It has been his fortune to have been in all the battles fought in Mexico by Generals Scott and Taylor, save Buena Vista, and he never saw one more hotly contested, or where troops behaved with more gallantry. Such courage will insure victory wherever our flag may be borne and protected by such a class of men. To the brave men who fell, the sympathy of the country is due, and will be manifested in a manner unmistakable. U. S. GRANT, Brigadier-General Commanding. General Halleck, at this time commanding the Department of the Missouri, appreciating the military ability of General Grant in reorganizing his department into proper military districts, issued an order constituting the "District of Cairo," and extending the command until it became one of the largest divisions in the country, appointing General Grant to be the chief in command. General Grant at once began organizing the new troops added to his command. On Jauuary 15 he made a strong reconnoissance from Paducah toward Columbus and other points in Kentucky; having ascertained and accomplished all that he desired, he withdrew his forces to Cairo. Strongly impressed with the importance of driving the rebels from the State of Kentucky, General Grant visited General Halleck and asked permission to undertake the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. On the 30th day of January he received the desired permission, and within three days, with the aid of Commodore Foote, a combined naval and land expedition set out for Fort Henry, ninety miles above the mouth of the Tennessee River. The land forces consisted of 17,000 men under General Grant, and a fleet of seven gunboats, four of which were ironclad, under command of Commodore A. H. Foote. On the morning of February 6, 1862, the gunboats opened fire upon the Fort. After about two hours and a quarter's engagement the rebels, finding that their line of retreat was cut off by the Union troops, who had been landed about four miles below the fort, intending to attack the fort in the rear, while the gunboats attacked the front, lowered their flag and surrendered before the military forces could arrive, General Grant arriving within an hour after it had capitulated, when Commodore Foote turned over the captured fort and prisoners to the army. General Grant telegraphed to General Halleck: "Fort Henry is ours. Gunboats silenced the batteries before the investment was completed. I shall take and destroy Fort Donelson on the 8th, and return to Fort Henry." The fall of Fort Henry opened the Tennessee to the Union gunboats and pierced the Confederate line of defense across the State of Kentucky. General Grant lost no time in preparing for a vigorous movement on Fort Donelson, twelve miles distant, having ordered reinforcements to be sent up the river from Cairo. In the meantime the Confederates, alarmed by their defeat on the Tennessee, concentrated all the force that they could command for the defense of the Cumberland. The greater part of the troops that had garrisoned the works at Fort Henry had escaped and joined the forces on the Cumberland. Fort Donelson was most favorably placed and constructed according to the best rules of engineering skill. The fortress was placed upon a high hill on a bend of the river, a little below the town of Dover. This elevation commanded the stream in front and both north and south, as far as shot could be thrown. At the foot of the fort there were two water batteries of twelve heavy guns; the land side was also fortified strongly. Its garrison consisted of A. H. FOOTE. about 23,000 men, and besides the amount of the fort and water batteries, six batteries of light artillery and seventeen heavy guns. The Confederates were under the command of General Floyd, Secretary of War under Buchanan. General Grant arrived in front of the fort on the afternoon of the 12th and at once took possession of the high ground surrounding it, his right resting on Dover, his left wing resting on a small creek to the north of the fort, thus inclosing the entire rebel forces. In making these movements considerable skirmishing ensued. On the following day an engagement of two hours occurred between one of the gunboats and the rebel batteries. At 2 o'clock on February 14 the gunboats opened fire on the batteries and finally silenced them, but the plunging shots from the fort above having crippled the flag ship and wounded Commodore Foote, they withdrew from the action. General Grant now determined to thoroughly invest the fort, either reducing it by siege or to await the repair of the gunboats. In the meantime the Confederates realizing that the result of such an investment meant the entire capture of their forces, planned an overwhelming attack upon the weakest part of the Union lines. Accordingly on the morning of the 15th the attacking column, numbering ten thousand men, struck General Grant's extreme right, which was here commanded by General McClernand, taking him by surprise, and though desperately contesting every inch he was being gradually forced to retire. At this time so confident was General Pillow that he had defeated the Union army, he had sent a dispatch to Nashville announcing " on the honor of a soldier, the day is ours." us. 66 Arriving on the field of battle General Grant at once took in the situation, exclaiming: "They mean to cut their way out; they have no idea of staying here to fight Whichever party now attacks first will whip, and the rebels will have to be very quick if they beat me." Riding to the front he ordered General Wallace to recover the lost ground of the morning, while General Smith should storm the enemy's right. Wallace was successful in driving the enemy back and at dark had pushed within one hundred and fifty yards of the enemy's intrenchments. General Smith had also been successful after a desperate struggle, and had he had a half-hour of daylight would have passed the outworks and captured the fort. The army bivouacked on the frozen ground, intending to make an early assault on the rebel lines in the morning, but the morning's sun found a flag of truce waving over the enemy's works, their commander, General S. B. Buckner, sending a note to General Grant proposing to surrender. During the night the two senior rebel generals, Floyd and Pillow, had deserted their command and crossed the river on boats, taking with them some three thousand men. The following correspondence then passed between the commanding generals of the contending armies: HEADQUARTERS FORT DONELSON, Feb. 16, 1862. SIR:-In consideration of all the circumstances governing the present situation of affairs at this station, I propose to the commanding officer of the Federal forces the appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms of capitulation of the forces I hold under my command; and, in that view, suggest an armistice until twelve o'clock to-day. S. B. BUCKNER, Brig.-Gen. C. S. A. To Brig. Gen. GRANT, commanding U. S. Forces, Fort Donelson. To which General Grant replied as follows: HEADQUARTERS ARMY IN THE FIELD, To General S. B. BUCKNER, Confederate Army: Yours of this date, proposing an armistice and appointment of commissioners to settle terms of capitulation, is just received. No terms other than an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works. I am, sir, very respectfully your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Brig.-Gen. U. S. A., Commanding. General Grant's terms were accepted and the surrender was immediate and unconditional--the forces surrendered were thirteen thousand five hundred men, three thousand horses, forty-eight field-pieces, seventeen heavy guns, twenty thousand stand of arms, and a large quantity of commissary stores, the Confederates having lost in their attack 1,228 men; the Union loss being 446 killed, 1,735 wounded and 150 prisoners. The following day two regi |