Fort Donelson National Battlefield
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location:	Kentucky & Tennessee, USA
Nearest city:	Clarksville, Tennessee
Coordinates:	36°28′57″N 87°51′46″W / 36.4825, -87.86278Coordinates: 36°28′57″N 87°51′46″W / 36.4825, -87.86278
Area:	2,015.34 acres   (555.23 federal)[1] 8.16 km²
Established:	March 26, 1928
Total Visitation:	208,687 (in 2005)
Governing body:	National Park Service

Fort Donelson National Battlefield preserves Fort Donelson and Fort Heiman, two sites of the American Civil War Forts Henry and Donelson Campaign, in which Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Admiral Andrew Hull Foote captured three forts, opened two rivers, and received national recognition for victories in February 1862, the first major Union victories of the war. The main unit of the park, in Dover, Tennessee, commemorates the Battle of Fort Donelson. Fort Heiman ( 36°30′7″N, 88°3′21″W) in nearby Calloway County, Kentucky, was a Confederate battery in the Battle of Fort Henry. The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Image File history File links Red_pog. ... Image File history File links US_Locator_Blank. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... The Roxy in Clarksvilles historic downtown section. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (86th in leap years). ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... This article is becoming very long. ... In this map:  Union states prohibiting slavery  Union territories  Border states on the Union side which allowed slavery  Kansas, which entered and fought with the Union as a free state after the Bleeding Kansas crisis  The Confederacy  Confederate claimed and sometimes held territories During the American Civil War, the Union... Ulysses S. Grant[2] (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). ... Image:Brandon Roseli. ... Dover is a city located in Stewart County, Tennessee. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant Andrew H. Foote John B. Floyd Gideon J. Pillow Simon B. Buckner Strength 24,531 District of Cairo & Western Flotilla 16,171 Casualties 2,691 (507 killed, 1,976 wounded, 208 captured/missing) 13,846 (327 killed... Calloway County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. ... The Battle of Fort Henry was fought February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. ...

History

The most vulnerable area in the Confederate defensive line in the Western Theater was the state of Kentucky. The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers were potential avenues for a Union invasion through the state and into Tennessee and beyond. But since Kentucky had declared itself neutral in the conflict, defensive works could not be built within the state without alienating the local population. Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... A riverboat passing under the Henley Street Bridge on the Tennessee River. ... The Cumberland River is an important waterway in the southern United States. ...

Part of the lower river battery at Fort Donelson, overlooking the Cumberland River

Two engineers detached from the 1st Tennessee Infantry, Adna Anderson and William F. Foster, set to work in earnest on May 10, 1861, to find suitable ground just inside the Tennessee border to simultaneously cover the two rivers. They then focused on surveying possible sites along the Cumberland River, looking at the high ridges and deep hollows near the Kentucky border^[2]. In mid-May, on the west bank of the river not far below the town of Dover, Anderson laid out the water battery of Fort Donelson twelve miles from the Kentucky line. The new fort was named in honor of Gen. Daniel S. Donelson^[3], who, along with Colonel Bushrod Johnson of the Corps of Engineers, approved of the site. Construction was begun by a large force of men brought from the nearby Cumberland Iron Works^[4]. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 112 KB) Part of the lower river battery, overlooking the Cumberland River. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 112 KB) Part of the lower river battery, overlooking the Cumberland River. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... Bushrod Johnson Bushrod Rust Johnson (October 7, 1817 – September 12, 1880) was a teacher, university chancellor, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. ...

Administrative history

The site was established as Fort Donelson National Military Park on March 26, 1928. The national military park and national cemetery were transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It was redesignated a national battlefield on August 16, 1985. Public Law 108-367 (October 25, 2004) increased the authorized boundary of the national battlefield from 551.69 acres (2.23 km²) to 2,000 acres (8.09 km²). On October 30, 2006, Calloway County transferred the Fort Heiman site to the Park Service. Fort Heiman had been listed on the National Register on December 12, 1976. March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (86th in leap years). ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance. ... A U.S. National Cemetery is a designation for nationally important cemeteries in the United States. ... Line drawing of the Department of Wars seal. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... A typical plaque showing entry on the National Register of Historic Places. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Park today

A portion of Fort Donelson National Cemetery

The park preserves much of the original battle site, including the river batteries and the eroded remains of the fort itself, but the area in which the Confederate States Army assaulted on February 15, 1862, is largely in private hands, occupied by residential development. The Cumberland River was dammed in the 1960s and this area is currently referred to as Lake Barkley. It covers an area roughly similar to the original river while at flood stage, as it was during the battle. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 85 KB) Photographed by Hal Jespersen at Fort Donelson, February 2006. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 85 KB) Photographed by Hal Jespersen at Fort Donelson, February 2006. ... Some Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was organized in February 1861 to defend the newly formed Confederate States of America from military action by the United States government. ... February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Cemetery

Fort Donelson National Cemetery, at 15.34 acres (62,080 m²), contains 670 Union dead, reinterred in 1867. There are also numerous veterans from later wars. The cemetery is presently unavailable for further burials.

Notes

References

• The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Gott, Kendall D., Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry—Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862, Stackpole books, 2003, ISBN 0-8117-0049-6.

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally owned land. ...

External links

• NPS Fort Donelson National Battlefield site
• Public Law 108-367