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| Package from Fort Donelson NB |
Hello
Junior Rangers! Here’s another package from the big mailing I received the
other day.
If
you recall, about a week and a half ago, I posted that I mailed out a ton of
completed Junior Ranger books that I either got from online or from my road
trip in April (You can read about that here). Fort Donelson National Battlefield was one of
those.
Here’s a list of the goodies that were inside:
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| Fort Donelson Junior Ranger Badge and Junior Ranger Patch |
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Fort Donelson NB Junior Ranger Badge – awarded for completing
the Fort Donelson NB Junior Ranger Book (also returned in the package).
Fort Donelson NB Junior Ranger Patch – This was nice of Ranger
Austin to send because as far as I know you’re only supposed to get a badge. I
don’t have any information that says that you are supposed to get a patch too,
so yay. :)
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Rack Card for Junior Civil War
Historian Patch |
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Rack Card for the Junior Civil War Historian Patch – kind of
like Traveling Clara Barton, you’re supposed to get this Rack Card signed by
three participating parks. I will just be mailing all three to the final park
to get the patch (like I did with my Traveling Clara Barton package.)
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| Trading Cards from Fort Donelson NB |
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NPS Trading Cards for Fort Donelson NB – I kindly asked for them in my letter and Ranger Austin was nice enough to send them to me. I know some
parks don’t do that so I am very appreciative that she did that. :)
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| Letter from Ranger Austin |
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Letter from Ranger Austin: This was nice; just kind of a general
letter acknowledging that I completed the program, the enclosures, etc.
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And
that’s it! It was a nice reward for completing the book. Please read about the
park, which I have posted below, and check it out the next time you’re in Tennessee.
But in the meantime…
Explore On, Junior Ranger! :)
Want your own
Fort Donelson NB Junior Ranger badge? Download the activity book online,
complete the requisite activities and mail it back to the park (Fort Donelson
NB, Attn: Junior Ranger Program, Post Office Box 434, Dover, Tennessee, 37058).
You’ll get a badge and maybe they’ll send you some cool swag too. :)
About Fort Donelson National Battlefield
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Self-Guided Tour Map of Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Image Courtesy nps.gov |
Things
to Do
Fort
Donelson National Battlefield is located in Dover, Tennessee, which is about 83
miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.
Once you arrive at the battlefield, be sure to
start your visit at the Visitor Center. There is a museum with exhibits of
Civil War artifacts, the Underground Railroad, and the legacy of the Civil War.
There is also an orientation film entitled “Fort Donelson: Gateway to
the Confederate Heartland,” which describes the lifelong friendship between
Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Simon B Buckner. In
addition, you will learn how the Confederates built three earthen forts near
the park, which includes Fort Heiman and Fort Henry. Ironically, all three
sites were eventually used by freedom-seeking slaves as refuge sites.
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Entrance to Fort Donelson
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
Once
you finish getting to know the battlefield’s history through the exhibits and
film, you are ready to embark on the Park Tour. Before you leave the center, be
sure to grab the Park Tour brochure (and your Junior Ranger book!). The Park Tour
is a self-guided driving tour that is six miles long; there are also
interpretive walking trails. Guided tours may be available; be sure to call
ahead to check availability.
On
your self-guided tour you will have stops at the Confederate Monument, the entrance to Fort Donelson, the
Log Huts, the Lower River Batteries, the site of Smith’s Attack, the Union Camp, Graves’
and French’s Batteries, and Forge Road.
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Dover Hotel (Surrender House)
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
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Exhibits inside Dover Hotel
(Surrender House)
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
At Stop 10 of the Tour, you will see Dover Hotel, also known as Surrender House (where
Grant and Buckner met for surrender). Here you will see exhibits about the
Dover Hotel, first person accounts of the battle and surrender, and life in
Dover, TN after the battle.
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Fort Donelson National Cemetery
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
At
the final stop of the tour (Stop 11), you will arrive at Fort Donelson National
Cemetery. This National Cemetery is where many Union soldiers were re-interred from the battlefield itself and local and hospital cemeteries from Dover and
nearby towns. Because it is a National Cemetery, the site contains both Civil
War veterans and veterans who have served the US since that time along with
their spouses and dependent children.
History
of Fort Donelson National Battlefield
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Artist Conception of Fort Donelson
Image Courtesy nps.gov |
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Flag Officer
Andrew H. Foote
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
On
the cold morning of February 14, 1862, Andrew H Foote’s Union gunboat fleet
arrived from Fort Henry via the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers. The fleet included
ironclads St Louis, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Carondolet and
the timberclads Conestoga and Tyler. These vessels exchanged attacks with the eleven big guns located in the Southern water batteries for
over an hour and a half. During this time, the Confederates wounded Foote, and
the Union gunboats were so badly damaged that they were forced to retreat.
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Gen. Simon B. Buckner
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
The
Confederates rejoiced at this retreat; however their celebration was tainted with the
realization that Grant was still receiving reinforcements on a daily basis. This enabled him to extend his right flank to Lick Creek, and as a result, Grant had, in effect, encircled the Southern troops. If Confederate generals John Floyd,
Gideon Pillow, Simon Buckner and Bushrod Johnson did not act quickly, they
would be forced to surrender due to starvation.
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Gen. Gideon J. Pillow
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
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Gen. John B. Floyd
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
In
response to Grant’s move, the generals amassed their troops against the Union’s
right in an attempt to clear a route to Nashville—a path that would lead them
to safety. On February 15, the armies fought furiously and the Union Army reluctantly
retreated in the afternoon. It appeared that the Confederates' way to safety would be
cleared; however, as a result of confusion and indecision on the part of the
Confederate commanders, their troops were foolishly ordered to return to their entrenchments.
Grant seized the opportunity and launched a vicious counterattack, which
allowed them to retake most of the ground they had lost and, in addition, gain
new positions. This effectively closed off the escape route once again. With the Cumberland River behind them, the
Confederates were surrounded.
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"Unconditional Surrender" Letter
from Gen. Grant to Gen. Buckner
Image Courtesy nps.gov |
Confederate
commanders Floyd and Pillow turned over command of Fort Donelson to Buckner.
Afterward, Floyd and Pillow snuck away to Nashville with an army of about 2,000
men, while others followed Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest to escape across Lick
Creek. On the morning of February 16, Buckner sent word to Grant asking for terms.
Grant famously replied: “No terms except an unconditional and immediate
surrender can be accepted.” Defeated, Buckner surrendered. (Click here for a
transcript of the correspondence between Grant and Buckner.)
The
Aftermath of the Fort Donelson Campaign
Of
the approximately 16,000 Confederates who fought at the battle of Fort Donelson,
more than 12,000 were captured or missing, while about 1,400 others were
wounded or killed. Of the estimated 24,500 Union troops who engaged in battle,
the total casualties were around 2,700.
Soon
after the Confederate surrender, civilians and relief agencies amassed to
assist the Union Army. Among these were the US Sanitary Commission, which
brought food, medical supplies and hospital ships; civilians searching for
loved ones; and women acting as nurses such as Mary Bickerdyke, who cared for
and comforted the sick and wounded.
After
Fort Donelson fell, the South was forced to give up southern Kentucky (ensuring
that it would remain in the Union) and much of Middle and West Tennessee, which
opened the state to future Union advances. The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers
would become vital Union supply lines, along with the local railroads in the
area. Nashville would be developed into a major supply depot for the Union army
in the west. This action tore open the heartland of the Confederacy, and would
allow the Union to press on in its goal to unify the states once and for all.
“Unconditional
Surrender” Grant
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Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Photo Courtesy nps.gov |
When
the North captured Fort Donelson, and previously Fort Henry (on February 6), it
not only signified its first great victory, it also served to propel Grant to
the spotlight as a hero (he was later known as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant
as a result of his famous surrender quote) and promotion by President Lincoln to
Major General. His subsequent victories at Shiloh, Vicksburg and Chattanooga
would lead to further promotion to Lieutenant General and Union Army Commander.
And the great and final victory of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox would later usher
him into the White House.
Sources:
nps.gov, history.com
