Fort Donelson, Cumberland River MM88
This morning in Clarksville we meet Dave, a boat neighbor. He retired three years ago after 28 years in the Army flying special operations helicopters (his houseboat's name is Cleared Hot). Dave and I share an interest in Civil War history. He said that after Grant defeated and then captured the 15,000 man garrison at Fort Donelson, Grant continued up the Cumberland River to capture Nashville. Along the way Grant let it be known that if his army was fired upon, his retribution would be swift and total. Clarksville, where Dave and I were talking, hadn't resisted Grant's approach. Clarksville, Dave said, had learned from the total destruction, at Grant's hands, of a neighboring town. That town had fired upon Grant's army and today doesn't exist at all. Clarksville survived the war, is now Tennessee's fifth largest town and one of the state's fastest growing.
I'd never even heard of Fort Donelson until we cruised past it. It's on the right asending bank of the Cumberland River, 88 miles up from the Ohio River and 100 miles downriver from Nashville. Grant's victory here lead to the capture of Nashville, earned Grant his second star and marked him as a rising star.
Our Anchorage on the North Fork of Dryden Creek, Cumberland River MM50
We made 80 miles today to Dryden Creek, KY (Cumberland River MM50). That puts the journey at 3,099 miles. DBH
