Confederate Fort Heiman stood as an unfinished earthwork on a high bluff overlooking the Tennessee River, where its commanding position was intended to support the low-lying, flood-prone Fort Henry across the river. Confederate Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, then in command of both Forts Henry and Donelson, ordered its construction, and slave labor from Alabama and Mississippi did most of the work. Named for Col. Adolphus Heiman of the 10th Tennessee Regiment, who commanded the 1,100 troops there and supervised its building, the fort was still incomplete when Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant began his offensive in February 1862. On February 4, Tilghman, realizing he probably could not prevent Fort Henry's destruction or capture, withdrew Fort Heiman's garrison to Fort Henry to strengthen that fort's defenses. Union troops from Brig. Gen. C.F. Smith's division later occupied Fort Heiman, followed afterward by Col. W.W. Lowe's Fifth Iowa Cavalry.