American Civil War Battlefields
The Dover Hotel 
Ft. Donelson National Battlefield KY/TN 

Photo Courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

The Dover Hotel, also known as the Surrender House, witnessed the surrender of CSA forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner to then Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on Feb 16, 1862. These negotiations were the occasion of the “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works” statement that made an obscure Grant famous in the newspapers.  

The Dover Hotel was Buckner’s headquarters during the battle, a Union hospital after the surrender, and a survivor of the 1863 Battle of Dover. It remained in business until 1925. The structure was reconstructed by the Fort Donelson House Historical Association and the National Park Service. According to the Civil War Trust, “The hotel is the only original major battle surrender structure remaining from the Civil War.”