A Detour to History

We were making good time through the hills of Tennessee. But I couldn't resist the urge to detour.

As a lifelong history geek, I've always wanted to see a Civil War battlefield, walk in a place where history actually happened. I hadn't had the chance until our recent road trip south. The only problem was, with many miles to drive and limited time, I had to pick my battle.

But I was motivated. With the war's sesquicentennial approaching, the great conflict is going to be front and center like no other time in my lifetime. I wanted my kids to see that our history isn't just books and yellowing photos. It's real. And after complaining about Iowa's core curriculum on history, I felt a duty to offer a parental supplement.

We could have stopped at Atlanta or Chickamauga or Lookout Mountain. All important sites. But I chose Fort Donelsonon the Cumberland River about 32 miles west of Clarksville, Tenn.

I picked it because Iowa soldiers played a pivotal role in an important battle. The capture of Fort Donelson from the rebels on Feb. 16, 1862, was really the North's first major victory. When word of the capture reached Union cities, church bells rang out.

It was also the battle that first cemented Gen. Ulysses S. Grant into the national consciousness. When the Confederate commander asked for terms to surrender the fort, Grant sent a famous reply, “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.” The rebels gave up, unconditionally.

Here's Grant's note and then the Confederate general's unhappy reply. War is hell, and yet, so polite:

General S. B. BUCKNER,Confederate Army.SIR: Yours of this date, proposing armistice and appointment of commissioners to settle terms of capitulation, is just received. No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,U.S. GRANT,Brigadier-General, Commanding....Brig. Gen. U.S. GRANT,U.S. A.SIR: The distribution of the forces under my command incident to an unexpected change of commanders and the overwhelming force under your command compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confederate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you propose.I am, sir, your very obedient servant,S. B. BUCKNER,Brigadier. General, C. S. Army.

Confederate Army.

SIR: Yours of this date, proposing armistice and appointment of commissioners to settle terms of capitulation, is just received. No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

U.S. GRANT,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

...

Brig. Gen. U.S. GRANT,

U.S. A.

SIR: The distribution of the forces under my command incident to an unexpected change of commanders and the overwhelming force under your command compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confederate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you propose.

I am, sir, your very obedient servant,

S. B. BUCKNER,

Brigadier. General, C. S. Army.

That surrender was expedited by the performance of Iowa troops led by Brig. Gen Charles Smith. On the afternoon of Feb. 15, Iowa and Indiana infantrymen mounted an assault on the fort's outer breastworks. “Steadily, with unbroken line, the gallant Hawkeyes and Indianians advanced,” Harper's Weekly recounted in March 1862.

Iowa's 2nd Infantry even made the cover. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Steadily, with unbroken line, the gallant Hawkeyes and Indianians advanced. The enemy's grape and canister came plowing through their ranks, but not a shot was fired in return. Closing up the ranks as one after another of the brave fellows dropped to the earth, and animated by the fearless example of their undaunted leader, they pressed steadily on. The works gained, one tremendous volley was poured into the astonished enemy, and, with fixed bayonets, a charge was made into their ranks which there was no withstanding. They fled in confusion over the hills, and at last we had penetrated the rebel Sebastopol, and the misfortunes of the morning were retrieved. Captain Stone's battery, which in the mean time had been doing tremendous execution in the rebel ranks, was promptly advanced to the position gained, and instantly, supported by the remainder of his division, the point was secured against any force the enemy could bring to bear against it.

Union Major Gen. Lew Wallace also wrote an account. An excerpt:

There the fire seemed to get terribly hot, and there some of the men halted, whereupon, seeing the hesitation, General Smith put his cap on the point of his sword, held it aloft, and called out, "No flinching now, my lads?-Here-this is the way! Come on!" He picked a path through the jagged limbs of the trees, holding his cap all the time in sight; and the effect was magical. The men swarmed in after him, and got through in the best order they could-not all of them, alas! On the other side of the obstruction they took the semblance of re-formation and charged in after their chief, who found himself then between the two fires. Up the ascent he rode; up they followed. At the last moment the keepers of the rifle-pits clambered out and fled. The four regiments engaged in the feat-the 25th Indiana, and the 2d, 7th, and 14th Iowa-planted their colors on the breastwork. Later in the day, Buckner came back with his division; but all his efforts to dislodge Smith were vain.

At least three Iowa color bearers fell before Corp. Voltaire P. Twombly, a 19-year-old kid from Van Buren County, picked up the flag. He also was hit by rebel fire, but Twombly was still able to advance and plant the colors on the captured defenses. His Medal of Honor hangs in the Fort Donelson National Military Park museum.

We hiked around the spot where Twombly and the Iowans broke through. Earthen mounds mark where those rebel defenders stood. The Confederate cannon batteries guarding the Cumberland also remain.

I did my best to help a 5- and 9-year-old understand what happened. I'm not sure it all sank in, but I had fun trying. My third-grade daughter Tess actually knew quite a bit about how slavery sparked the war. Ella, 5, was hoping for more excitement. She couldn't understand why no battle was going on now.

But hey, they got cool hats at the souvenir shop. One blue, one gray. Seems appropriate, as much as they skirmish.

And with a history geek for a dad, it won't be their last detour.