The decisive Union victory at Fort Donelson thrust Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant into the national spotlight and enabled Union advances up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.
How it ended
Union victory. The capture of forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee were major victories for Ulysses S. Grant. Grant received a promotion to major general for his success and attained stature in the Western Theater, earning the nom de guerre “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”
In context
Early in the war, Union commanders realized that control of the major rivers would be the key to success in the Western Theater. After capturing Fort Henry on the Tennessee River on February 6, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant advanced 12 miles to invest Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Operations against Donelson were part of an amphibious campaign launched in early 1862 to push the Confederates out of middle and western Tennessee, thereby opening a path into the Southern heartland.
