Battle of Fort Henry

Significance

The Battle of Fort Henry, fought in Stewart County, Tennessee, marked the first significant Union victory in the Western Theater of the Civil War. Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's forces, supported by Andrew H. Foote's gunboats, confronted a Confederate garrison under Lloyd Tilghman that was substantially outnumbered, with Union forces fielding roughly 15,000 troops against a Confederate strength of 3,000–3,400. The outcome established Grant as a consequential commander in the West and opened a line of advance deeper into Confederate-held territory, demonstrating that Federal forces could seize fortified river positions and use waterways as axes of operational pressure.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)