Forts Archives - Battle of Nashville & Beyond

July 17, 2019 By Bob Henderson Leave a Comment

Fort Pulaski

The demise of traditional fortifications

Location: US-80, Savannah, GA 31410

5,275 Rounds were fired in 30 Hours

On April 10, 1862 advancements in artillery made this 7.5 foot brick walled fort penetrable. The 30 pound Parrott Rifle was one of the guns that made this possible. After only 30 hours of engagement, Confederate are forced to surrender after their large powder magazine was exposed to direct fire.

Ironically, the young 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee was one of it’s engineers when it was built in 1829. The fort is named for Count Casmir Pulaski, the Polish hero who lost his life in the Revolutionary War siege of Savannah, Georgia.

June 18, 2019 By Bob Henderson 3 Comments

Fort Negley in 3D

As far as I know, this is the first 3D model built of historic Fort Negley in Nashville, Tennessee. It took about 50 hours to build, and I am still making revisions to it.

The terrain is taken from Google Earth, and is only accurate to plus or minus five feet.

May load slow on mobile devices, or slow internet connections.

Fort Negley (Harker) in Nashville, Tennessee by belmontguy on Sketchfab

March 27, 2020 Aerial Scan

30 Pound Rifled Parrot Cannon

December 22, 2017 By Bob Henderson 3 Comments

Fort Pillow

Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and Fort Pillow:

Revised 22 December 2017

December 21, 2017 – Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest’s statue was removed by the city of Memphis, Tennessee to an undisclosed location. They city bi-passed the state law on removing historical monuments from public land – so they sold it.

What will they do with his General and Mrs. Forrest buried beneath it?

February 2017:

It was with some trepidation, that I set off for Memphis to shoot Nathan Bedford Forrest. The former Nathan Bedford Forrest Park has been renamed the Health Sciences Park on Union Street. Arriving at 7 AM, I had the place to myself. Metered parking was available on South Dunlap street (no weekend fee). To my relief, there had been no desecration of the monument.

Recent efforts my the Memphis City Council to remove the statue to another city was rejected by the Tennessee Historical Commission… read more

I proceeded north towards Henning, Tennessee to shoot Fort Pillow State Historic Park. It was about and hour and a half drive. Bass boats periodically droned up and down Cold Creek below the fort. It’s not easy to find and not very well marked. I am going to submit an update to Google Maps.

Parking at the trail and head on Crutcher Lake Road, it was about a mile hike to the restored earthworks. In the hour and a half I spent there, on a clear warm Saturday morning, I encountered no visitors.

Suggested reading on the larger historical perspective of this controversial figure of American history:

“Having once been a racist, Nathan Bedford Forrest became an outspoken advocate of black civil rights in Memphis, culminating in his beautiful yet largely forgotten speech before the black civil rights Pole-Bearers Association in 1875. Encouraging the black people in attendance to take an active part in their country’s government, he told them he was with them ‘heart and hand’ to help their cause in any way he could.” – Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Redemption

Check this 3D like 360º virtual tour of Fort Pillow and Nathan Bedford Forrest park. Historical markers are embedded in the tour.

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Forrest Park: Madison Ave & S Dunlap Street, Memphis, TN 38103

Fort Pillow: 3122 Park Road Henning, TN 38041

Recommended Reading:

#fortpillow #nathanbedforforrest

September 28, 2017 By Bob Henderson Leave a Comment

Fort Johnson

Fort Johnson 360° Virtual Tour:

Updated: 28 September 2017

Tennessee State Capitol Building: 698 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville Tennessee

The Greek Revival building was designed by William Strickland. It is one of many Nashville’s examples of Greek Revival architecture. The cornerstone of the capitol was laid on July 4, 1845 and the building was completed fourteen years later in 1859.

“Fort Johnson (1863-1865) – A U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1863 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tennessee State capital building was re-named Fort Johnson after Andrew Johnson, the military governor of Tennessee. The building was abandoned by US troops in 1867 after the end of the war and after Tennessee had returned to the Union. Also known as Capitol Redoubt and Camp Andy Johnson.”

More tours

Recommended Reading:

#fortjohnson #capital #tn #virtualtour

August 11, 2017 By Bob Henderson Leave a Comment

Fort Moultrie

Fort Moultrie – Charleston, South Carolina:

In the months leading up to the Civil War John L. Gardner was in command at Fort Moultrie. With secession growing more imminent, Gardner had made several requests to Secretary of War John B. Floyd for more troops to garrison and defend the undermanned fortress. Each time his requests were ignored, as Floyd (who joined the Confederacy) was planning to hand the forts in Charleston Harbor over to the secessionists.

South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Around this time a Federal garrison from the 1st US Artillery was sent to Fort Moultrie. Unlike the state militia at the other forts, the Regular Army defenders of Fort Moultrie chose not to surrender to the South Carolina forces. On December 26, 1860, Union Major Robert Anderson moved his garrison from Fort Moultrie to the stronger Fort Sumter. On February 8, 1861, South Carolina joined other seceded Deep Southern states to form the Confederate States of America. In April 1861, Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter into submission and the American Civil War began.

In April 1863, Federal ironclads and shore batteries began a bombardment of Fort Moultrie and the other forts around Charleston harbor. Over the ensuing twenty months, Union bombardment reduced Fort Sumter to a rubble pile and pounded Fort Moultrie below a sand hill, which protected it against further bombardment. The Rifled cannon proved its superiority to brickwork fortifications but not to the endurance of the Confederate artillerymen who continued to man Fort Moultrie. In February 1865, the Confederate Army finally abandoned the rubble of Fort Moultrie and evacuated the city of Charleston. – wikipedia

Virtual Tour of Fort Moultrie and Garden Point Park:

#fortmoultrie