Fort Harker

Fort Harker (HMILD)

Location: Stevenson, AL 35772 Jackson County
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Country: United States of America
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N 34° 51.708', W 85° 50.383'

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Inscription
Constructed by the Union Army in the summer of 1862 and expanded in 1864, using soldiers and freed slaves, Ft. Harker was built on a broad hill a quarter mile east of town. It overlooked Crow Creek and was well within firing range of Stevenson's strategic railroad lines, supply depots and warehouses.

Ft. Harker was an earthen redoubt, 150 fee square, with walls 14 feet high, surrounded by an 8 foot deep dry powder moat. It contained 7 cannon platforms, a bomb-proof powder magazine, a draw-bridge entrance and an 8-sided wooden blockhouse at its center. Soldiers building the fort reported that "the soil is very hard, requiring the continual use of a pick." Despite that, Ft. Harker was critical to Union plans. The officer in charge was ordered by his commanding general "to work night and day" to complete the fort "as rapidly as possible."

One other large fort, two smaller redoubts and at least seven blockhouses were constructed along the railroad lines at Stevenson during the Civil War. No major fighting occurred here, but skirmishes and sniper attacks were common as territory traded hands between Union and Confederate forces.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places 5/2/77
Details
HM NumberHMILD
Tags
Placed ByAlabama Historical Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 at 7:22am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 606058 N 3858331
Decimal Degrees34.86180000, -85.83971667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 34° 51.708', W 85° 50.383'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds34° 51' 42.48" N, 85° 50' 22.98" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)256
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1741 Sawmill Rd, Stevenson AL 35772, US
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