January 26th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
Posted on: 01/26/2012
In yesterday's post we profiled Gustavus Adolphus Henry, an influential pro-Confederate Tennessean who 150 years ago was very concerned about Confederate defenses in his state. One important Confederate position was a fort which bore his name- Fort Henry. Positioned on the Tennessee River, Fort Henry was meant to stop Union gunboats from using the water as an avenue for invasion. Sketch artist Alfred Waud was in the vicinity of Fort Henry in the winter of 1862 and made sketches which can provide some insight as to why the fort did not fare very well when attacked that February.
In the above view Waud was on a boat traveling south along the Tennessee River. In the water to the right of the sketch is another boat, possibly a transport or gunboat. Fort Henry can be seen dead ahead in the sketch. It may be hard to pick out, and that fact may be evidence as to why the fort wasn't able to hold. Most images of forts we've featured so far on Great Task are on hilltops high above the surrounding terrain. In the sketch we see that the Union ships had a long stretch on the river where they would have to steam down facing Fort Henry while within range of its guns- certainly favorable to the Confederates. Its low position, however, meant that when winter rains caused the river to flood the walls of the fort meant to keep out Union shells would be no match for the water.
This next sketch was probably made a few minutes after the first one we discussed, as the boat Waud was on reached the fort. This sketch doesn't offer the detail that much of Waud's other work includes, but it's plain to see that the fort was not located on an imposing position. This is a good example of some of the poor decisions Confederate authorities made in the Western Theater. Choosing not to defend certain areas, and choosing poor positions at the places they did defend resulted in a rapid loss of vital territory in 1862. Certainly with hindsight and a full understanding that the Confederacy was hard pressed to muster the resources needed to fully defend its interior one cannot be too hard on the Confederate leadership, but it is indeed an ongoing theme we'll see as we commemorate the events of 150 years ago.
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