Fort Buhlow and Fort Randolph were earthwork/moat fortifications constructed beginning October 1864 by Confederate forces anticipating a repetition of Union Gen. Nathaniel Banks' Summer 1864 Red RiverExpedition. Construction, completed March 1865, was under the command of Capt. C.M. Randolph and supervised by a military engineer, Lieut. A. Buhlow, for whom the forts are named. The work was performedby about 1500 soldiers and civilian workers and 500 black slaves. A third and larger fort, planned for the Alexandria side of the river, was never built. There was a Confederate troop buildup in theAlexandria area in March 1865, and the Confederate ironclad Missouri was anchored in the river opposite Fort Randolph, but the anticipated attack never came and no fighting ever took place. On May 26,Gen. Simon Buckner surrendered all Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi, and Union forces under Gen. Philip Sheridan occupied Buhlow and Randolph on June 2, 1865. Fort Buhlow is located approximately 60 yards upstream (north) of the O.K. Allen Bridge onUS Highway 71. Fort Randolph is located approximately 600 yards downstream (south) of the bridge.
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