Fort Harker (3)

Fort Harker (3) (1862-1865) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1862 near Stevenson, Jackson County, Alabama. Named Fort Harker possibly after Colonel Charles G. Harker, 65th Ohio Infantry, who served under Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell. Union General William Rosecrans established his headquarters at Fort Harker in July 1863, and from here he directed a successful campaign against Confederate General Braxton Bragg in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The fort was bandoned in 1865 after the end of the war. History Constructed by the Union Army in the summer of 1862 and expanded in 1864, using soldiers and freed slaves, Fort Harker was one of two named forts and some seven blockhouses built to protect a strategic rail junction at Stevenson, Alabama. The fort itself overlooked Crow Creek and was within firing range of the railroad lines, supply depots, and warehouses. Fort Harker was built as a packed earth redoubt, 150 feet square, with walls 14 feet high, surrounded by an 8 foot deep dry ditch. It contained 7 cannon platforms, a bomb-proof powder magazine, a draw-bridge entrance, and an 8-sided wooden blockhouse at its center. The second large fort, Fort Mitchell, two smaller redoubts and at least seven blockhouses were constructed along the railroad lines at Stevenson. The defenses at Stevenson were strong enough that the junction was never attacked even though the war was close at hand. Current Status Four of the gun platforms are still in evidence. A National Park Service excavation in 1976 uncovered a wooden tank in one corner, probably a reservoir for the fort. The fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places 2 May 1977, #77000205. A historical marker has been placed at the fort by the Alabama Historical Commission. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Stevenson, Jackson County, Alabama. Maps & Images Lat: 34.862282 Long: -85.839620 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 622' GPS Locations: 34.862282, -85.839620 Fort Harker See Also: Fort Mitchell (5) 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 6. The photographic history of the Civil War. Links: North American Forts - Fort Harker (3) Wikipedia - Fort Harker (3) City of Stevenson Visited: No