Confederate soldiers built Fort Harrison on this high point of land as part of their scheme to protect the approaches to Richmond. The Union army seized the fort after heavy fighting in September 1864, altered its appearance, and renamed it. The troops manning the fort were among the first into Richmond when the Confederate capital fell the following April.

In 1862, 30-year-old Lieutenant William E. Harrison supervised the construction of the fort that eventually bore his name. Harrison was an engineer, educated at the Virginia Military Institute. He died in northern Virginia in 1873.

Maine native Hiram Burnham, a brigadier general, survived many of Virginia's great battles before being killed while leading his brigade in the attack on Fort Harrison. Union officers renamed the captured fort in his honor.

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Show me all markers in:  Richmond, VA  |  23231  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

First Park Headquarters
First Park Headquarters
Freedom Fighters
Confederate Counterattack
A Unique Photograph
Fort Harrison
Counterattack
Surprise Attack
Grant Under Fire
Building Fort Burnham

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