- Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Infobox_protected_area | name = Fort Donelson National Battlefield
iucn_category = V
caption =
locator_x = 188
locator_y = 100
location =Calloway County, Kentucky &Stewart County, Tennessee , USA
nearest_city =Clarksville, Tennessee
lat_degrees = 36
lat_minutes = 28
lat_seconds = 57
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 87
long_minutes = 51
long_seconds = 46
long_direction = W
area = 2,015.34 acres (8.16 km²)
convert|555.23|acre|km2|1 federal [Federal area figures do not yet include Fort Heiman, added to the park in 2006.]
established =March 26 ,1928
visitation_num = 208,687
visitation_year = 2005
governing_body =National Park Service Fort Donelson National Battlefield preserves Fort Donelson and Fort Heiman, two sites of theAmerican Civil War Forts Henry and Donelson Campaign, in which Union GeneralUlysses S. Grant and AdmiralAndrew 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, inDover, Tennessee , commemorates theBattle of Fort Donelson . Fort Heiman (coord|36|30|7|N|88|3|21|W|) in nearbyCalloway County, Kentucky , was a Confederate battery in theBattle of Fort Henry . Fort Donelson hosted one of the most influential battles in American history.History
The most vulnerable area in the Confederate defensive line in the Western Theater was the state of Kentucky. The Tennessee and
Cumberland River s 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.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 [The river landing community of Lineport, Tennessee, was considered before the area near Dover, Tennessee, was selected.] . 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 (19 km) from the Kentucky line. The new fort was named in honor of Gen. Daniel S. Donelson [The general was a nephew of Andrew and Rachel "Donelson" Jackson.] , who, along with ColonelBushrod 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 [One of the many iron ore furnaces in Stewart County, Tennessee. It was located at present day Carlisle, convert|10|mi|km|-1 south of Dover, Tennessee.] .Administrative history
The site was established as Fort Donelson National Military Park on
March 26 ,1928 . The national military park andnational cemetery were transferred from the War Department to theNational Park Service onAugust 10 ,1933 . The park was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places onOctober 15 ,1966 . It was redesignated a national battlefield onAugust 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). OnOctober 30 ,2006 , Calloway County transferred the Fort Heiman site to the Park Service. Fort Heiman had been listed on the National Register onDecember 12 ,1976 .Park today
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 onFebruary 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.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.External links
* [http://www.nps.gov/fodo/ NPS Fort Donelson National Battlefield site]
* [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ367.108 Public Law 108-367]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.