Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to episode 91 of our Civil War podcast. I'm Rich.

I'm Tracy. Hello y'all. Welcome to the podcast. Last week we looked at the Battle of Fort Henry,

which took place on February 6th, 1862. The day after Fort Henry fell, a journalist from the New

York Tribune, Albert Richardson, went to see Ulysses S. Grant. Richardson had been summoned back to New

York and before he departed, he wanted to say goodbye to Grant. But Grant told Richardson, you had

a better way to day or two. When the reporter asked why, Grant replied, I'm going to attack Fort

Donaldson tomorrow. Richardson was surprised by Grant's statement. By all accounts, Fort Donaldson,

12 miles away on the Comberland River, was a stronger position than Fort Henry. And except for a

handful of gunners, all of Henry's garrison had retreated there. And surely the Confederates were

rushing reinforcements to the spot. So when Grant declared he intended to immediately attack Fort

Donaldson, Richardson asked, do you know how strong it is? Not exactly, Grant answered, but I think

we can take it. At all events, we can try. Grant's answer revealed quite a lot about his way of looking

at things. As Albert Richardson later noted, whether it was something to be done, Grant tended to go

right ahead and do it. Grant wanted to maintain the initiative and move against Fort Donaldson as

soon as possible. Although the capture for it, Henry was his significant victory. Grant knew that

his newly one position there along the Tennessee River left him dangerously exposed, and that he

could not expect to hold his prize for long if he did not march across the narrow neck of land

between the rivers and also take Fort Donaldson. Back in St. Louis, Henry Hallock also understood the

threat. Hallock feared the Confederates might concentrate rapidly at Fort Donaldson and then move

to attack Grant. Hallock disliked Grant, considering him unfit to command an army in the field,

but any disaster that we fell Grant now would reflect poorly on Hallock and would be a setback to

his political maneuvering for overall command in the War's Western Theater. So although he disliked

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