William Boynton, Sherman's Historical Raid

[11] commendable energy. I remember one night sitting in his room, on the second floor of the Planters' House, with him and General Cullum, his chief of staff, talking of things generally, and the subject then was of the much-talked — of “advance,” as soon as the season would permit. Most people urged the movement down the Mississippi River; but Generals Polk and Pillow had a large rebel force with heavy guns in a very strong position at Columbus, Ky., about eighteen miles below Cairo; Commodore Foote had his gun-boat fleet at Cairo; and General U. S. Grant, who commanded the district, was collecting a large force at Paducah, Cairo, and Bird's Point. General Halleck had a map on his table, with a large pencil in his hand, and asked, “Where is the rebel line?” Cullum drew the pencil through Bowling Green, Forts Donelson and Henry, and Columbus, Ky. “That is their line,” said Halleck; “now where is the proper place to break it?” And either Cullum or I said, “Naturally the center.” Halleck drew a line perpendicular to the other, near its middle, and it coincided nearly with the general course of the Tennessee River, and he said, “That's the true line of operations.”

This occurred more than a month before General Grant began the movement, and as he was subject to General Halleck's orders, I have always given General Halleck the full credit for that movement, which was skillful, successful, and extremely rich in military results; indeed it was the first real success on our side in the civil war. The movement up the Tennessee began about the 1st of February, and Fort Henry was captured by the joint action of the navy under Commodore Foote, and the land forces under General Grant, on the 6th of February, 1862. About the same time General S. R. Curtis had moved forward from Rolla, and on the 8th of March, defeated the rebels under McCulloch, Van Dorn and Price at Pea Ridge.

‘As soon as Fort Henry fell, General Grant marched straight across to Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, invested the place, and, as soon as the gun-boats had come round from the Tennessee, and had bombarded the water front, he assaulted; whereupon Buckner surrendered the garrison of twelve thousand men, Pillow and ex-Secretary of War General Floyd having personally escaped across the river at night, occasioning a good deal of fun and criticism at their expense.’

If General Sherman had taken the trouble to send for General Halleck's letter-book for the time he mentions above, he would have found a letter to General McClellan, then General-in-Chief of the army, showing that he (Halleck) had no settled plans for a movement up the Cumberland and the Tennessee, and only general ideas of it at most, and that he did not expect such a movement could take place till long after the time General Grant actually captured both Forts Henry and Donelson, and effectually opened these rivers.