After the Union victories in Kentucky at Mill Springs and Middle Creek, Confederate forces in Tennessee began bracing for a Union offensive.  Two key avenues of invasion into Tennessee were the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, which with their river flotilla of gunboats the Union was well positioned to take advantage.  Two forts were constructed to protect the river from Union forces; Forts Henry and Donelson along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, respectively.  The namesake of Fort Henry was a prominent Tennessee lawyer named Gustavus Adolphus Henry.  While not in the military, Henry was a strong proponent of bolstering Confederate defenses in the heartland as we’ll see in today’s post.

Gustavus Henry was born in Kentucky in 1808.  He was the grandson of Patrick Henry the famous Virginian who told the British to “Give me liberty, or give me death” on the eve of the American Revolution.  Henry had a privileged upbringing and was well educated.  He eventually became a lawyer and set up a practice in Tennessee where he gained influence through his involvement in politics.  A failed bid for governor of Tennessee was made by Henry in 1853 when he ran against future President Andrew Johnson as a Whig, however he did have politics in his future.

When the Civil War broke out Henry fell firmly on the pro-Confederate side.  His home in Tennessee was in Clarksville which was close to the Kentucky border, and in January of 1862 was in the sights of advancing Union armies.  Henry helped facilitate the Confederate Army’s attempts to fortify the region, not afraid to meddle with the military.

In the above letter to Confederate General William J. Hardee, Henry makes his case for impressing Confederate soldiers into the construction of the forts.  Construction up to this point had been done by Confederate soldiers and slaves and had progressed, however not to the extent that Henry wished.  Not only were Forts Henry and Donelson not given a high priority, but the location of Fort Henry, our topic’s namesake, was in a poorly chosen spot.  Under ideal conditions it was a formidable position however, as we’ll see next month, when river levels rose the installation resembled a swamp much more than a fort.  Perhaps Confederate authorities would have been wise to listen more to Henry, as both forts would fall to Union forces less than a month after his letter to Hardee was sent.

Above: A map of West Tennessee with Fort Henry highlighted in yellow.  Fort Donelson is to the right of Henry along the Cumberland River.

Henry would go on to serve as a Confederate Senator from Tennessee from 1862 – 1865.  A classmate of Henry’s while growing up was Jefferson Davis, which put him in a good position to be influential in the government in addition to the oratory skills he inherited from his grandfather.  After the Civil War he returned to his pre-war activities until his death in 1880.  Henry is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville, Tennessee.