Newport Barracks
Newport Barracks (1803-1894) - A U.S. Army post established in 1803 by Colonel William Boyd at the junction of the Licking River and the Ohio River in Campbell County, Kentucky. Abandoned in 1894.
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Newport Barracks
Newport Barracks History
Construction on Newport Barracks began in July 1803 and the post was first garrisoned by Ensign Jacob W. Albright and 13 men from the 1st U.S. Infantry on 22 May 1806. The post was placed on five acres of land at the junction of the Licking River and the Ohio River.
In 1811 the post was used as a supply depot for General Willian Henry Harrison's forces at the Battle of Vincennes and later the 4th U.S. Infantry trained at the post prior to the Battle of Tippacanoe. During the War of 1812 the post served as the first prisoner of war camp for captured British soldiers.
Flooding on the Ohio in 1888 eventually forced the relocation of the post to higher ground and the new post became Fort Thomas. The Newport Barracks post was abandoned by the 6th U.S. Infantry on 10 Nov 1894 and returned to the City of Newport on 1 Jan 1895 for use as a park.
Current Status
General James Taylor City Park, Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky
USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2089581
Location: General James Taylor City Park, Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky.
Lat: 39.0913507 Long: -84.5004653 Elevation: 512' Bing, Google
Sources:
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 318
Links:
Related
1st U.S. Infantry, 4th U.S. Infantry, 6th U.S. Infantry, Fort Thomas, Fort Thomas, Newport Barracks, Second System, War of 1812, William Henry Harrison, DeLancey Floyd-Jones, Horatio Gates Gibson,