Fort Henry

Fort Henry is part of Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area. Located 12 miles west of Fort Donelson on the eastern bank of the Tennessee River, Fort Henry was a five-sided, open-bastioned earthen fort designed to guard against Union ship traffic. The fort was, however, vulnerable to infantry attacks and spring flooding, and easily fell to the powerful Union gunboat flotilla during the February 6, 1862, attack. Fort Henry's remains now lie beneath the waters of Kentucky Lake, created when the Tennessee River was dammed in the 1930s. The outer defenses, however, remain above water and are still visible. The Civil War Sites Advisory Commission has designated Fort Henry as one of the Civil War's principal battlefields., (captions) , Fort Heiman , Intended to help defend the vulnerable Fort Henry, this unfinished work was abandoned at the start of General Grant's February 1862 offensive and never fired a shot. Remnants of the fort can still be seen. The fort is now part of Fort Donelson National Battlefield., Fort Donelson , Site of the North's first major victory of the Civil War, the park preserves the remains of the fort itself, two river batteries, outer rifle pits, and the Dover Hotel where the fort's surrender was arranged.