Surrender House
Dover, Tennessee
The Dover Hotel was the site of the "unconditional surrender" of General Buckner to General Grant, on February 16, 1862. Grant's terms of "unconditional and immediate surrender" were described by Buckner as "ungenerous and unchivalrous". This was the Union Army's first major victory of the the Civil War, setting the stage for invasion of the south and eventual capture of the Mississippi River Valley.
The structure was originally built in 1851, and still stands in the heart of Dover. The structure had served as General Buckner's headquarters during the battle. The Fort Donelson House Historical Association and the National Park Service restored the house in the 1970's, and today the exterior looks much as it did at the time of the surrender.
Photo Courtesy of Sandy Shackelford, shacks@concentric.net. By going to don.htm, you can see an earlier picture of the Surrender House and also find a link to "Jim Bailey's Surrender House Photo Album".