Fort Donelson National Battlefield (U.S. National Park Service)

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February, 2012, Commemoration Events

Our schedule for the February, 2012, commemoration of the Battle of Fort Donelson can be found on the schedule of events; link is to the left. Please note schedule for February 11.

"No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted..."

Bells rang jubilantly throughout the North as the news spread...that Fort Donelson, a Confederate holding along the Cumberland River near Dover, Tennessee, had fallen into Union hands. It was February, 1862, and the North had witnessed its first major victory since the Civil War had begun nearly a year before.

The Battle of Fort Donelson

February 14th, 1862 dawned cold and quiet. Early in the afternoon Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote’s Union gunboats arrived at Fort Donelson and began exchanging “iron valentines” with the Confederate heavy artillery. The gunboats suffered such damage that the decks became slippery with blood. The artillery bombardment from the Cumberland River bluff crippled the ironclads forcing them to retreat. Union Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant was denied the quick victory he wanted and expected.

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Exchanging Iron Valentines February 14, 1862

America Marks an Important Anniversary

The Nation and the National Park Service are preparing to mark an important milestone. To learn more about the causes and effects of the American Civil War, and to learn how the Sesquicentennial is being commemorated across the country, visit www.nps.gov/civilwar150

Fort Donelson National Battlefield will be commemorating the 150th anniversary of the campaign throughout 2012 with a variety of encampments, living history programs, films, author visits, and more. Events will be posted on our schedule of events, which you can find here. Perhaps you would be interested in our Sesquicentennial newsletter, which you can download here. (Please note that some changes have been made since the newsletter was printed; please consult the website schedule for the latest.) A snapshot of our February events can be found here.

You can also visit www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/ for more information on how Tennessee will be commemorating the Civil War.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky will also be commemorating the Civil War. Their events can be found here.

Follow the "Civil War Reporter" here! Beglan O'Brien, a fictional Civil War reporter, will keep you updated with what was happening 150 years ago!

You can follow us on Facebook!

Click here to read a new NPS publication on the unique role of Hispanics during the American Civil War. The publication highlights their often forgotten contributions.

National Cemetery

Fort Donelson National Cemetery

In 1863, the Union Army abandoned the Confederate works and constructed a new fortification on the ground that became the cemetery site. A freedmen's community developed around the new Union fort. Four years later, this same site was selected and 670 Union soldiers were reinterred here.

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For Teachers

Fort Donelson National Battlefield offers curriculum-based classroom materials, including lesson plans, traveling trunks, audiovisual programs, On-site Interpretive programs, Junior Ranger Programs, and Teacher Workshops.

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Write to

Fort Donelson National Battlefield
P.O. Box 434
Dover, Tennessee 37058

E-mail Us

Phone

Fort Donelson Visitor Center (Visitor information and questions)
(931) 232-5706

Field Trip Reservations
(931) 232-5706 ext. 104

Fax

(931) 232-4085

Climate

Summers are hot and humid with an average high of 86 degrees. When outdoors in the woods, protect yourself against ticks. Winter temperatures are variable, averaging a low of 33 degrees, but may drop well below freezing with occasional snow/ice.

Please note that requests for mailed information may take up to 2 weeks to be received.

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