Several years after taking a tour of Ft. Donelson (my wife's family settled near there in the early 1800s) I learned my great grandfather was captured by Vicksburg. His unit escaped Vicksburg just before Grant captured Vicksburg and was later wounded and captured at the battle of Peachtree Creek near Atlanta. He lived into his 80s.
You've probably heard this all before, but it's too bad that there is so little taught about Civil War naval action. I'm 63, and this is the first time I've heard about the action in this battle! Thanks so much.
I always wondered what Fort Donelson look like... Thank you for giving us a Wonderful Inspection of the Infamous Confederate River Battery.....❤️💯❤️💯❤️
I was stationed at Fort Cambell Ky after Viet-nam. We lived in a mobile home behind The Dover Truckstop, my interest in the Civil War started by visiting the Fort and spending a lot of my free days doing living history there, my son was born at the Clarksville hospital. I need to get back there and see the changes to the area. clp
When we were kids back in the 70's we would visit the fort on our way to Kentucky lake. There were 2 magazines in the hillside we could go into. In several places there were lots of lead ball ammo that was round and conical in shape lying on the surface of the ground. It was exciting to find such treasures. Also note the position of the cannon facing the bend in the river. Any boat coming around the bend wouldn't be able to retreat before coming under fire. Viewing your footage I can see they've improved the fort quite a bit over the years. Thanks for sharing.
You put up a good video at Ft. Donelson as well. I used it as a reference point when I took my wife down their on an excursion. Amazing the things technology allows us to enjoy. Lol
Took my wife on an excursion down to TN back in June. Stayed in Clarksville. We visited Ft. Donelson. It was her first time ever visiting a Civil War battlefield.
Even as well as this is photographed, it still doesn't capture the beauty of this site. One thing that has always struck me about visiting battlefields is how peaceful they are now. It's hard to fathom what they were like at the time of the battle.
I've never been to Ft's Henry and Donelson, I have been to Ft. Darling on the James on a high bluff. Grant's campaign to take these forts was brilliant, the first of many. Sadly Grant and Lee couldn't be on the same side.
The only battle field. I went to because of my great grandfather fought there . With the 11th Illinois volunteer infantry regiment company B . Alfred Whitfield.
Very powerful - and as I mentioned the river boom a couple miles downstream prevents gunboat recon of the battery as they had been able to do at Fort Henry. They really dinged up Foote's ironclads badly here.
The maps I used mostly came from Kendall Gott's fine book on Henry-Donelson - "Where The South lost The Civil War." Kendall is a historian at the US Army Command & General Staff College's Combat Studies Institute and a friend.
