New and Noteworthy---The Battles of Forts Henry and Donelson

The Battle of Fort Donelson: No Terms But Unconditional Surrender, James R. Knight, The History Press, 158 pp, 51 photographs, 8 maps, index, notes, appendices, 2011, $19.99.

Though the title features Fort Donelson, Knight's work offers so much more. The rise of the Union's brown water navy, the Confederate's of dilemma protecting the Trans-Appalachian region that is bisected by three rivers, and the strategic decisions led to lasting failures and successes are covered in The Battle of Fort Donelson: No Terms But Unconditional Surrender. Professional competencies, geographic terrain, and regional politics are reviewed and set with the context of early 1862 during the Civil War. Succinctly, Knight covers the pasts, 1861-1862 war activities and post events in a host of decision makers. The stories of 14 military leaders who won and lost at Fort Donelson enliven the story of the campaign.

The Battle of Fort Henry, fought on February 6, 1862 on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, was the first major victory for the Union and Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater. Hand in hand with the new brown water navy, On February 4 and February 5, Grant landed two divisions just north of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. While it was being simultaneously attacked by USN timberclad and ironclad gunboats commanded by Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote, Grant's troops began their assault on the fort. Due to Kentucky's neutrality, the fort was poorly situated across the border in Tennessee. Naval gunfire and rising river waters, caused Fort Henry's commander, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, to surrender to Foote before the infantry arrived. Knight recounts how the surrender of Fort Henry opened for Federal ships the Tennessee River to past the Alabama border. From February 6 through February 12, raiding timberclad vessels destroyed Confederate shipping and railroad bridges as Grant's army marched overland 12 miles to Fort Donelson.

The battle at Fort Donelson was haltingly fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862. On February 14, USN timberclad and ironclad gunboats attempted to reduce the fort with naval gunfire, but sustained significant damage from Donelson's water batteries. On February 15, with their fort nearly surrounded by the Union army on the west and the Cumberland River on the east, the Confederates launched a dawn attack against Grant's army. The attempt was to open an avenue of escape. Due the indecisiveness of the Rebel generals and Grant's decisiveness in rallying his army and forging a counterattack, the escape route that was open for several hours, became closed. On the morning of February 16, two Confederate generals past the situation to a third who agreed to unconditional surrender terms from Grant.

Knight sets the campaign well within the contingencies of the situation. Personalities play as large a part in the campaign as do the strategic, tactical, geographic and weather constraints. Within 135 pages, Knight offers an insightful description of a campaign that in many ways set the tone of the Union's victory in the war. Marshaling resources, building leadership, devising amphibious operations, and overcoming its own deficits the Union won the war. Well paced, exciting and even at times suspenseful The Battle of Fort Donelson: No Terms But Unconditional Surrender is a fine addition to The History Press' fine Civil War Sesquecentennial Series.

Noteworthy---A Deep and Steady Thunder in Georgia

A Deep and Steady Thunder: The Battle of Chickamaugua, Steven E. Woodworth, McWhiney Foundation Press,134 pp., order of battle, bibliography, index, 1996 and 2006,$11.95.

Steven Woodworth does a fine job of explaining one of the Civil War's most tactically complex battles. The Battle of Chickamauga, which was fought September 18-20 1863 fought, northern Georgia's dark forests with few farm clearings, includes a multitude of intentional and unintentional flanking attacks ordered by confused commanders with limited tactical control. It was a battle fought largely by brigades, regimental and company commanders. Chickamauga, though as important as Gettysburg, has not generated the wealth of campaign and battle studies. Glenn Tucker's Chickamauga, published during the Civil War centennial and Peter Cozzen's 1992 This Terrible Sound are the only two notable campaign and battle studies.

Woodworth has nicely crafted a concise, clear narrative for readers who are approaching the battle for the first or second time. Containing 21 short biographical descriptions and 13 maps, A Deep Steady Thunder moves from general staff to regimental levels in a quick fashion. Woodworth is direct in his criticism of Confederate commanders resistance to Bragg's sound and appropriate plans and Rosercans exhaustion induced confusion that is reminiscent of Jackson's Seven Days on the Peninsula in 1862. Woodworth's description of Longstreet as being arrogant, self-promoting and envious of Bragg's position seems to be a bit over the top. Another book from the McWhiney Press offers a heavy handed demolition of Longstreet during the Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Knoxville campaigns of 1863.

The strength of Woodworth's effort is his handling of the command decisions which limited the Confederate's successes and brought about the Federals defeat. As divisions, brigades and regiments move back and forth through the wilderness and cornfields confusion sometimes reigns. Fortunately, Woodworth has sorted through a multitude of assaults, retreats, and counter-attacks to provide a clear and even suspenseful accounting of plans gone awry. Rosecran's movement of brigades that led to gaps in the Federal line on the 20th are clearly described. The important arrivals of Longstreet's Confederate corps and Granger's Federal reserve division are nicely described and their importance to the outcome of the battle is well developed by Woodworth.

Within the limits of 100 pages, Woodworth offers tight and thorough introduction to the Battle of Chickamauga; for those who are visiting for the first time the battlefield it is a fine place to start. For the armchair reader who is unfamiliar with the 'Gettysburg of the West' A Deep Steady Thunder offers good introduction.