Key Civil War battles presented by local historian

An excellent turnout of residents filled most of the courtroom of the Onaway courthouse Tuesday for a ?First Tuesday With Friends? program put on by Civil War Historian Ken Radzibon. A historic place, to hear some fascinating Civil War facts. Radzibon, the former Presque Isle County probate judge, teaches history at Alpena Community College. His presentation was the second part of a Civil War series put on by the area attorney.

Audience members included teenagers to senior citizens. They received maps of battle scenes to look at, as well as pictures of some of the key players in the early war battles. Some people could be seen sifting through the handouts to look at the photo sheet, when the Radzibon mentioned another new name. Radzibon went over the events leading up to the battles of Shiloh and Donelson, and the proceeding impact.

Radzibon displayed slides from his personal trip to Fort Donelson, which overlooks the shores of the Cumberland River. One pictured showed a large Columbiad cannon, which could fire a mortar five miles, he said.

IN ANOTHER photo, Radzibon showed the view of a long stretch of the Cumberland River, and how the iron clad boats operated by the Union, which had to power upstream, were ?easy targets? for Confederate soldiers, manning their posts at the fort.

The boats suffered heavy damage and had

to retreat. Radzibon said a cannon shot in the 1862 battle nearly took out Grant. Union enforcements arrived, helping Grant and his troops prevail.

The Battle at Fort Donelson was a major victory for Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for a Northern advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.

With the capture of Fort Donelson and its sister fort, Henry, the North had not only won its first great victory, it had also gained a new hero?”Unconditional Surrender” Grant, who was promoted to major general.

The next event in the series will be April 3. The Stepping Stones Garden Club will offer a ?Celebration of Spring? program, with several gardening tips. The programs are conducted at 1 p.m. with no cost for admission.