Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/334

 326 FORSYTH FORT DONELSON 11,603 of sweet potatoes, 2,997 tons of hay, and 233,262 Ibs. of tobacco. There were 1,546 horses, 2,166 milch cows, 2,783 other cattle, 6,606 sheep, and 11, 287 swine; 6 manufacto- ries of carriages and wagons, 1 of boots and shoes, 1 of cotton and 1 of woollen goods, and 5 flour mills. Capital, Winston. II. A N. county of Georgia, bounded E. and S. E. by the Chattahoochee river; area about 250 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,983, of whom 1,121 were colored. The surface is hilly, and in some places mountainous. The soil is everywhere of fair quality, and in the vicinity of the rivers is alluvial and extremely fertile. The county is remarkably rich in minerals. Silver, copper, and considerable quantities of gold are ob- tained, and diamonds and other precious stones have occasionally been found. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 19,881 bushels of wheat, 68,075 of Indian corn, 9,769 of oats, and 217 bales of cotton. There were 7 manufactories of carriages and wagons. Capital, Gumming. FORSYTE, John, an American statesman, born in Frederick co., Va., about 1781, died in Wash- ington, Oct. 21, 1841. He graduated at Prince- ton college in 1799, and was admitted to the bar in Augusta, Ga., in 1802. He became attorney general of the state in 1808, repre- sentative in congress in 1812, and United States senator in 1818. In 1820 he was sent to Spain as resident minister, where he negotiated the treaty for the cession of Florida.. In 1823 he was elected to congress, in 1827 governor of Georgia, and in 1829 United States senator. He opposed nullification, and voted for Mr. Clay's compromise act of 1833. He was sec- retary of state under Jackson and Van Buren from June 27, 1834, to March 4, 1841. FORT BEND, a S. E. county of Texas, intersect- ed by Brazos river, which is here navigable by steamboats during part of the year, and touched on the S. W. by San Bernard river ; area, 920 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,114, of whom 5,510 were colored. In the valleys of the streams the soil is alluvial and fertile. The rest of the county, consisting principally of prairies, is less productive, but furnishes abundant pasturage. Timber is found in the river bottoms, Brazos and San Bernard rivers being skirted by a thick growth of oak, ash, elm, and red cedar. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado rail- road passes through the county. The chief productions in 1870 were 233,505 bushels of Indian corn, 20,867 of sweet potatoes, 4,017 bales of cotton, 362 hhds. of sugar, and 28,960 gallons of molasses. There were 3,207 horses, 2,193 milch cows, 49,191 other cattle, and 9,475 swine. Capital, Richmond. FORT DODGE, a city and the capital of Web- ster co., Iowa, on the Des Moines river, and the Iowa division of the Illinois Central rail- road, at the terminus of the Des Moines Valley line, 70 m. N. N. W. of Des Moines; pop. in 1860, 672; in 1870, 3,095. The river, here about 250 ft. wide, affords water power, and coal and limestone are found in the vicinity. The city contains a court house of stone, a high school building costing $30,000, two na- tional banks, 10 public schools, a semi-weekly and two weekly newspapers, a monthly period- ical, and six or eight churches, and has consid- erable trade. FORT DONELSON and Fort Henry, two forti- fications in N. W. Tennessee, near the border of Kentucky, erected by the confederates late in 1861, and captured by the Union forces in February, 1862. The Cumberland and Ten- nessee rivers run nearly parallel, at a distance of about 10 m., for about 50 m. before they fall into the Ohio. Near the point where this paral- lel course begins, Fort Henry was built on the Tennessee, and Fort Donelson on the Cumber- land. The positions were of importance as covering the passage by boats up these rivers, and as protecting the railway communication between Memphis and Bowling Green, Ky., which was then the central point of confederate operations in this region. In February, 1862, a combined naval and military expedition was planned against these forts. Admiral Footo arrived before Fort Henry on the 6th, and commenced the attack without waiting for the arrival of the land forces. After a bombard- ment of an hour the fort was surrendered ; but the garrison, about 3,000 strong, escaped to Fort Donelson, with the exception of about 60 who were made prisoners. Gen. Grant with about 30,000 men moved, partly by water and partly by land, upon Fort Donelson, which was now commanded by Gen. Floyd, formerly Uni- ted States secretary of war, who had in all about 15,000 men. Next in command were Gens. Pillow and Buckner. On the 13th about half the Union force had come up, and there was sharp skirmishing, in which each side lost about 200 in killed and wounded. On the 14th the gunboats arrived, and in the afternoon opened fire, and had nearly silenced the bat- teries of the fort when the steering apparatus of the two largest vessels was shot away, and the fleet was forced to withdraw, with a loss of 54 men. Grant, meanwhile, was proceeding to invest the fort, when on the morning of the 15th the confederates made a sudden sally, hoping to break through the lines of invest- ment and make their way to Nashville; but after gaining some considerable advantages they were, late in the afternoon, driven back into their intrenchments by superior numbers. The loss on each side was about 2,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners. During the night a council of war was held, in which it was decided that the fort must be given up. But Floyd declared that he would not surrender himself; he said, " You know my position with the fed- erals : it would not do." Pillow was in favor of still trying to cut their way out ; in any case, he would not make the surrender. It was finally decided that Floyd should make over the command to Pillow, who should in turn make it over to Buckner, and in the mean while Floyd and Pillow might try to save their re-