Fort Harris

Fort Harris (1861-1862) - A Confederate U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1861 above present day Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. Named Fort Harris after Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris. The fort was abandoned in 1862 when Memphis was occupied by Union forces.

History of Fort Harris

Fort harris was planned and the construction supervised by Captain William Pickett who had raised a company of sappers and miners. The fort was located above the Mississippi River on the third Chickasaw Bluff at the mouth of the Loosahatchie River and built between April and June of 1861. It was built as an earthworks fortification to command the river below with 14 to 16 guns. Fort Harris was abandoned in 1862 just before the Union forces occupied Memphis in June 1862.

Current Status

Site is thought to be at or near the present day Loosahatchie Bar but realignment of the Mississipi River over the years has made it difficult to pinpoint the location, may be underwater.

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Location: At or near the present day Loosahatchie Bar, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. Map point is approximate and not accurate. Maps & Images Lat: 35.182319 Long: -90.073554 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: ....'

See Also:

• Memphis Defense System - U.S. Civil War

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 741.
• Field, Ron & Hook, Adam, American Civil War Fortifications (3): The Mississippi and River Forts, Osprey Publishing, 2007, 64 pages, page 19.

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Harris

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