Update: Fort Donelson National Battlefield

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:

Fort Donelson Junior Ranger Badge and Junior Ranger Patch

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. :)

Rack Card for Junior Civil War Historian Patch

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.)

Trading Cards from Fort Donelson NB

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. :)

Letter from Ranger Austin

Letter from Ranger Austin: This was nice; just kind of a general letter acknowledging that I completed the program, the enclosures, etc.

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. :)

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About Fort Donelson National Battlefield

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.

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.

Dover Hotel (Surrender House)
Photo Courtesy nps.gov

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.

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.

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History of Fort Donelson National Battlefield

Artist Conception of Fort Donelson
Image Courtesy nps.gov

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.

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.

Gen. Gideon J. Pillow
Photo Courtesy nps.gov

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.

"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

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