Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 1.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[489] behind at Fort Henry or thrown them away on the road. It was a night of suffering in the two camps, but especially on the battleground, where many of the wounded, lying between the two hostile camps, had not been removed before night. On the following morning nothing but frozen corpses were found.

But on that morning (February 14th) the sound of cannon upon the river made the soldier forget the sufferings of that terrible night, for it brought the certain news of the presence of the fleet, which had arrived the evening previous. In fact, while Foote with one of his gun-boats was drawing the fire of the Confederate batteries to show their strength, as he had been directed to do, the transports were landing, out of reach of the enemy's guns, the first reinforcements and the provisions so impatiently looked for. The provisions were soon distributed by the army wagons, which hastened to the river-side to obtain them. The reinforcements, consisting of eleven regiments, or about five thousand men, were hastily formed into a third division, the command of which was conferred upon General L. Wallace, who had arrived at the same time from Fort Henry with his brigade. This division, placed between McClernand, who held the right, and Smith, commanding the left, enabled the Federals to present a stronger line of investment to the enemy. While these movements, always difficult in the presence of an enemy, were taking place in Grant's army, and rations and cartridges were being distributed, Foote diverted the attention of the Confederates by an attack upon the batteries which commanded the course of the Cumberland. He could not hope to renew the brilliant success of Fort Henry, for his gun-boats, which had been considerably damaged in that first affair, had not had time to undergo any repairs, and it was with four small vessels in bad condition that he now exposed himself to the concentric fire of batteries armed with powerful guns, the range of which had been carefully studied beforehand by their gunners. But it was important to engage the enemy's attention during the day of the 14th at all hazards. Foote drew up his fleet within three hundred metres of the Confederate works, and for the space of one hour and a quarter he sustained an unequal contest against them. There was even a moment when his daring seemed about to be crowned with success.