"In February 1862, with the American Civil War already ten months in progress, Union land and naval forces shattered the Confederacy's main defense line in the Western theater of operations. They accomplished this by capturing Forts Henry and Donelson in northwestern Tennessee. This thesis attempts to prove that the Confederate disasters at the river forts were caused chiefly by the failures of Southern command and engineering"--Preface.

Vita. Microfilm-xerography : Ann Arbor, Mich., Xerox University Microfilms, 1975. -- 21 cm.

The construction of Forts Henry and Donelson, May -- November 1861 -- The construction of Forts Henry, Heiman, and Donelson : November 1861 -- February 1862 -- Preliminaries in Kentucky and Confederate strategy in the West -- Belmont : and the coming of Buell and Halleck -- The development and implementation of the plan to attack Fort Henry -- The construction, problems, and preliminary combats of the Western Flotilla -- The Union movement against Fort Henry, February 2-4, 1862, and the Confederate defensive preparations -- The fall of Forts Henry and Heiman -- Command decisions and preliminaries to the Fort Donelson campaign, February 6-8, 1862 -- Union and Confederate preparations, February 9-11, and the Union approach march on Fort Donelson, February 12, 1862 -- Naval and land actions, February 13, 1862 -- Foote's assault on the river batteries, and Confederate strategy, February 14, 1862 -- The Confederate assaults against the Union right flank, 6:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M., February 15, 1862 -- Union counterattacks, 1:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M., February 15, 1862 -- The surrender of Fort Donelson, February 16, 1862 -- Aftermath -- Conclusions.