This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, fighting actions in the Black Hawk War, the Texas War of Independence, the Mexican–American War, the Utah War, and the American Civil War.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War.
Lauderdale County is a county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Tennessee, with its border the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,815. Its county seat is Ripley. Since the antebellum years, it has been developed for cotton as a major commodity crop.
Fort Donelson was a fortress built by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River leading to the heart of Tennessee, and the heart of the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Daniel S. Donelson.
Simon Bolivar Buckner was an American soldier and politician who fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later served as the 30th Governor of Kentucky.
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important avenue for the invasion of the South. The Union's success also elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant from an obscure and largely unproven leader to the rank of major general, and earned him the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.
Gideon Johnson Pillow was an American lawyer, politician, speculator, slaveowner, United States Army major general of volunteers during the Mexican–American War and Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War.
John Buchanan Floyd was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the American Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson.
Bushrod Rust Johnson was a Confederate general in the American Civil War and an officer in the United States Army. As a university professor he had been active in the state militias of Kentucky and Tennessee and on the outbreak of hostilities he sided with the South, despite having been born in the North. As a divisional commander he managed to evade capture at the Battle of Fort Donelson, but was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh. He served under Robert E. Lee throughout the 10-month Siege of Petersburg, and surrendered with him at Appomattox.
USS Baron DeKalb (1861) was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War.
The CSS General Earl Van Dorn, a side-wheel river steamer, was fitted out in early 1862 at New Orleans, Louisiana as a River Defense Fleet "cottonclad" ram.
To a large extent, the American Civil War was fought in cities and farms of Tennessee, as only Virginia saw more battles. However, Tennessee is the only state to have major battles or skirmishes fought in every single county. Tennessee was the last of the Southern states to declare secession from the Union as a substantial portion of the population were against secession, but saw more than its share of the devastation resulting from years of warring armies criss-crossing the state. Its rivers were key arteries to the Deep South, and, from the early days of the war, Union efforts focused on securing control of those transportation routes, as well as major roads and mountain passes such as the Cumberland Gap. Tennessee was also considered "the Bread Basket" of the Confederacy, for its rich farmland that fed both armies during the war.
The 1st Regiment Alabama Siege Artillery was an artillery regiment recruited from African-Americans that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was renamed the 6th US Colored Heavy Artillery. Under the leadership of Major Lionel Booth, the regiment fought at the Battle of Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864. The regiment then became the 7th US Colored Heavy Artillery, and later the 11th United States Colored Infantry.
Golddust is a rural unincorporated community in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. It is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Golddust is one of the earliest European-American settlements in Lauderdale County.
USS Sumter was a 525-ton sidewheel paddle steamer captured by the Union Navy during the Union blockade of the American Civil War.
The Memphis Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was also called 1st Tennessee Battery.
The following Confederate Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Fort Donelson of the American Civil War. Order of battle compiled from the army organization, and the reports. The Union order of battle is listed separately.
