Fort Henry Guns

"Dutch Gap Canal, James River, Virginia. A 10-inch Columbiad gun on the James River above Dutch Gap Canal." 1 negative : glass, stereograph, wet collodion ; 4 x 10 in.1865 Apr. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003006042/PP/ (Accessed 10/23/2013)

Fort Henry Guns

Fort Henry had two big guns, the 10 in Columbiad (depicted above) and a 24 inch Rifled Gun, and 32 pounder smooth bores. The 32 pounders were from naval ships and were mounted in forts all over the Confederacy. Unfortunately most of them were under water when the Union Navy showed up to fire at close range on the fortress. A 24 pounder rifled gun is depicted in the picture below as the gun with the crew and the gun in the foreground is a 32 pounder.

The US Ironclad Gunboat the Essex

"Destruction of the rebel ram "Arkansas": By the United State gunboat "Essex," on the Mississippi River, near Baton Rouge, August 4th 1862." 1 print : lithograph, hand colored. New York: Currier & Ives, [1862?] Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/91795896/ (Accessed 10/18/2013).

The US Ironclad Gunboat the Essex

Richard faced this ship in three different battles, at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and at Port Hudson where it was the only Ironclad gunboat in the lower Mississippi Fleet. The rest of those ships were oceangoing warships and some of them were in Commodore Perry's trip to Japan ( 1852-1854).

Gunboats that fired on Fort Henry

“[USS CINCINNATI] The gunboat that fired the first shot at Fort Henry.” 1 photomechanical print: halftone Halftone repro. of photo in Miller, Photographic History of the Civil War, 1911 edition, vol. 1, p. 185. 1911. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006691870/ (accessed 9/2/2013).

Gunboats that fired on Fort Henry

The Cincinnati (Ironclad) and the Lexington (Timber Clad) were at Fort Henry. The Pittsburg was part of the northern fleet.

The Upper Mississippi River Fleet

“The Mississippi River Fleet at Mound City, Illinois” 1 photographic print on card mount: albumen. Photographed between 1861 and 1865, printed between 1880 and 1889]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/2013647493/ (accessed 9/2/2013).

The Upper Mississippi River Fleet

These are the ships that started at Cairo Illinois and went up the Ohio River to Tennessee River to Fort Henry and then most of them went down to the Ohio River and then up the Cumberland River to Fort Donelson.

“Federal tranports in the Tennessee River” 1 photographic print : albumen. Hartford, Conn: Taylor & Huntington, No. 2 State St., [between 1861 and 1865] Part of series: The War for the Union. Photographic War History, 1861-1865. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012647172/ (accessed 9/2/2013).

Three years In the C.S. Army (P.A.C.S) A Diary of a Confederate Soldier by Jerry Pepper and Richard Lauren McClung
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00FR2MT7I

Bombardment of Fort Henry

Currier & Ives. “Bombardment and capture of Fort Henry, Tenn.: By the federal gunboats under command of commodore Andrew H. Foote-Feby. 6th 1862” lithograph, hand-colored. New York: Currier & Ives, [ca. 1862]. Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90711973/ (accessed 8/26/2013).

Bombardment of Fort Henry

Lithographs of the ships bombarding Fort Henry.

Interesting that the Lithograph shows multiple misses of the ships on the Tennessee River but the Garrison was only run by a handful of troops and General Tilghman while the rest of the troops were either across the river at Fort Heiman or on their way to Fort Donelson. So they could not have been able to put up much of a fight, most of their guns were underwater due to the flood.

Fort Henry and Fort Donelson at time of battle

Engr. Dept., July 18/64. Recd. with Gen. Cullum's letter of the 16th inst. (C.5621). “Original maps of Forts Henry & Donelson and vicinity.” Map. 1864. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. http://www.loc.gov/item/80691156 (accessed 8/26/2013).

Fort Henry and Fort Donelson at time of battle

North is at the bottom of the page.

Engr. Dept. July 18/64. Recd. with Gen. Cullum's letter of the 16th inst. (C. 5621). “Map of the environs of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, Feb. 1862.” Map. 1882? Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. http://www.loc.gov/item/2003630439 (accessed 8/26/2013).

Three years In the C.S. Army (P.A.C.S) A Diary of a Confederate Soldier by Jerry Pepper and Richard Lauren McClung

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00FR2MT7I

Maps of area between Fort Henry and Fort Donelson

All pictures in this article are from same source: United States War Department. “Atlas of the war of the Rebellion giving Union and Confederate armies by actual surveys by the Union and Confederate engineers, and approved by the officers in command, of all the maps herein published.” Plate XI. 1 Atlas ([3] Leaves, 40 Folded Plates, [14] Leaves) : Ill., Folded Col. Maps, Plans New York : Atlas Pub. Co., 1892. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division http://www.loc.gov/item/2009581111 (accessed August 31, 2013).

Maps of area between Fort Henry and Fort Donelson

The above map shows Fort Heiman and the movement of troops on both sides to Fort Donelson. It is interesting that they did not engage each other until they got to the Fort.

Battlefield Maps of Fort Henry

United States Army Corps of Engineers. "[Plan of Fort Henry and its outworks." Col. Map on Sheet 38 X 51 Cm. Shows Fort Henry, Tenn. (Confederate) as at 6 Feb. 1862. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington http://www.loc.gov/item/77696125 (Accessed 10/18/2013)

Battlefield Maps of Fort Henry

These maps show the position of Fort Heiman opposite Fort Henry. This is particularly scene in the General Grant map below where you see fort Henry in the red in the center, Richards positions is to the lower left across the river from the artillery positions. Richard could observe the ironclad navy bombard Fort Henry. When he slipped across the Tennessee River his troops would move past the triangle shaped lake to Fort Donelson from the Southwest. Grants men landed towards the top of this map on the West side of the Tennessee River and headed towards Fort Donelson from the northwest.

Flooding of the Tennessee Valley leads to battle

Waud, Alfred R. (Alfred Rudolph), 1828-1891, artist. "Position of ft. Henry on Tennessee River." 1 drawing on light green paper : pencil ; 8.9 x 12.8 cm. (sheet). Formerly Waud no. B-27. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Morgan collection of Civil War drawings. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004660528/ (Accessed 10/17/2013)

Flooding of the Tennessee Valley leads to battle

The Tennessee River flooded, and as the water rose, Fort Henry became partially submerged, including about half of its cannons. You could land troops directly into the fort by water. This gave the North a wonderful opportunity to take not only Fort Henry but Fort Donelson which was just a few miles to the East Northeast on the Cumberland River. If the North could take Fort Henry, they could attack Fort Donelson from the River with Ironclads and from the land and lay Siege to the garrison.