Fort Donelson was the last line of defense of the state of Tennessee. It was located on the Cumberland River, approximately 12 miles west from Fort Henry, and provided commerce and was the river that lead directly into the heart of the Confederacy. Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston appointed Brigadier General John B. Floyd to command Fort Donelson. The fort housed 17,000 Confederate soldiers and had strategically placed artillery and strong earthworks. This convinced Floyd that a quick retreat would be pointless. The fort housed 128 pounder and two 32 pounder cannons. After the fall of Fort Henry, Grant started a late attack on the Fort Donelson due to inclement weather, difficulties with reinforcements and damage to the ironclads. …show more content…
When the ironclads began to advance on the Fort, the Fort retaliated with fierce fire as a rebel soldier yelled, “Come on you cowardly scoundrels. You aren’t at Fort Henry.” The closer the ironclads came the more accurate the Fort’s cannons were, which lead to several ironclads being damaged and the Union forces were forced to retreat. The generals stationed at Fort Donelson; General Floyd, Pillow and Buckner recognized that even though they had won a victory over the ironclads that Grant’s forces were being reinforced while their forces remained the same. Also they had received instructions to remove their troops and join General Johnston in Nashville. The Confederate generals devised a break out plan to break through the Union lines and to maneuver their armies out to Nashville using two roads that were located on the Confederate left wing. On February 15th, the attack against the Grant’s forces was launched. At first the Confederates were successful at pushing the Union Forces back but, then Confederate Brigadier General Gideon Pillow ordered his force back to the earthworks, even though the union troops were close to collapsing. The Confederate Generals disagreed on the retreat and while they were arguing, Grant re-organized his men and ordered them to retake