The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-06-16
CAPTURE OF FORT poNELsoN.
The Wan, of Harmony Loses . Great Confederate Opportunity.
M ouad in De,roi, Free Press !

hi the carrison of Fort Henry retreated
 .rf,re ;he surrender, was distant but Twelve miles across the country on the
 rnnbetland. The earthworks on the bluffs required garrison of at least Io,- o.,o men 10 fully man them, and were Ilaid out 10 cover strategic points. thus giving the fou an irregular shape. Below, rear the waters edge, the heavy guns were put in battery to command the river. and the infantry supports had the cover of earihworks at fair musket range.
 Had Foote brought score of gum boats 10 the attack they would have been beaten off. but when Foote waSeassisted by land attack. all the weak points of the fort were al once exposed.
 The defenders of Fort Donelson were a miscellaneous crowd. Floyd was there with his command. Buekner had a com mand and Forest had a command. While Floyd was Tn supreme command he neither had a reputation as iishier nor the entire confidence of the various com mands. There was not that harmony among the officers that should have been displayed. and |, seems tha, some of them. from the hour the investment be- came complete, were more occupied in planning 10 break through and get away iha. in perfecting details ior defense.
 The fort covered too much ground for the strength of any garrison likely to be in.rus,ed with lis defense One soldier in a fort should count for four attacking |. bg, the earthworks on the blufs were 50 strung out that one defender could count for no more than an asstllant. The force defending the fort IS not placed at above .ooo men by any confederate military report. and Forests cavalry were oi li;..e use as cavalry.
 ps:s,de oi Foote's fleet Grant had an investing force estimated al ,-.ooo or s. eco men. and by the 18th oi February he was in position. Whatever the sh tpc of the confederate line he confnF,ned ;o ;. and Ii the confcdcrstcs had the cover of ar eauhwork the federal was protected by loss aad trees .nd dilches and ravines
 The same plan was pursued as a, Fort Henry. Had Grant been less generous Foo.e would have had no fighting to do. \ feltcra! infantry force. by ., land invest men. or 5> breaking through 3; any point. could have won d victory and taken he rive. batteries n reverse. The con- fedcra,es would have been forced 10 sur render them without firing a shot. But Grant completed h!s investment and then waited ;o give Fooie A chance. The con iedeTates had not to exceed tfeen guns in the water batteries foo,e owed up with gun-boa,s carrying a total of more than six;y. and of superIor caliber a, that.
 On the afternoon of ;hc ii;h SIX gun boats moved out into the grea, bend Of he river and slowly advanced upon the ba:e:les. opening fire 4, long range and keeping II ID with d sieadines, that soon se, the earth trenholm, for m,les around If Foo,e could lay hts fleet broadside on al close range. thirty minutes time would either silence the batteries or send his gun boats ;o the bottom. BuI he could 10, reach the position. He advanced within 800 yards. and ,eese the coaf-d- crates nre became so accui ate and so hot that further advance was impossible There was not Il gun in the batteries equal 10 the ten-.nch guns on the fleet. and they were scarcely one-fourth in number. and ye, the fleet went out of the hgh, in crippled condition.
 In one hours time the Louisville after being struck over thirty times drif,cd out. of the n .h, with the pilo. having no con HV. VsCs AlFs al 4ttcf aS oQfACN and cracked and den,ed a way 10 prove ,ha, gun of hesvier metal would have lei dayligh, into her hold. The $. Louis was a, the mercy of the curren, as she Jeff the hght. the Pittsburgh 1as leaking. and the bes, gun on the Csron- dele, was useless The four iron-ciads, which advanced closes, ard took the bruai of the fight, were compelled to crit, out of it in less than two hours, all more or less damaged, and having in- nlcted no real injury on thc battery. The accuracy of the confederate fire Is shown by the rcpor, tha, the iron-clads were hit over thirty times each on an average and this while fighting in posiI.o ons offer ing the leas, target for a shot.
 As in the case a, For, Heng, the guns were manned mostly by men wao had neves been under fire before, bu, they were in sufficient numbers 10 work the guns 10 their best. No, man was killed Tn the battery. and only one wounded, and that by pebble hurled n lis direc- ton by the bursting of shell. Dozens ofthe federal missiles buried themselves in the bluffs above the batteries. and cosens more in the earsh~orks. but they were harmless. The men complained more os the annoyance of the showers of mud and dir; than of the pieces of shell and flying bullets One of the guns was s'r-ek on the muzzle but not disabled. and another. partly dismounted al the opening O. the light was repaired during the hottest of the fire.
 Hao Foo,e alone attacked he could not have pu, enough gun-0oa,s in the bend a yhx s@r tk~..exA se iron-oiads were tough, with the utmost gailan;ry and were steadily held under nre such as those craft had never before encountered Grant had given him a chance. and he had been beaten of. The federal infantry were now 10 move up and settle the fate of For Doneison.
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