Fort Donelson TN002
1862-02-11 to 1862-02-16 · TN · Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers [February-June 1862] · frozen result: Union · NPS summary (as listed)
After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant advanced cross-country to invest Fort Donelson. On February 16, 1862, after the failure of their all-out attack aimed at breaking through Grant's investment lines, the fort's 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionally. This was a major victory for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for a Northern advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Grant received a promotion to major general for his victory and attained stature in the Western Theater, earning the nom de guerre "Unconditional Surrender."
Command responsibility (ledger v2)
US: Ulysses S. Grant
Grade C under rule 5; echelon army. joint_command
Other candidates: Andrew H. Foote
Army and navy listings; no passage shows one officer over both. Foote's fleet withdrew disabled on the 14th; the garrison surrendered after failing to break Grant's investment lines (rule 5, second case).
Brigadier Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN002, belligerent US, fullname Ulysses S. Grant; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…Flag Officerarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN002, belligerent US, fullname Andrew H. Foote; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…I soon saw one and then another of them dropping down the river, visibly disabled. Then the whole fleet followed and the engagement closed for the day.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1 · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…after the failure of their all-out attack aimed at breaking through Grant's investment lines, the fort's 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionallyarnold-cwsac-battles, battle TN002; column description · snapshot
952b5d08402a…Confederate: none
Grade D under rule 3c; echelon unknown. command_changedresponsibility_unresolved
Other candidates: John B. Floyd, Gideon Pillow, Simon B. Buckner
Three listed brigadier generals tie. Grant says Floyd turned over the command to Pillow and then Buckner at the end, but no inspected passage shows who commanded when the fighting began (rule 3(c)). The transfer to Buckner followed the council after the failed breakout, so a command change within the interval is shown (rule 4, successor Buckner) although the commander at first combat is unresolved.
Brigadier Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN002, belligerent Confederate, fullname John B. Floyd; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…Brigadier Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN002, belligerent Confederate, fullname Gideon Pillow; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…Brigadier Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN002, belligerent Confederate, fullname Simon B. Buckner; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…Floyd turned over the command to Pillow, who declined it. It then devolved upon Buckner, who accepted the responsibility of the position.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1 · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…A council of war was held by the enemy at which all agreed that it would be impossible to hold out longer.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1 · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…Side strength (ledger v3)
US: grade C, 27,000 (18,900–35,100)
basis_mixedcompiled_dependencepost_start_informationsingle_inputwhole_engagement_leakage
| Input | Class | Printed | Basis | Bound | Codes | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| us-start | bound | 15,000 | unknown | lower | partial_scope | dossier claim marching-and-late-forces |
| us-final | C | 27,000 | unknown | post_engagement_state | dossier claim marching-and-late-forces | |
| us-lv | C | 27,000 | unknown | post_engagement_state | In the lines and guarding the road to the left 27,000livermore-transcription-v1, p.78 (page image livermore-p78-image-v1) · snapshot e9fc742fdcb6… |
Confederate: grade B, 13,000 (11,050–21,000)
basis_mixedcompiled_dependencewhole_engagement_leakage
| Input | Class | Printed | Basis | Bound | Codes | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cs-lv-grant | C | 21,000 | unknown | adversary_or_hearsay_estimate | Engaged [4] about [5] 21,000livermore-transcription-v1, p.78 (page image livermore-p78-image-v1) · snapshot e9fc742fdcb6… | |
| cs-pillow | B | 13,000 | unknown | General Pillow reported that he had "only about 13,000 troops all told"livermore-transcription-v1, p.78 (page image livermore-p78-image-v1) · snapshot e9fc742fdcb6… |
Dossier claims
Draft dossier, revision . Claims are extraction records with their quoted passages, not historical adjudication. JSON
information
supportedunresolved Grant recalls hearing that Confederate troops carried knapsacks and rations, interpreting their sortie as an escape attempt and directing Smith to attack.
Preserve the author’s retrospective claimed inference and order, not the nearby morale judgments, certainty of victory, or an independently verified knowledge state.
I heard some of the men say that the enemy had come out with knapsacks, and haversacks filled with rations.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 423; paragraph begins: I saw the men standing in knots talking in the most excited manner. No officer seemed · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…It was clear to my mind that the enemy had started to march out with his entire force, except a few picketsgrant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 423; paragraph begins: I saw the men standing in knots talking in the most excited manner. No officer seemed · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…We rode rapidly to Smith's quarters, when I explained the situation to him and directed him to charge the enemy's works in his front with his whole divisiongrant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 423; paragraph begins: I saw the men standing in knots talking in the most excited manner. No officer seemed · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…logistics
supportedunresolved Grant describes winter rain, snow and freezing conditions, restricted camp fires and men lacking blankets or overcoats after the march.
Retrospective logistical conditions; no invented readiness penalty or automatic attribution of all exposure to the commander.
It was midwinter and during the siege we had rain and snow, thawing and freezing alternately.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 412; paragraph begins: I started from Fort Henry with 15,000 men, including eight batteries and part of a re · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…It would not do to allow camp-fires except far down the hill out of sight of the enemygrant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 412; paragraph begins: I started from Fort Henry with 15,000 men, including eight batteries and part of a re · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…In the march over from Fort Henry numbers of the men had thrown away their blankets and overcoats.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 412; paragraph begins: I started from Fort Henry with 15,000 men, including eight batteries and part of a re · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…objectives
supportedunresolved Grant describes Fort Donelson as a gateway to Nashville and country extending into Kentucky.
A retrospective strategic rationale, not a recovered advance order, quantitative campaign contribution or extra win.
Fort Donelson was the gate to Nashville—a place of great military and political importance—and to a rich country extending far east in Kentucky.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXI, local extraction row 392; paragraph begins: The enemy at this time occupied a line running from the Mississippi River at Columbus · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…outcome
supportedpost_outcome The frozen CWSAC result and current NPS summary both label this a Union victory.
The two records share one source family. This preserves the source classification without assigning commander credit or numerical campaign utility.
responsibility
supportedunresolved Grant’s account says Floyd passed command to Pillow, who declined it, leaving Buckner responsible.
Retrospective opposing-side command sequence. No exact transfer clock or independent confirmation is established; avoid adopting Grant’s adjoining character judgments.
Floyd turned over the command to Pillow, who declined it. It then devolved upon Buckner, who accepted the responsibility of the position.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 425; paragraph begins: A council of war was held by the enemy at which all agreed that it would be impossibl · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…strength
disputedunresolved The current NPS table displays zero troops on both sides; this is an unresolved source-data problem, not a measured force count.
The populated narrative contradicts a literal zero. Preserve the snapshot and missingness; do not import the zeros.
supportedunresolved Grant reports leaving Fort Henry with 15,000 men including artillery and some cavalry, then reports 27,000 confronting Donelson and guarding his supply road on the day it fell.
The marching column and later force with supply guards have different times and scopes. The numbers cannot serve as a single opening estimate or a same-population uncertainty interval.
I started from Fort Henry with 15,000 men, including eight batteries and part of a regiment of cavalrygrant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 412; paragraph begins: I started from Fort Henry with 15,000 men, including eight batteries and part of a re · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…On the day Fort Donelson fell I had 27,000 men to confront the Confederate lines and guard the road four or five miles to the leftgrant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 445; paragraph begins: On the day Fort Donelson fell I had 27,000 men to confront the Confederate lines and · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…supportedpost_outcome NPS calls the surrendered garrison 12,000 men; Grant recalls Buckner saying the number to surrender could not be given accurately, but would be between 12,000 and 15,000.
These are outcome-stage estimates, with Grant’s figure secondhand and retrospective. NPS’s exact-looking number does not resolve the uncertainty or establish the opening garrison.
the fort's 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionally.nps-tn002-river-v1, Description · snapshot
959c0dfb0814…He replied that he could not tell with any degree of accuracygrant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 442; paragraph begins: I had been at West Point three years with Buckner and afterwards served with him in t · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…but he said I would not find fewer than 12,000, nor more than 15,000.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 442; paragraph begins: I had been at West Point three years with Buckner and afterwards served with him in t · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…unknownunresolved
The inspected estimates do not establish matched opening populations. Grant’s contextual 21,000 reconstruction uses prisoners, casualties and escapes; original-report confirmation was attempted but inaccessible and remains deferred.
terrain
supportedunresolved Grant describes elevated ground over the Cumberland, wooded broken terrain and outward-felled trees forming an abatis outside the rifle pits.
These are source descriptions, not a scored defensive advantage or independently mapped boundary.
The fort stood on high ground, some of it as much as a hundred feet above the Cumberland.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 408; paragraph begins: Fort Donelson is two miles north, or down the river, from Dover. The fort, as it stoo · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…The ground inside and outside of this intrenched line was very broken and generally wooded.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 408; paragraph begins: Fort Donelson is two miles north, or down the river, from Dover. The fort, as it stoo · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…The limbs had been trimmed and pointed, and thus formed an abatis in front of the greater part of the line.grant-memoirs-river-selections-v1, Chapter XXII, local extraction row 408; paragraph begins: Fort Donelson is two miles north, or down the river, from Dover. The fort, as it stoo · snapshot
c63afe5027ba…Open questions
- Establish opening force membership and reinforcement timing before admission; marching, late guarding and surrendered populations remain separate.
- Confirm the recalled inference, orders and Confederate command transfer with original documents only for a bounded decision; the first-pass follow-up allowance is spent.
- The current NPS casualty total differs from the pinned table, and its date/rank fields need scrutiny. Neither field is repaired or used as a predictor.