Exchanging Iron Valentines

Before Fort Donelson was built, Confederates established two river batteries along the Cumberland River to defend the water approach to the major supply centers of Clarksville and Nashville. One was the Upper River Battery, and the other was the Lower River Battery reconstructed here. Both were armed with heavy seacoast artillery and manned by inexperienced gunners; this battery held eight 32-pounder cannon and, on the extreme left, one 10-inch Columbiad. On February 14, 1862, Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote's Union gunboat flotilla rounded the bend and steamed up the Cumberland to engage the water batteries, using the same close-range tactics that had succeeded at Fort Henry a week earlier. But the cumbersome gunboats moved so slowly that they became excellent targets for the untested Confederate artillerymen and were forced to withdraw. In the 90-minute battle, despite the gunboats' armor and reputation, the Confederate river batteries heavily damaged the Union fleet. From just under 400 rounds fired, Confederate gunners hit the St. Louis 59 times, the Carondelet 54 times, the Louisville 36 times, and the Pittsburg 20 times.

Dover, Tennessee · United States