rs
engaged it was one of the most sanguinary conflicts of the war.
The quarter-master of the expedition intimated to General Grant
that in case of a reverse he had but two small steamers for transportation
to the Illinois shore. The General's only reply was that in the
event of his defeat "the steamers would hold all that would be
left." He was now in command at Cairo, and co-operating with him
was a flotilla of hastily constructed gunboats under the command
of Flag-officer A. H. Foote of the navy. General Grant evidently
interpreted Mr. Lincoln's order to mean that he need not wait until
the 22d, and he began his movement of the first day of February.
By the 16th he had captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. The
flotilla had been more active than the troops, against Fort Henry,
which was speedily evacuated, but Fort Donelson did not surrender
until after a hard-fought land battle in which the characteristic
tenacity, skill, and bravery of General Grant were for the first
time fully shown to the country. "The victory achieved," he
announced in his congratulatory order to the troops, "is not only
great in the effect it will have in breaking down the rebellion,
but has secured the greatest number of prisoners of war ever taken
in a single battle on this continent." The number of prisoners
exceeded ten thousand; forty pieces of cannon and extensive magazines
of ordnance with military stores of all kinds were captured. The
Confederate commander was General S. B. Buckner, who had joined
the rebellion under circumstances which gained him much ill will
in the Loyal States. Under a flag of truce he asked General Grant
on the morning of the 16th for an armistice to "settle the terms
of capitulation." General Grant's answer was, "No terms except
unconditional surrender can be accepted. I propose to move
immediately on your works." General Buckner felt himself "compelled
to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms" which General
Grant proposed. It is due to General Buckner to say that he had
been left in a humiliating position. The two generals who ranked
him, Gideon J. Pillow and John B. Floyd, seeing the inevitable,
had escaped from the fort the preceding night with five thousand
men, leaving to Buckner the mortification of surrender. In view
of this fact the use of the term "unchivalrous" by the Confederate
commander can be justly appreciated.

VICTORY AT FOR