Today in History:

916 Series I Volume VII- Serial 7 - Ft. Henry-Ft. Donelson

Page 916 OPERATIONS IN KY.,TENN., N.ALA., AND S.W. VA. Chapter XVII.

16. The Governor of Mississippi to send unarmed troops to Columbus and Grenada, Miss., as a rendezvous.

17. All troops of this army not included in General Polk's command, as above named, to be under the command of Major-General Bragg, under the denomination of Second Grand Division. He will resume in addition thereto, the command of his former department.

FORT PILLOW, March 3, 1862.

General POLK:

We have at this post the following ordnance stores: 604 32-pounder cartridges, 3,300 pounds cannon powder, 400 quill cannon primers, 200 friction tubes, 32 bridge barrels, 150 port-fires, 146 canister, 164---balls, 104 Read balls, 174 shells for 32-pounders, 4,560 32-pounder balls. Guns: Six 32-pounder rifle guns, and ten smooth-bore 32-pounder on river and four 32-pounders on back line, all mounted. Quartermaster's stores: 170 second-hand tents, without ropers. Amount of rations at Fort Pillow: 10,000 rations of rice, 10,000 rations of beans, 10,000 rations of molasses, 30,000 of rice, 10,000 rations of beans, 10,000 rations of candles, 4,000 rations of meal, 30,000 rations of vinegar, 40,000 rations of soap, 60,000 rations of coffee, 30,000 rations of sugar, 6,000 rations of bacon.

Shall I mount the guns that may come here?

MONTGOMERY LYNCH,

Captain, Engineer Corps.

[Indorsement.]

Captain M. LYNCH, Fort Pillow:

Mount the guns that arrive. What number of effective men have you? Answer immediately.

GEORGE WILLIAMSON,

Assistant Adjutant-General.


HEADQUARTERS, Huntsville, Ala., March 3, 1862.

Major-General POLK, Columbus, Ky.:

My fight with the gunboats at Donelson proved that they could not withstand heavy metal. To fight them successfully I suggest, as the result of experience, the importance of holding your fire for point-blank range; also the importance of having all your shot and shell for rifle well greased with tallow to avoid the danger of bursting the gun. I did it under long and continued fire with perfect safety. The Federal officers admitted at Donelson that their gunboats could not stand the fire of heavy metal. I disabled four of the five whole fire I returned.

GID. J. PILLOW,
Brigadier General, C. S. Army.

ORDERS,
HEADQUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, Numbers 8.
Shelbyville, March 3, 1862.

At 7 a. m. to-morrow the march will be resumed by Brigadier-General Wood, Major-General Crittenden, and Brigadier-General Breckin-


Page 916 OPERATIONS IN KY.,TENN., N.ALA., AND S.W. VA. Chapter XVII.