Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
February 12, 1862 - At Roanoke Island, General Ambrose E. Burnside moves to expand his occupation and expands his perimeter all the way to Edenton, North Carolina.
February 12, 1862 - General Grant moves 15,000 Union troops ten miles from Fort Henry on the Cumberland River to Fort Donelson on the Tennessee. Fort Donelson is now defended by over 23,000 Confederates of General John B. Floyd's command. A siege operation is established with Union Generals John A. McClernand and Charles F. Smith supported by the USS Carondelet gunboat.
February 13, 1862 - General McClernand disobeys instructions to force no general confrontation at Fort Donelson and probes deeply into the Confederate defensive line. He is repulsed with losses when his troops storm a battery at the center of the Southern line.
February 13, 1862 - As Union forces approach Bowling Green, Kentucky, General William J. Hardee evacuates his Southern forces.
February 14, 1862 - President Lincoln announces a policy of general amnesty and pardons all political prisoners who consent to a loyalty oath.
February 14, 1862 - Bowling Green, Kentucky is occupied by Union troops commanded by General Ormsby M. Mitchel.
February 14, 1862 - Defenders of Fort Donelson conclude their position is hopeless. Generals John B. Floyd and Gideon Pillow plan to attempt a break to safety through Union lines for the next day. At 3:00 PM, Commodore Foote opens fire on the fort from 400 yards but the Confederate defenders return fire from an elevated bluff. Three of the four ironclads in Foote's gunboat squadron are damaged and Foote himself is severely wounded.
February 14, 1862 - The ironclad USS Galena is launched at Mystic, Connecticut but is still experimental.
February 15, 1862 - At daybreak, the Confederate defenders at Fort Donelson attack McClernand's division with great success. The captured Union troops attempt to surrender but Generals Pillow and Floyd refuse to take prisoners and flee by ferry to safety across the Tennessee River with about 5,000 Confederates. That night Federal reinforcements swell the troop force to over 27,000.
February 16, 1862 - Fort Donelson is surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. When Generals Pillow and Floyd fled, General Buckner, an old acquaintance of Grant, was left in charge of Fort Donelson. When he asked Grant for surrender terms, Grant replied, "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately on your works.' Grant is celebrated in the Northern Press as Unconditional Surrender Grant.
February 17, 1862 - U. S. Grant is promoted to major general of volunteers, U.S. Army.
February 17, 1862 - The U.S. Senate passes a resolution to create a Medal of Honor.
February 17, 1862 - Two Confederate Regiments advancing toward Fort Donelson are captured by Federal forces.
February 17, 1862 - Commodore Foote's gunboat squadron moves toward Confederate-held Clarksville, Tennessee.
February 18, 1862 - The Confederate Congress convenes in Richmond. This is the first ever meeting of officials elected to represent the Southern States.
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