56 The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War

to have understood the value of the movement, hutwhen Grant asked permission to make it, Hallecksilenced him so sharply as to make it appear thathe deemed it a gross blunder. Halleck thoughtthe enterprise should not be undertaken with lessthan 60,000 men; but Grant persisted, and Com-modore Foote, commanding the gunboat flotilla,added his solicitations, until at last the requisitepermission was obtained; and on February 2Grant and Foote started up the Tennessee with17,000 men and seven gunboats. The success ofthe movement was due to its promptness, as isusual in warfare, in which more strikingly than inany other pursuit of life we see the truth of theCapture of adage that time is money. Fort HenryFort Henry. was d oome d by the mere quickness ofthe movement. General Tilghman, the command-ant, had but 3400 men, and saw at once that itwas too late for reinforcements to reach him. Ac-cordingly he sent most of his force over to FortDonelson, remaining himself with a small detach-ment to cover the retreat. This was sound policyand apparently the only course open to the com-mander of Fort Henry; the struggle must be madeat Fort Donelson. General Tilghman worked hisfew men and guns admirably, and after a briefbombardment by the fleet he surrendered FortHenry with only 96 men. A convenient base was