Fort Anderson, located in Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...

 was the site for the Battle of Paducah

Battle of Paducah

The Battle of Paducah was fought on March 25, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Confederate force led by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest launched a successful raid on Paducah, Kentucky, to capture supplies....

. Originally a supply depot, it was rebuilt as a seven-gun fort. Fort Anderson was 400 feet long and ran 160 feet toward the Ohio river

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

, surrounded on the west, north and south by 50 foot ditches filled with water. The fort was commanded by Colonel Stephen G. Hicks

Stephen G. Hicks

Stephen G. Hicks Stephen G. Hicks Stephen G. Hicks ( 22 Feb 1809 - 14 Dec 1869 (or 1866) American soldier, born in Jackson County, Georgia, and active during the American Civil War with the 40th Illinois Infantry Regiment. He enlisted on the July 22, 1861, and was honorably discharged on the July...

, a federal commander. The fort was occupied by 665 men.

In March 1864, Forrest set out from Columbus, Mississippi, with a force of less than 3,000 men on a multipurpose expedition (recruit, reoutfit, disperse Yankees, etc.) into West Tennessee and Kentucky. He arrived in Paducah on March 25, and quickly occupied the town. The cavalry began destroying unwanted supplies, and took what they wanted, mainly horses and mules.

Fort Anderson was commanded by Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 officers Col. Stephen G. Hicks and Lt. Cdr. James W. Shirk. They had support of two gunboats on the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

, and refused to surrender.

A message was sent by Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 Major-General Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...

 to Hicks asking for unconditional surrender. The letter reads as follows:

Colonel:

Having a force amply sufficient to carry your works and reduce the place, and in order to avoid the unnecessary effusion of blood, I demand the surrender of the fort and troops, with all public property. If you surrender, you shall be treated as a prisoner of war; but if I have to storm your works, you may expect no quarter.

N.B. Forrest,

Major-General, Commanding Confederate Troops.

Colonel Hicks answered with a letter of his own, which reads:

Sir:

I have this moment received yours of this instant, in which you demand the unconditional surrender of the forces under my command. I can answer that I have been placed here by the Government to defend this post, and in this, as well as all other orders from my superiors, I feel it to be my duty as an honorable officer to obey. I must, therefore, respectfully decline surrendering as you may require.

S.G. Hicks

Colonel, Commanding Post

As a result, on March 25, 1864, at 4:30, the order to charge came from Forrest. Led by Colonel Albert P. Thompson, of Paducah, the Confederate cavalrymen swooped down on the fort. They were met with a barrage of grapeshot and canister from newly-converted gunboats. They fell back, and then charged once more, only to meet with the same fierce barrage. The Confederates entered homes near the fort and began firing under cover of the houses. Nathan Forrest gave the order to cease firing.

Although this is considered to be a Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

victory, it was not a conflict that made any lasting changes.