Word: forte
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Dates: during 1890-1899
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...boats and transports. By a wonderful feat of engineering, a canal, six miles long, but shallow, was cut across a submerged peninsular, from loop to loop of the river and the frail transports thus passed around the batteries. A gun-boat, the Carondelet, boldly ran the gauntlet of the fort at night, running so close under the banks that, before the guns could be sufficiently depressed, she was out of range...
...Mississippi was now open to Fort Pillow...
...fleet, Farragut attacked at once. The barrier was broken by a small vessel which slipped around the end in shallow water, and burst through from above by the aid of the current. The fleet kept on and the result was the famous battle which ended in the destruction of Fort Jackson and the rebel fleet, with but slight damage to the Union forces. The heroism of Farragut and his men is a household story...
More important events followed. Grant, Sherman and Buell were soon advancing upon Fort Henry, which guarded the Tennessee river. Halleck, as usual, was afrald and undecided, but Grant with 17,000 men, aided by Commodore Foote with seven gun-boats, swooped down on Foote with seven gun-boats, swooped down on Fort Henry. The surprise was complete. Gillman, who commanded the fort, saw he could not hold out, and sending most of his garrison to reinforce Fort Donelson, he surrendered...
Vigorous as ever, Grant hurried on to take the opportunity and capture Fort Donelson as well; but the roads were bad, and he took several days on the way. At length, on Feb. 12, 1862, he appeared before this second stronghold. The fort was built on a bluff near the Cumberland river, and protected behind by a series of ridges, separated by mashes and creeks. John Floyd and Pillow, in command, had a force of 18,000, quite equal to Grant's, but they seem to have been paralyzed. They did nothing whatever to hinder the Union advance, and Grant...