Birth of 'Unconditional Surrender' Grant

On May 7, 1861, the state of Tennessee decided to withdraw from the Union and join the Confederacy. Southern leaders hoped Kentucky would follow Tennessee’s example, giving the South a formidable northern boundary on the Ohio River. Kentucky’s decision not to follow Tennessee out of the Union forced Southern leaders to defend the Tennessee border. Unfortunately for the Confederacy, the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers crossed this state border and each river provided opportunity for Union invasion.

 

For the Union to prevail, armies had to be sent into Confederate territory. The Union Army faced the daunting task of occupying and controlling this vast area. In order to accomplish this task, large armies had to be trained, supplied, and moved into the South. Supply lines had to be developed and maintained. The ability to Fort Donelson Locationkeep this army supplied and reinforced was so critical that victory could not be achieved without the use of rivers and railroads. The Southern strategy of defending its borders to secure their new country required controlling these major transportation routes. In short, controlling the rivers and railroads would be vital for the success of the Union and the Confederacy.

 

Governor Isham Harris of Tennessee decided to begin work on the defense of his state. He dispatched engineers to select sites for forts on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. The engineers were told to select sites north of railroad crossings and south of the Tennessee and Kentucky State line. Fort Donelson was built on the Cumberland River on a high bluff near Dover, Tennessee. A site for the Tennessee River fort was not as easy to locate. After receiving several opinions, Governor Harris decided to build Fort Henry on low ground frequently flooded by the Tennessee River. The poor location on which Fort Henry was built forced Confederate leaders to also occupy and fortify the high ground across the Tennessee River from Fort Henry. This work was named Fort Heiman.

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