CHAPTER XIV.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier to the Victory at Fort Donelson, and points out the Nature and Extent of that splendid Achievement.
General Grant, having reassured his men on the right, dashed off to the left again, where Smith and his fresh troops were preparing for the assault. On their way he and his staff gladdened the hearts of the soldiers by declaring that the attempt of the rebels in the morning was not an ordinary sally; that they were becoming desperate, and desired only to cut their way through the line to a place of safety. At this stage of the battle, when a portion of the army was discouraged and disheartened, this was certainly a bold assumption, but it had an inspiring effect upon the men; they re-formed their lines, and moved towards the front.
In the midst of these preparations Grant sent a request to Commodore Foote to have all his gunboats appear before the enemy, declaring that a terrible conflict during his absence had demoralized a portion of his command. He added that, if the gunboats did not appear, the fact would encourage the enemy, and still further dishearten his own troops, and that he was obliged to order a charge "to save appearances." The naval commander complied with the request so far as he was able, and sent two of his squadrons up the river, where they demonstrated a little at long range.
McClernand and Wallace were directed to renew the attack on the right as soon as Smith charged upon the left. The latter, who had been accused of secession tendencies during his temporary unpopularity at Paducah, had now an opportunity to set himself right before the country, and to overwhelm his defamers. He formed his line, and made one of the most impetuous and gallant charges recorded during the war. In front of him the rebel right had been reduced in force to mass the troops for the assault in the morning, and before the equilibrium could be restored, Smith forced the enemy's line, and, in the face of a galling and destructive fire, made his way up the hill, over the intrenchments, gaining full possession of the key to the fort.
On the right the troops of McClernand and Wallace, in spite of what they had suffered in the morning, behaved handsomely, and drove the rebels from the ground in front of them, regaining the guns which they had lost in the morning. But the greatest advantage derived from their heroic conduct was in keeping the enemy engaged, and thus preventing them from reënforcing their right, where Smith was working out the real solution of the problem of capturing the fort.
Night closed upon the hard-fought battle-field before the day was won; but the advantage was clearly and decidedly with the national troops. Smith still held the position he had won, and another half hour of daylight would have enabled him to carry the entire works. Again the suffering soldiers bivouacked on the frozen ground, which they had so gallantly won from the enemy, spending the night in sleepless anxiety, for the desperate fortunes of the foe tempted him to reckless expedients. But the light of a brilliant victory was beginning to dawn upon them, and hope rendered the hours less heavy, the cold and weariness more endurable. Grant, who had watched and waited through the long hours of the preceding night, without a moment of rest, and who, by night and by day, had been straining every nerve for a fortnight, slept a few hours in a negro cabin on the field, but ready at any instant to answer the summons to battle.
Within the rebel camp the results of the day's operations had carried dismay and despair. Floyd, who was the chief in command, called together his officers for consultation. It was agreed that the situation was hopeless, and that escape or surrender was the only alternative. They discussed the feasibility of cutting their way out of the fort; but, as such a reckless movement would involve the loss of three fourths of the command, the more humane and prudent of this remarkable conclave decided that it should not be undertaken. The other alternative was surrender; but Floyd, who had stolen the public property while holding his position of trust under the United States government, and dreaded a halter if captured, declined in his own person to be given up. He declared his intention to escape with the Virginia troops he had brought with him, and he turned over the command to Pillow, the next in rank. This gentleman decided to imitate the example of Floyd, and passed it along to Buckner. They had solved the problem to their own satisfaction, the two highest in command deserting their troops, and escaping by a steamer up the river. Nothing better could have been expected of Floyd, or even of Pillow, and both of them were consistent with their treacherous natures. Buckner was a gentleman and a soldier. After bravely defending his position to the best of his ability, he was obliged to surrender, and he performed the disagreeable duty like a man.
Buckner immediately sent a messenger to Grant, asking for terms of surrender; but, while the negotiation was in progress, he permitted Floyd and Pillow to sneak off with about three thousand of the troops, amid the execrations of those who remained. Grant was ready to renew the conflict when the white flag was raised on the battlements of the fort. Buckner proposed an armistice till noon, which seemed to suggest a very complicated arrangement of details in regard to terms. In reply, Grant wrote a very brief note, acknowledging the receipt of the rebel general's communication, and adding, "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."
If General Buckner had never been formally introduced to General Grant, this little note would have been a full-length photograph of the man. The unfortunate rebel replied, accepting the terms, though not without taking occasion to protest against them as ungenerous and unchivalrous, and to remind the conqueror of "the brilliant success of the Confederate arms yesterday." Grant, with a generous regard for the feelings of Buckner, hastened to the headquarters of the latter, at Dover. The two generals had been companions at West Point and in the old army, and Grant displayed a tenderness for the sensitive nature of the defeated soldier which is highly creditable to him. He assured him he did not wish to subject him to any unnecessary mortification, but while all public property must be yielded up, the officers would be permitted to retain their side arms and their personal property.
They breakfasted together and talked over the affair, thus happily ended for one, thus disastrously ended for the other. During the interview which followed, Buckner alluded to the inferior force of his adversary at the commencement of the siege.
"If I had been in command, you wouldn't have reached Fort Donelson so easily," said he, with a natural desire to explain the cause of his misfortune.
"If you had been in command, I should have waited for reënforcements, and marched from Fort Henry in greater strength; for I knew that Pillow would not come out of his works to fight, and I told my staff so, though I believed he would fight behind his works."
Grant knew not only the men upon his own side, but those on the other. He weighed and measured both Floyd and Pillow, and made his calculations accordingly. He did nothing in the dark, bold and daring as his movements were. He read human character with almost infallible accuracy, and it appears that his splendid victory at Donelson was gained as much by his knowledge of the men whom he had to fight, as by his sudden and wonderful seizing of an advantage. He knew nothing of the obstinate battle which had been fought while he was on board of the gunboat, until he was informed of the fact after he came on shore. On the instant he ordered Smith to prepare for an assault. He saw the weak point of the enemy, as well as the disordered state of his own right. Here was his stroke of genius. In that he conquered, for the assault he ordered on the moment gave Smith the key to the fortress.
In this tremendous battle he exhibited the highest qualities of a man and a soldier, and showed that he was equal to any position to which he might be assigned. When the news of the fall of Fort Donelson reached Washington, Secretary Stanton immediately recommended Grant's promotion to the rank of major-general of volunteers. President Lincoln nominated him to the Senate on the same day, and he was instantly confirmed. The secretary of war seized eagerly upon the brilliant qualities of the man who had worked out this victory, and held him up to the admiration of the country, as he deserved to be held up, adding that "the true organization of victory, and military combination to end this war, were declared in a few words by General Grant's message to General Buckner: 'I propose to move immediately on your works'" And the noble secretary clung to the successful general during the rest of the war.
Sixty-five guns and fifteen thousand prisoners were the spoils of war to the victor at Fort Donelson—a whole army of captives, such as the North had not known before. On the last day of the fight, Grant had twenty-seven thousand men, and the rebels had above twenty-one thousand, so that the disparity in numbers between the combatants was by no means so great as that in position, which favored the rebels.
As the steamers with the rebel prisoners were about to start for the Ohio River, Buckner, who was very proud of his soldiers, asked Grant to go and see his own brigade. The victorious general accepted the invitation, and the prisoners crowded around him, respectfully but curiously anxious to see their captor. Buckner informed them that Grant had treated them very handsomely, and begged them, if ever the fortunes of war reversed the circumstances, to treat him, or any of his troops, as kindly and magnanimously as he had used them. Grant has a large heart, which I have several times before indicated in mentioning his relations with his friends and benefactors. It is demonstrated even more forcibly in his generous conduct to his enemies, or, rather, the enemies of the loyal cause; for until envy and jealousy developed them, it does not appear that he had any others.
The country rang with Grant's praise. A new light had loomed up in the firmament of the war, and people hailed the glorious star. His initials now meant "Unconditional Surrender"—the only terms which he could offer to men in arms against their own country. The victory at Donelson was the most important and the most suggestive one which had yet gladdened the loyal heart. It was regarded as the beginning of a new order of things; and well do I remember the confident prediction of one who weighed Grant well, that he would yet be President of the United States.
General Halleck appears to have been a stumbling-block in the path of both Grant and Sherman. There was a dirty vein in his nature, which contrasts strongly with the generosity and magnanimity of the hero of Fort Donelson. While McCullum, Halleck's chief of staff, congratulated him upon the splendid result of his "brilliant leadership," and others high in command followed his example, Halleck himself sent no letter of commendation to the conqueror, but telegraphed to Washington that "Smith, by his coolness and bravery, when the battle was against us, turned the tide and carried the enemy's outworks. Make him a major-general. You can't get a better one. Honor him for this victory, and the whole country will applaud." Thus said Halleck.
Buckner congratulated Smith on his gallant charge, after the surrender. "Yes, it was well done," he replied, "considering the smallness of the force that did it. No congratulations are due to me. I simply obeyed orders." Thus said Smith himself, with the ring of honor which swells the heart of a true soldier. The government practically decided that the victory belonged to General Ulysses S. Grant. He was promptly confirmed as a major-general, and "the whole country applauded."
While the people rapturously shouted forth their joy at the signal success of our arms at Forts Henry and Donelson, they hardly comprehended the magnificent results of these victories. The strong positions of the rebels at Bowling Green and Columbus were flanked, and the enemy were compelled to evacuate them. The Gibraltar of the West, strengthened with so much labor and expense, could no longer be held, and its garrison was transferred to Island No. 10, down the river, leaving the Mississippi open to the northern line of Arkansas. The Tennessee and Cumberland rivers were also open, and the dreaded gunboats penetrated to the interior of the Confederacy. Nashville fell, and was speedily occupied by the national troops, while the rebel armies and the rebel legislature fled to safer localities.
At this period in Grant's eventful history, while he was beating down the rebel stronghold, General William T. Sherman stepped prominently upon the stage. He had rendered efficient service to Grant, as a subordinate of Halleck, in urging forward reënforcements, and after the victory warmly congratulated him. Grant replied in a feeling letter, in which he made use of this sentence, so characteristic of the man's motives: "I care nothing for promotion so long as our arms are successful, and no political appointments are made." They had been together one year at West Point, Sherman being graduated three years earlier than Grant; but in their mutual sympathy, appreciation, and kindness at this trying period of the war, really commenced the friendship of these two remarkable men. Before any brilliant lustre had been shed upon the name of either, they were united by a bond which no circumstances could weaken, and by an association so intimate and tender as to become the solace of each in the hour of adversity. It was certainly a poetical friendship, faithful and genuine, by which the nation, as well as the individuals themselves, have been benefited.