De Witt Clinton Fort
Encyclopedia
De Witt Clinton Fort. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives and soldier in the Confederate army
during the American Civil War
.
, Danville, Kentucky
in 1850.
He was admitted to the practice of law in 1852 in Mississippi and in 1857 in Texas.
He was elected to serve in the Eighth Texas Legislature
(1859-1861) and the special "Adjourned Session" (March 18, 1861 - April 9, 1861).
Fort closed his Austin County, Texas
law office for the duration of the war in June 1861 and paid his own travel expenses to join J.E.B. Stuart's
cavalry in Virginia for the First Battle of Manassas
. He was captured in Tennessee following the Battle of Farmington in May 1862, but escaped by leaping from a Union prison steamboat into the Mississippi River. Later, he created "Fort's Scouts," a small unit of Confederate Cavalry, acting in concert with General Nathan Bedford Forrest
. By the end of the war he had served with the Confederate units in Texas, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri. He was wounded during the closing weeks of the war. His unit surrendered about one month after General Lee's
surrender.
Fort was "clubfooted" and badly crippled from birth and unsuitable for military service. However, by the time he surrendered, his small band had closed down the Memphis & Charleston Railroad to Union military travel and only large Union cavalry patrols would venture outside the Union military headquarters at Memphis, TN.
He carried the sobriquet, Captain "Clubfoot" Fort, C.S.A. proudly.
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Personal background
Fort received his A.B. degree from Centre CollegeCentre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
, Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
in 1850.
He was admitted to the practice of law in 1852 in Mississippi and in 1857 in Texas.
He was elected to serve in the Eighth Texas Legislature
Eighth Texas Legislature
The Eighth Texas Legislature met from 7 November 1859 to 9 April 1861 in its regular session, a first called session, and an adjourned session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1859....
(1859-1861) and the special "Adjourned Session" (March 18, 1861 - April 9, 1861).
Fort closed his Austin County, Texas
Austin County, Texas
Austin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas adjacent to the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 28,417 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Bellville. Austin County is named for Stephen F...
law office for the duration of the war in June 1861 and paid his own travel expenses to join J.E.B. Stuart's
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
cavalry in Virginia for the First Battle of Manassas
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
. He was captured in Tennessee following the Battle of Farmington in May 1862, but escaped by leaping from a Union prison steamboat into the Mississippi River. Later, he created "Fort's Scouts," a small unit of Confederate Cavalry, acting in concert with General Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
. By the end of the war he had served with the Confederate units in Texas, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri. He was wounded during the closing weeks of the war. His unit surrendered about one month after General Lee's
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
surrender.
Fort was "clubfooted" and badly crippled from birth and unsuitable for military service. However, by the time he surrendered, his small band had closed down the Memphis & Charleston Railroad to Union military travel and only large Union cavalry patrols would venture outside the Union military headquarters at Memphis, TN.
He carried the sobriquet, Captain "Clubfoot" Fort, C.S.A. proudly.