Fort Donelson Observes 160th Anniversary

By Professor Earnest Veritas · Originally published May 2022 · p. 13

Special Correspondent to The Civil War News – Western Theater –

Fort Donelson, located on the Cumberland River at Dover, Tenn., was the site of a battle remembered on its 160th anniversary by a series of tours, talks, a book signing, and even an interview with Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant himself (portrayed by Curt Fields) on the front porch of the Dover Hotel. The events were well attended and enjoyed by all who came to the scene of the dual firsts of a Federal victory and a Confederate army’s surrender. The exciting new book, The River Batteries at Fort Donelson: Construction, Armament and Battles by M. Todd Cathey and Rickey W. Robinet, was introduced and signed by the authors at the park visitor center February 14. The Dover Hotel was the scene of the next event, a ranger-led talk about the hotel and the importance of the surrender signed within its walls. They discussed how the battle of Fort Donelson was so significant to the outcome of the war and the career of an unknown, at that time, Federal general named Ulysses S. Grant. At 2:30 p.m., February 14, Jimmy Jobe, the now retired, longtime park historian and author, conducted a rivers-edge talk at the water batteries. Jobe covered the “Exchanging of Iron Valentines” on February 14, 1862, and the use of iron-clads as they fought landbased heavy artillery. On the morning of February 15, noted historian Greg Biggs, gave the talk, “You Came Here to Die,” at the scene of Federal General Charles F. Smith’s attack that did so much to reverse the Confederate break-out attempt. Biggs talked of the difficulty of the terrain and the Federal troops charging up a ridge in snow and ice under heavy fire to take the Confederate trenches. The afternoon of the 15th saw the revival of one of the famous ‘Bed Sheet’ caravan tours conducted by Colonel James Vaughan (USA

Journalist Walsh seized the opportunity to interview Grant. Portrayed by John Walsh and Curt Fields.

Fort Donelson Lower River Battery.

Ret.). Vaughan, a long-time park volunteer, has drawn, to scale, the various battle scenes on white bedsheets and stitched loops on the sheet edges so they may be mounted between poles. He effectively covered the progress of the battle in a you-are-there format; while tour participants stood on the ground, Vaughan discussed what happened there by referring to the bedsheet-size map. That most enlightening tour covered the Confederate breakout attempted on February 15, 1862, 160 years earlier. The 160th anniversary activities at Fort Donelson National Battlefield were, appropriately, brought to a close on the front porch of the Dover Hotel. John Walsh, somewhat mysteriously referred to as “a journalist,” was at Dover, Tenn., to cover the battle and, subsequently, the surrender of a Confederate army under Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner. Walsh is a resident of Dover and an historian focused on the Battle of Fort Donelson. Journalist Walsh seized the opportunity to interview Grant who graciously agreed to, not one, but two interviews. The first was held on the porch of the Dover Hotel the morning of February 16 and covered what happened in the battle and how it came to happen. The second interview took place that afternoon and addressed what Grant hoped to do in following up the Federal victory at Fort Donelson. Walsh probed the General with zeal about his plans, but Grant was closed-mouthed about what he planned to do next, beyond the natural move of taking Nashville on the Cumberland River. The talks, tours, and interviews were acclaimed by those in attendance at the various events. History was served well by Fort Donelson National Battlefield and its guests who came to present and help celebrate Civil War history on Tennessee’s Cumberland River. “Simply put: tell the simple truth, simply.” Professor E. Veritas