inner lines.

It must not be forgotten, however, that the Union forces had saved
Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri from joining the Confederacy, despite
the strenuous efforts of their disunion governors and an aggressive
minority in each State. Washington, which more than once had been in
danger of capture, was made safe, and the loyal section of Virginia in
the West was cut off and formed into a separate State. In wealth and
resources the North vastly preponderated. An immense army had been
raised, money was abundant, commerce thriving, the sentiment
overwhelmingly in favor of the prosecution of the war, and the
manufactories hummed with work made necessary by the building of
hundreds of ships for the navy and the furnishing of supplies and
equipments to the armies.

[Illustration: THE ATTACK ON FORT DONELSON.

This memorable battle of February, 1862, was the first serious blow to
the Confederate cause. It was also Grant's first victory of importance,
and marks the beginning of his rise to fame. Fifteen thousand prisoners
were taken. Grant generously allowed the Confederates to retain their
personal baggage, and the officers to keep their side arms. General
Buckner expressed his thanks for this chivalrous act, and later in life
became Grant's personal friend.]

CHAPTER XVI.

ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN (CONTINUED), 1861-1865.

WAR FOR THE UNION (CONTINUED), 1862.

Capture of Forts Henry and Donelson--Change in the Confederate Line of
Defense--Capture of Island No. 10--Battle of Pittsburg Landing or
Shiloh--Capture of Corinth--Narrow Escape of Louisville--Battle of
Perryville--Battle of Murfreesboro' or Stone River--Battle of Pea
Ridge--Naval Battle Between the _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_--Fate of the
Two Vessels--Capture of New Orleans--The Advance Against
Richmond--McClellan's Peninsula Campaign--_The First Confederate
Invasion of the North_--_Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg_--_Disastrous
Union Repulse at Fredericksburg_--_Summary of the Wars Operations_--_The
Confederate Privateers_--_The Emancipation Proclamation_--_Greenbacks
and Bond Issues_.

CAPTURE OF FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON.

The fighting of the second year of the war opened early. General Albert
Sidney Johnston, one of the ablest leaders of the Confederacy, was in
chief command in the West. The Confederate line ran through southern
Kentucky, from Columbus to Mill Spring, through Bowling Green. Two
powerful forts had been built in Tennessee, ne