Battle scene. Troops charging from center of image toward right. American flags flown in center. River with steamboats off to left background.
“I am going over to attack Fort Donelson tomorrow,” Union General Ulysses S. Grant told a newspaper reporter in February of 1862. When asked if he knew what he would be up against, Grant replied, “Not exactly, but I think we can take it. At all events, we can try.” Grant’s can-do attitude won him both criticism and praise. President Lincoln considered Grant’s willingness to fight at all costs a rare trait not shared by enough of his generals. This print depicts Union troops, which numbered nearly 27,000, storming Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Currier & Ives incorporated many details about the battle, including Union gunboats that bombarded the fort. The Rebel forces, however, placed their cannons high on ground and their attack soon disabled many of the ships.
