Fort Heiman

Fort Heiman (1862-1864) - A Confederate fort established in 1862 by Confederate Colonel Adolphus Heiman, 10th Tennessee, during the U.S. Civil War near present day New Concord, Calloway County, Kentucky. Named for Colonel Heiman. Abandoned in 1862 by Confederate forces and occupied by Union forces for about a year, reoccupied by Confederate forces in 1864.

Fort Heiman History

Established by Confederates in January 1862 to protect Fort Henry (5) across the Tennessee River. The post was abandoned before completion on 4 Feb 1862 when Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant approached. Union forces occupied the fort for almost a year before abandoning it as unnecessary. While Union forces occupied the fort they improved the defenses to include a garrison area and a redoubt.

In 1864, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest occupied Fort Heiman. His cavalry and artillery shelled and sank several Union gunboats. Forrest raided Johnsonville, Tenneese, from Fort Heiman sinking ships and burning an important Union supply depot. His Confederate forces abandoned the fort later in 1864.

Current Status

Markers and fortifications including a Union redoubt and two sets of earthworks totaling 648 yards in length and rising as high as 8 to 10 feet on the approach side. Now part of the NPS Fort Heiman Unit of Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Calloway County, Kentucky.

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USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 863307

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Location: NPS Fort Heiman Unit of Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Calloway County, Kentucky. Maps & Images Lat: 36.501653 Long: -88.055964 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 400'

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 313

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Heiman
• Civil War Trust - Forts Heiman, Henry, and Donelson
• Civil War News - Fort Heiman Becomes A New NPS Unit of Fort Donelson
• Civil War Album - Fort Heiman KY

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