Zollicoffer was killed, the Confederates were defeated, and driven back to Beech Grove. Finding his army unable to withstand the superior force of General Thomas, General Crittenden withdrew during the night to the south side of the Cumberland.*

The death of General Zollicoffer cast a gloom over the State. Beloved by the Confederates, he had gained the esteem of the Unionists while in command at Knoxville. He fell, an early victim of the war, before partisan passions had reached the bitter stage, and was lamented by friend and foe.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

TENNESSEE THE BATTLEGROUND.

370. Fort Henry.- Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland, were twelve miles apart, protecting the navigation of the two rivers. Fort Henry was defended by a force of 2,610 men of all arms, under command of Brigadier General Loyd Tilghman; Fort Donelson, by a force of about four thousand men, under command of Brigadier General Bushrod Johnson. February 4, 1862, General Grant, with a force of 16,000 men, accompanied by a fleet of seven gunboats, carrying 54 heavy guns, began operations against Fort Henry. Finding that it was impossible to save the fort, General Tilghman determined to save the garrison. He, therefore, on the third day of the siege, February 6th, ordered Colonel Heiman to proceed to Fort Donelson with the main body of the troops, while he remained in person with one artillery company to engage the enemy and secure the retreat. Being immediately assaulted, the little garrison of 66 men maintained a gallant resistance for two hours and ten minutes, when they surrendered, after disabling two of Commodore Foote's gunboats, and inflicting on his fleet a severe loss. This was the first battle of the Confederate War fought on Tennessee soil.

371. Fort Donelson.-General Grant now moved across the narrow peninsula between the two rivers, and invested Fort Donelson, February 12th. On the evening of that day, he was reinforced by six reg

4

Rise and Fall of the Confederate States, by Jefferson Davis, Vol. II, Chapter XVI; Confederate Military History, Vol. VIII, by James D. Porter, Chapter II; Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. VII, Chapter II; Smith's History of Kentucky,`p. 621.

iments of infantry and by Commodore Foote's fleet of gunboats. During the siege, he received additional reinforcements. His total force is variously estimated. General Buckner reported it to be 50,000

men.

General Buell stated it to be between 30,000 and 35,000. The Federal statistical records generally place it at 27,000. In addition to this was Commodore Foote's fleet of six gunboats. Meanwhile, the garrison at Fort Donelson had been strengthened by the troops from Fort Henry, under Colonel Heiman, and the arrival of reinforcements under Generals Buckner, Pillow, and Floyd, and Gen. John B. Floyd had assumed the chief command. The total Confederate force has been variously estimated at from 11,738 to 20,000 men. No exact information is attainable.1 The most reliable estimates place the total force at about 15,000. The siege lasted five days — February 12 to 16. The

first fighting was favorable to the Confederates. The gunboats were disabled and forced to retire; the besieging lines were successfully assailed and driven back, and a road was opened for the retreat of the garrison. On February 15th, the day before the surrender, the defense had been brilliant and successful. Then followed a fatal misunderstanding between the commanding officers. The road which had been opened for the retreat of the garrison was weakly abandoned. General Floyd turned over the command to General Pillow, and departed with a portion of his command. General Pillow turned over the command to General Buckner, and likewise departed. General Buckner announced his intention to surrender the garrison. Col. N. B. Forrest, after protesting against the surrender, marched out with his cavalry force, and a few other soldiers. February 16, General Buckner surrendered the garrison. It is the general opinion of military men that affairs were badly managed. The statistical records2 give the Federal loss in killed and wounded as 2,331, and the Confederate loss as 15,067, including prisoners. The Confederate loss is given as an estimate, and is evidently too great. The Confederate loss in killed and wounded, from reliable estimates, was about 1,420.

372. The Retreat. The surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson was a serious blow to the Confederate cause. It broke the line of the Cumberland, destroyed all hope of holding Kentucky, and lost control

1

See Confederate Military History, Vol. VIII - Tennessee - by Hon. James D. Porter, pp. 18-32; Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. II, Chapters II and III; Ibid., Supplemental Volume (Statistical Record), p. 94; Official Records, Vol. VII.

2 Campaigns of the Civil War, Supplementary Volume, p. 213.

of Middle and West Tennessee. Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Nashville and all points in Middle Tennessee, were promptly evacuated, and Gen. A. S. Johnston concentrated his forces at Corinth, Mississippi. A portion of West Tennessee was held for a short time, in order to dispute the control of the Mississippi River. General Polk commanding the defenses of the Mississippi, began the evacuation of Columbus, Kentucky, February 25th, and fell back to the Tennessee line, where he constructed defenses at Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River, and along the banks of the river, from New Madrid to Tiptonville. General McCown was placed in command of these defenses, aided by Commodore Hollins, with eight gunboats. General Pope, with a strong Federal force, assailed the Confederate works. March 16, Commodore Foote, with his fleet of gunboats and mortar boats, began the attack on Island No. IO. The island was gallantly defended for three weeks, when the whole line was abandoned, and the entire Confederate force began the retreat, which was intercepted at Tiptonville. At this place, General Mackall, who had succeeded to the command, surrendered about 3,000 men, April 8.

373. Strategic Movements.-After the evacuation of Middle Tennessee, Gen. A. S. Johnston concentrated the Confederate army at Corinth, Mississippi, reaching there, in person, March 24th. General Buell had occupied Nashville, February 24th, the day after the retreat of the rear-guard under Forrest, and no obstacle interposed to the complete occupation of Middle Tennessee. A strong Federal force was speedily concentrated at Pittsburg Landing. General Grant arrived there March 17th, and assumed command.

374. Shiloh.- General Johnston, being informed that the Federal authorities were planning to accumulate, at Pittsburg Landing, an overwhelming force to attack Corinth, and that General Buell and others were on their way with reinforcements, determined to make an immediate attack on General Grant, before his reinforcements could arrive. The Federal army was encamped on the south side of Tennessee River, near Shiloh Church, not far north of the southern boundary of TennesGeneral Johnston began the attack Sunday morning, April 6th, with a force, differently estimated at 40,000 to 50,000 men. He stated it, himself, to be 40,000. The force of General Grant is, likewise, differently estimated, from 32,722 to 41,153. On the first day, the Confederates won a brilliant victory, and had driven the Federal forces back towards the river, under the protection of their gunboats, when General Johnston was killed, about two o'clock P. M. Much confusion was

see.

caused by his fall, and the consequent failure of orders to continue the attack. General Beauregard succeeded to the command, and considered the hour too late to renew the attack. During the night, General Buell arrived with about 20,000 men, Gen. Lew Wallace with about 6,500, and other troops amounting to about 1,400. These reinforcements, of about 27,900 fresh men, were sufficient to turn the tide of battle. Early the next morning, General Grant attacked with all his forces. The Confederates were driven back, and retreated to Corinth. This battle was fiercely contested, and the losses on both sides were heavy. The Confederate loss in killed, wounded, and missing, was 10,699, about one

fourth of the army. The Federal loss, as given in official records, was 13,573.3

375. Corinth.-A few days after the Battle of Shiloh, General Halleck arrived in person at Pittsburg Landing and assumed command. of the combined armies of Grant and Buell, April 11th. He ordered General Pope, who was then engaged in besieging Fort Pillow, to leave two regiments to continue the siege, and to report, with the rest of his army, to Pittsburg Landing. All other available troops were concen

3

Confederate Military History, Vol. VIII, Chapter III; Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. II, Chapters V, VI, and VII; Ibid., Supplementary Volume, pp. 97, 213; Official Records, Vol. X, Series I, pp. 108, 112, 113, 396, 398, 399; Rise and Fall of the Confederate States, by Jefferson Davis, Vol. II, Chapters XVII, XVIII, and XIX.

trated at this point, and in the latter part of April, Halleck, with an army exceeding 100,000 men, began the movement to dislodge Beauregard from Corinth. Beauregard, also largely reinforced, held his position at Corinth, and threw forward outposts towards the front. Halleck, advancing slowly and cautiously, had approached close to Corinth, when General Beauregard evacuated the place, May 30th, and retreated South.*

376. Memphis Evacuated. It was now impossible to hold West Tennessee. June 1st Fort Pillow was abandoned. June 6th, Commodore Davis, who had succeeded Commodore Foote, in command of the Mississippi fleet, destroyed the Confederate flotilla which attempted to defend Memphis, and the Federal forces occupied the city. Thus, by a strange decree of fate, Middle and West Tennessee, which were strongly Confederate in sympathy, came under the control of the Federal authorities, and East Tennessee, which was strongly Union in sympathy, remained in possession of the Confederates. While such a condition was painful to all sections, it served to demonstrate the frank and firm character of the people of Tennessee. But few instances were found of apostasy or treachery. The mass of the people, on either side, resenting what they considered the oppression of their enemies, remained true to their convictions, and outspoken adherents of the cause which they espoused. Confederate soldiers marched by their homes, and followed their colors on the retreat to the South, while East Tennessee Unionists abandoned home and fled to join the Federal army.

377. The State Government.-We have, heretofore, followed the State government to the close of the Thirty-third General Assembly. The first session of the Thirty-fourth General Assembly convened at the Capitol October 7, 1861, and adjourned from December 21 to January 20, 1862.

February 15, 1862, in consequence of the fall of Fort Donelson, the Legislature adjourned to Memphis, where it met February 20th. After passing acts to authorize the State Banks to remove their locations, in case of invasion, and other acts to enable the governor to provide for emergencies, the Legislature adjourned sine die, March 20th. The regular elections had been held, August 1, 1861, previous to the evacuation of the State. Isham G. Harris was reëlected governor, with a Legislature strongly Confederate in sympathy. Representatives were also elected to the Provisional Confederate Congress. Landon C. Haynes and Gustavus A. Henry were elected Senators to the Confed

Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. II, Chapter V.