Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Daniel S. Donelson. The Union Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant, who later became president, captured the fort in February 1862 from the Confederate Army in the Battle of Fort Donelson. This was a great strategic victory for the Union forces, and part of Grant's campaign to gain control of the Mississippi River. Union forces occupied the fort (and much of Tennessee) for the remainder of the war. A small detachment of Confederate troops made one unsuccessful attempt in 1863 to regain it. History Bushrod Johnson of the Confederate Corps of Engineers had approved the build site and supervised construction completed in early 1862. The site commanded a bend on the west side of the Cumberland River, It was planned to support Fort Henry, which is located on a bend in the Tennessee River about 10 miles to the west. To the north flows Hickman River, a backwater channel that was impassable except by boat or bridge, and to the east a small tributary named Indian Creek enters the Cumberland. The fort, which was intended to house troops and protect the water batteries from sorties, had a few acres of log huts. Like Fort Henry, which fell to Union troops on February 6, Fort Donelson would not be able to defeat a large-scale assault, but officers wanted to be able hold the position as long as possible. Engineers began improving defensive positions by digging rifle pits along a ridgeline and breastworks were built in "a three-mile arc which inclosed the bluff on the north, and the county seat hamlet of Dover on the south, the main supply base." Cannons, including a 128-pounder and two 32-pounders, were placed atop the hundred-foot bluff within the arc. Construction was started by a large force of workers brought from the nearby Cumberland Iron Works. Confederate commanders Bushrod Johnson (Feb 9, 1862) Gideon J. Pillow (Feb 10–13, 1862) John B. Floyd (Feb 14–16, 1862) Simon B. Buckner, Sr. (Feb 16, 1862) Major Rice E. Graves, Jr., Artillery Commander Fort Donelson was garrisoned by the Confederate troops until 1862. The fort was captured by Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his