Fort Powhatan
Fort Powhatan (1808-1864) - A U.S. Army Second System coastal fort established in 1808 on the site of previous fortifications in Prince George County, Virginia. Abandoned in 1864. Also known as Fort Hood (3).
Fort Powhatan History
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War of 1812
Fort Powhatan was started as a Second System fort in 1808 at Windmill Hill on the James River across from Jamestown Island in present day Prince George County, Virginia. Designed as a 13-gun masonry fort that included a water battery, barracks, magazines, and a blockhouse. By 1814 the five bastion fort had 22 guns mounted of various calibers. Never attacked by the British during the War of 1812, it was used primarily as a supply depot.
U.S. Civil War
Confederate forces occupied and refortified Fort Powhatan early in the war to prevent Union advances on Richmond. Union gunboats bombarded the fort in1862 and Union forces seized it in 1863 destroying its magazines and gun platforms. In 1864 several black Union regiments garrisoned the fort and repulsed a Confederate cavalry attack. Abandoned at the end of the war.
Current Status
Some ruins remain on private property in Prince George County, Virginia. State marker K-215 located on Virginia Rt 10 at Burrowsville.
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Location: Private property in Prince George County, Virginia. Map points may not be accurate. Maps & Images Lat: 37.2685203 Long: -77.0741987 |
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 821-822
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1492969
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