"Fort Donelson will hereafter be marked in Capitals on the maps of our United Country..."
Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant was becoming quite famous as he wrote these words following the surrender of Confederate Fort Donelson on Sunday, February 16, 1862. The Union victory at Fort Donelson elated the North and stunned the South. Within days of the surrender, Clarksville and Nashville would fall into Union hands. Grant and his troops had created a pathway to victory for the Union.
19 Nov 2025
As we always do, we started this unit at the Visitor Center. They only have a small temporary trailer right now (since 2005) due to remodeling of the Visitor Center. Those that think our government works fast should do a study on that fiasco. We picked up our normal things but did not do the movie, we will watch it online later. We headed out on a 11-stop loop. The loop is well done and follows the battle well. We did not know much about the battle here, but we now have a clear understanding about how important this victory was for the Union and how it marked the start of beginning of the end of the Civil War. Daisy got her new BARK Ranger tag after doing the required three pictures with us and showing the Ranger. We spent three hours here on this visit.
Click here for photos of our visit
Our 184th NPS Unit
