Forts Henry and Donelson portray the tapestry of war and society in the upper southern heartland of Tennessee and Kentucky after key Union victories in February 1862. Those victories, notes Benjamin Franklin Cooling, could have delivered the decisive blow to the Confederacy in the West and ended the war in that theater. Instead, what followed was terrible devastation and bloodshed that embroiled soldier and civilian alike. Cooling compellingly describes a struggle that was marked not only by the movement of armies and the strategies of generals but also by the rise of guerrilla bands and civil resistance. It was, in part, a war fought for geography—for rivers and railroads and for strategic cities such as Nashville, Louisville, and Chattanooga. But it was also a war for the hearts and minds of the populace. “Stubborn civilian opposition to Union invaders,” Cooling writes, “prompted oppressive military occupation, subversion of civil liberties, and confiscation of personal property in the name of allegiance to the United States—or to the Confederacy, for that matter, since some Unionist southerners resented Confederate intrusion fully as much as their secessionist neighbors opposed Yankee government.” In exploring the complex terrain of “total war” that steadily engulfed Tennessee and Kentucky, Cooling draws on a huge array of sources, including official military records and countless diaries and memoirs. He makes considerable use of the words of participants to capture the attitudes and concerns of those on both sides. The result is a masterful addition to Civil War literature that integrates the military, social, political, and economic aspects of the conflict into a large and endlessly fascinating picture

This book was a pretty easy read. It introduces and follows the first major campaign in the West from the point of view of the generals commanding. It did a good job documenting the early build up of the different armies as they built up their troops and defenses. In the case of the Union, the early development of the navy in the western rivers is described. There were lots of pictures and period lithographs. There were few maps but they were good and easy to read not dark fuzzy reproduction of Maps from the Official Records. The strength of this book was its examination of the commanders and their blunders. For the Confederates each commander was focused on his position and saw it as the key to the west. The author does a good job of telling you why the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers were vital to the North and South. The North could use these rivers to strike deep into the center of the rebellion. Johnston never visited Forts Henry and Donelson and didn't appreciate their importance until they were threatened. Grant had developed a good relationship the naval commander Foote that enabled them to get permission to attack For Henry. The description of the Naval action is excellent and allows you to understand why Foote thought the Key was to close to close range with his armored gunboats and why this increased the damage from Confederate guns. Find out why after defeating the gunboats and winning a battle with Grants army the confederates lost heart and surrendered the next day. I would recommend this book to any student of the early western campaigns, as it will give you fresh insight.