1
/
of
1
Charles River Editors
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: General John Floyd's Account of Fort Donelson (Illustrated)
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: General John Floyd's Account of Fort Donelson (Illustrated)
Regular price
$0.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$0.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson.
After the secession of Virginia, Floyd was commissioned a major general in the Provisional Army of Virginia, but on May 23, 1861, he was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. He was first employed in some unsuccessful operations in the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia under Robert E. Lee, where he was wounded in the arm at the Battle of Carnifex Ferry on September 10. In January 1862, he was dispatched to the Western Theater to report to General Albert Sidney Johnston and was given command of a brigade. Johnston sent Floyd to reinforce Fort Donelson and assume command of the post there. Floyd assumed command of Fort Donelson on February 13 just two days after the Union army had arrived at that spot, also becoming the third post commander within a week.
Floyd was not an appropriate choice to defend such a vital point, having political influence, but virtually no military experience. General Johnston had other experienced, more senior, generals (P.G.T. Beauregard and William J. Hardee) available and made a serious error in selecting Floyd. Floyd had little military influence on the Battle of Fort Donelson itself, deferring to his more experienced subordinates, Brig. Gens. Gideon J. Pillow and Simon Bolivar Buckner. As the Union forces surrounded the fort and the town of Dover, the Confederates launched an assault on February 15 in an attempt to open an escape route. Although successful at first, indecision on General Pillow's part left the Confederates in their trenches, facing growing reinforcements for Grant.
Early in the morning of February 16, at a council of war, the generals and field officers decided to surrender their army. Floyd, concerned that he would be arrested for treason if captured by the Union Army, turned his command over to Pillow, who immediately turned it over to Buckner. Col. N. B. Forest and his entire Tenn Calvary Regiment escaped. Pillow escaped on a small boat across the Cumberland and the next morning Floyd escaped by steamboat with the 20th Mississippi Regiment, the 51st, 56th, 36th, and 50th Virgina regiments, and two Virginia batteries from his old Virginia command, just before Buckner surrendered to Grant, one of the great strategic defeats of the Civil War. Floyd was quickly relieved of command by Jefferson Davis.
After the battle, Floyd wrote an account about the Battle of Fort Donelson that became part of The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This edition of his account includes illustrations and maps of the campaign, and it also includes pictures of the important commanders of the battle.
After the secession of Virginia, Floyd was commissioned a major general in the Provisional Army of Virginia, but on May 23, 1861, he was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. He was first employed in some unsuccessful operations in the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia under Robert E. Lee, where he was wounded in the arm at the Battle of Carnifex Ferry on September 10. In January 1862, he was dispatched to the Western Theater to report to General Albert Sidney Johnston and was given command of a brigade. Johnston sent Floyd to reinforce Fort Donelson and assume command of the post there. Floyd assumed command of Fort Donelson on February 13 just two days after the Union army had arrived at that spot, also becoming the third post commander within a week.
Floyd was not an appropriate choice to defend such a vital point, having political influence, but virtually no military experience. General Johnston had other experienced, more senior, generals (P.G.T. Beauregard and William J. Hardee) available and made a serious error in selecting Floyd. Floyd had little military influence on the Battle of Fort Donelson itself, deferring to his more experienced subordinates, Brig. Gens. Gideon J. Pillow and Simon Bolivar Buckner. As the Union forces surrounded the fort and the town of Dover, the Confederates launched an assault on February 15 in an attempt to open an escape route. Although successful at first, indecision on General Pillow's part left the Confederates in their trenches, facing growing reinforcements for Grant.
Early in the morning of February 16, at a council of war, the generals and field officers decided to surrender their army. Floyd, concerned that he would be arrested for treason if captured by the Union Army, turned his command over to Pillow, who immediately turned it over to Buckner. Col. N. B. Forest and his entire Tenn Calvary Regiment escaped. Pillow escaped on a small boat across the Cumberland and the next morning Floyd escaped by steamboat with the 20th Mississippi Regiment, the 51st, 56th, 36th, and 50th Virgina regiments, and two Virginia batteries from his old Virginia command, just before Buckner surrendered to Grant, one of the great strategic defeats of the Civil War. Floyd was quickly relieved of command by Jefferson Davis.
After the battle, Floyd wrote an account about the Battle of Fort Donelson that became part of The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This edition of his account includes illustrations and maps of the campaign, and it also includes pictures of the important commanders of the battle.
Share
