTSKETCH OF ULYSSES S. GRANT-SKETCH OF GENERAL CHARLES FERGUSON SMITH-GENERAL LANDER'S ATTACK ON THE REBELS AT BLOOMERY GAP-ITS RESULTS-SKETCH OF GENERAL LANDER-RE-ELECTION OF JEFFERSON DAVIS AS PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY-HIS INAUGURAL Address-OCCUPATION OF COLUMBUS, KENTUCKY, BY FEDERAL TROOPS-DESERTION OF NASHVILLE BY THE REBEL FORCES-UNEXPECTED ATTACK AND SUCCESS OF THE REBEL BATTERING RAM MERRIMAC-INCIDENTS OF THE ENGAGEMENTOPPORTUNE ARRIVAL OF THE MONITOR IN HAMPTON ROADS-BATTLE BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC.

THE capture of Fort Henry was merely a preliminary movement to the attack on Fort Donelson. The latter was a Rebel fortification of great importance, situated on the Cumberland river, and was one of the keys to the possession and control of Tennessee. The works were twelve miles distant from Fort Henry, and were much larger and stronger than the other, presenting a front of nearly four miles. The outer batteries were located on ridges several hundred feet high, which were covered with a dense undergrowth of timber. The Rebels had placed heavy logs on the top of their breastworks, leaving a narrow space between, through which they could discharge their pieces with greater security. Upon several of the eminences near the main fort smaller batteries had been erected, one of which mounted five guns. An army of thirty thousand men occupied and defended the works. A portion of these troops were recent reinforcements from Bowling Green, which the enemy were evacuating. The contemplated attack on Fort Donelson was to be made by both land and naval forces. General Grant commanded the former, Flag-officer Foote the latter. Their united force numbered fifty thousand men.

The operations of the siege were commenced at three o'clock on the afternoon of the 13th of February, 1862, by Captain Foote. With four iron-clad and two wooden gunboats, he approached within four hundred yards of the works, on the Cumberland river, and commenced a vigorous assault. The Rebels responded with energy and skill. After fighting an hour and a quarter, two of the vessels were disabled, and became so unmanageable, the one by the loss of her wheel, the other by the loss of her tiller, that they drifted down the stream, and beyond the range of their guns. The remaining boats were also severely injured, one of them having received fifty-nine shots. One of the rifled cannon on board the

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Carondelet burst, killing six men. At length, perceiving the uselessness of continuing the unequal struggle, Captain Foote withdrew his flotilla, and the action for that day terminated. His loss was nine killed and forty-five wounded. He had, however, succeeded in silencing nine guns in the lower tier of the enemy's works. On the 14th, the attack from the land side began. The forces of General Grant were drawn up in line of battle, on a range of hills outside of those occupied by the exterior batteries of the rebels; by which means the latter were completely encircled, from the Cumberland, south of the fort, to the waters of a stream which flowed on the north side of it. The attack was commenced by a discharge of artillery by Captain Tyler, who threw his shells with admirable precision into the works of the enemy, at a point where they seemed to be thickly crowded together. During the 14th, the left wing of the Federal forces was chiefly engaged, and before night the upper fort on 'the enemy's right, which was the object of their attack, was taken and occupied by the assailants. During this day the Rebels succeeded in capturing Schwartz's battery, but before the action was suspended by the approach of darkness it was retaken. The enemy had accomplished that achievement by making a desperate sortie, in which they drove the Federals half a mile, and then returned to their works with their trophy. Afterward, when the Federals rallied, they not only redeemed the lost advantage, but also gained possession of a portion of the enemy's works. On the following day the engagement was renewed with the utmost fury. General Charles F. Smith led the attack on the lower end of the intrenchments, and was the first to gain a footing within them. General McClernand's division, composed of the brigades of Wallace, McArthur, and Ogleby, fought with great heroism, and suffered heavily. They were chiefly composed of troops from Illinois. The enemy succeeded at one time in turning the right wing of the Federal army; but after half an hour, the lost ground was regained. During the whole of Saturday, the 15th, the battle raged with varied fortunes. It cannot be denied that little generalship was displayed by some of the chief officers of the Federal army; for during a large part of the engagement, the men fought in a great measure under the repulse of personal bravery, without any uniform plan of operations, and often fired at will. The enemy fought with very great advantages, being protected by their extensive works, to which, after each renewed repulse, they could retire in comparative safety. From their breastworks they hurled a deluge of grape shot and canister against their assailants, and many fell from musketry and rifle balls. Nevertheless, the Federal troops fought with the utmost resolution, and repeatedly gained important successes by their heroic exertions.

When darkness fell on Saturday evening, the issue of the conflict seemed undecided. The Rebels still held possession of the greater portion of their works, and it was expected that on the ensuing day, the

battle would be renewed with increased fury. Accordingly, during Saturday night a concentration of all the Federal troops was made, and orders were given that every man should be at his post in the early dawn, prepared to charge the enemy at the point of the bayonet. This movement was to be made simultaneously along the whole line. During the hours of night an unusual and mysterious silence prevailed throughout the works of the Rebels. When at length the morning of Sunday, the 16th, dawned, the first sight which greeted the Federal commanders was a number of white flags displayed at various intervals upon the fortifications. Soon afterward a flag of truce was seen approaching. It accom panied a letter from General Buckner, the commander of the Rebel forces, to General Grant, proposing that commissioners should be appointed to arrange the terms of the capitulation of the Confederate forces under his command, and asking for an armistice until twelve o'clock. To this communication General Grant immediately replied, that no terms whatever could be accepted except an unconditional and immediate surrender. At the same time he gave the Rebel officer the unwelcome information, that it was his intention to renew the attack without delay. This missive soon elicited a response from General Buckner, in which, after complimenting himself and his troops upon the brilliant valor which they had exhibited, he added that he should accept the "ungenerous and unchivalrous terms" which had been designated. In a short time afterward, the Federal troops advanced, entered, and took possession of the vast fortifications of the vanquished enemy. The stars and stripes were then unfurled over Fort Donelson, the largest and strongest of the Rebel fortresses in the southwest.

Then it was that the most singular and startling announcements were made to the victors. During the previous night Generals Floyd and Pillow had secretly made their escape from the intrenchments, having embarked with the utmost secresy, with about two thousand troops, on the Rebel steamers which were lying in the river. Of the remainder, fifteen thousand became prisoners of war; many had deserted in small bodies; and the dead and wounded were numerous. Among the officers captured were General Buckner, Colonels Gantt, Voorhees, Brown, and Abernethy. Twelve thousand stand of arms were taken, a vast amount of ammunition and stores, fourteen thirty-two pounders, with other guns of smaller calibre. Among those who had distinguished themselves during the engagement were Generals Wallace, McClernand, and Charles F. Smith. The loss of the Rebels during this battle was about five hundred killed, and one thousand wounded. The loss on the Federal side was three hundred and fifty-five killed, fourteen hundred wounded and missing. The immense number of prisoners taken were transferred as quickly as possible to Camp Douglas, near Chicago, and to other suitable points in the northwest.

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Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded the Federal forces during this memorable combat, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1822. He entered West Point Academy in 1839, and graduated in 1813, and was appointed brevet second-lieutenant. He served under General Taylor during the Mexican war; also under General Scott, during his march from Vera Cruz to the capital; and was twice promoted for his meritorious conduct. He afterward became regimental quartermaster, and in 1854 had attained the rank of captain in the fourth infantry of regulars. Withdrawing then from the service into civil life, he removed to St. Louis county, Missouri, and thence to Galena. When the rebellion broke forth he tendered his services to Governor Yates, was accepted, and appointed colonel of the twenty-first regiment of Illinois volunteers. He was soon after promoted to the rank of brigadier, and took a promi nent part in many of the earlier scenes of the conflict in Missouri. He commanded in the southeastern district in that State; and by his occupation of Paducah, and by his gallant conduct in the battle of Belmont, he earned the high rank of major-general, to which he was promoted by President Lincoln, and in which he was confirmed by the Senate. The important conflicts at Forts Henry and Donelson added to the lustre of his renown. General Charles Ferguson Smith, who distinguished himself greatly at Fort Donelson, was born in Pennsylvania in 1807. He entered the Academy at West Point in 1821, and graduated in 1825, being appointed at once second lieutenant. In 1829 he was made an assistant instructor of infantry tactics at West Point. He remained at that institution till 1842, during which interval he attained the rank of captain. In April, 1847, he was breveted major for his gallantry in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. He covered himself with laurels in many of the severest conflicts of the Mexican war, especially at Contreras and Churubusco, and received the rank of colonel. In August, 1861, he was made a brigadier-general of volunteers, and immediately afterward took command of the troops stationed at Paducah. This valuable officer died at Savannah, Tennessee, on the 25th of April, 1862. The glorious triumph of the Union arms at Fort Donelson was due, in a very great measure, to his superior skill and gallantry.

The long and monotonous inactivity which had characterized the Army of the Potomac near Washington, during some months, was agreeably broken on the 14th of February by a bold and sudden movement of a part of the troops commanded by General Lander. That officer having ascertained that the brigade of the Rebel General Carson, four thousand in number, had taken a strong position at Bloomery Gap, resolved to attack them. He ordered the five hundred cavalry attached to his brigade to take the advance, and having reached the Cacapon river, to construct a bridge for the passage of the infantry who were to follow. This order was promptly executed. Twenty wagons were placed at intervals in the

river, over which planks were laid, and thus in several hours at night a bridge was constructed a hundred and eighty feet in length, which admirably answered the purpose of transportation. It was located at a point seven miles distant from the Cacapon railroad, and about the same distance from Bloomery Gap, the contemplated scene of conflict.

General Lander had intended to make the attack during the night, and having driven the enemy through the Gap, to pursue them with his cavalry, and capture the officers and many of the men. But the enemy had already left their position, either suspicious of an attack or forewarned of its approach; so that when the Federal troops charged through the Gap they encountered no one. General Lander ordered an immediate pursuit on the Winchester road by his cavalry, followed and supported by the eighth Ohio regiment and the seventh Virginia. They overtook the retreating foe about two miles from the Gap. The Rebels received them with a sharp fire of musketry, under which the cavalry wavered and showed unexpected signs of cowardice. In vain General Lander ordered them to advance and charge. Not a man stirred. The General then exclaimed "follow me!" One private only, named John Gannon, answered the appeal. Accompanied by this solitary hero, and by Major Armstrong his adjutant, Major Bannister and Fitz James O'Brien, members of his staff, General Lander rode forward toward a group of Rebel officers, several hundred yards distant, and ordered them to surrender. The boldness and daring of this movement seemed to have paralyzed those officers, and they immediately complied. But the Rebel infantry posted in the adjacent woods having commenced a brisk fire, General Lander ordered Colonel Anestanzel to attack them with his cavalry, and attempt to secure their baggage; while the movement was to be sup ported by the infantry.

At first the cavalry seemed disposed to refuse obedience, and General Lander, justly enraged at their cowardice, shot at one of his men without hitting him. After repeated orders the cavalry advanced, and charged upon the enemy, who were then retreating. The pursuit was continued for eight miles, under Colonel Carroll's direction, until he reached the limits of General Lander's department. The result of this engagement was the capture of eighteen commissioned officers and forty-five noncommissioned officers and privates, together with fifteen baggage wagons. The loss of the Rebels was thirty killed; that of the Federals was seven killed and wounded. The rout of the enemy was complete, notwithstanding the inefficiency of the cavalry. That inefficiency was attributed to the fact, that several of their officers were absent, that they had never before been under fire, and that they were unaccustomed to practice with the sabre.

General Lander, the hero of this spirited movement, was a remarkably brave and chivalrous officer. His subsequent premature death was a