On Feb.16,1862, Fort Donelson fell when the Confederate Army under Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner surrendered to Grant's Union Army.
U.S. Grant
The little-known U.S. Grant, who acquired his nickname here, after demanding 'Unconditional Surrender').
The loss of the Confederate Fort Donelson was due in part of the ineptness of the Rebel commanders. Their commanders divided their forces in such a manner that allowed General Grant an easier path to victory.
Ulysses Grant.
Grant's first brief was to capture Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. He was ordered there by Henry Halleck.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses Grant.
Fort Henry Fort Donelson Vicksburg
General Grant, in his own words, wrote that the importance of Fort Donelson, was an incentive to capture it. He also understood the value of Donelson to the South was just as important. The ensuing battle there was a major one due to the large number of troops on each side. Grant had about 15,000 troops to use in his assault, later his reinforcements totaled 27,000 men at Grant's disposal.On the other hand Grant estimated that the Confederate forces defending the fort were about 21,000.Grant cites that the news of the fall of Fort Donelson caused great delight in the North. He and his commanders all received promotions. The value of the capture, unlike that of Fort Henry, cannot be overestimated. Grant, and as Civil War historians agree upon, was that the capture of this fort would have allowed the way to open all of the Southwest of the South with little if any resistance.Views that the capture of Fort Henry was a "major and first great victory" do not coincide with the general who captured both forts. The acclaim Grant received in the North for the fall of Donelson, did not appear in the North for good reason. There were hardly any significant Confederate troops there. And, it's clear among Civil War historians that Fort Donelson was indeed a major & first great victory for the Union.
Because they had been recently built as such. And Halleck's first order to Grant was to capture them. In the case of Donelson, Grant captured 15,000 Confederate prisoners.
In the course of the Union capture of Confederate Fort Donelson, the Union casualties came to 2,300 soldiers.
Unconditional Surrender Grant