jessgettysburg1863
2nd Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2012
Submitted by tonyp on Mon, 02/06/2012 - 09:23.
Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman faced an impossible task in February 1862. In charge of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, he had the vital responsibility of preventing Union forces from coming up the river and penetrating Tennessee and Alabama. Inside the fort he had 17 pieces of artillery, some of large caliber, and about 3,400 soldiers camped outside. Coming against him was General Grant’s 15,000-man army and Flag Officer Foote’s flotilla of seven gunboats, four of them ironclads. General Tilghman had an even stronger foe opposing him, however, against which he had no defense: torrential rains swelled the Tennessee River, and the floodwaters were submerging his fort.
See link for the full article.
http://www.newsinhistory.com/blog/ironclads-blast-flooded-defenders-battle-fort-henry
Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman faced an impossible task in February 1862. In charge of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, he had the vital responsibility of preventing Union forces from coming up the river and penetrating Tennessee and Alabama. Inside the fort he had 17 pieces of artillery, some of large caliber, and about 3,400 soldiers camped outside. Coming against him was General Grant’s 15,000-man army and Flag Officer Foote’s flotilla of seven gunboats, four of them ironclads. General Tilghman had an even stronger foe opposing him, however, against which he had no defense: torrential rains swelled the Tennessee River, and the floodwaters were submerging his fort.
See link for the full article.
http://www.newsinhistory.com/blog/ironclads-blast-flooded-defenders-battle-fort-henry