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Fort Wright (Tennessee)
Encyclopedia
Fort Wright was constructed in 1861 and located on the second Chickasaw Bluff
at Randolph
, Tipton County
, Tennessee
. Fort Wright was a Civil War
fortification
and the first military training facility of the Confederate Army
in Tennessee.
ist proposal to build a fort at Randolph to defend Memphis from invaders. In a communiqué
sent to LeRoy P. Walker
, the first Confederate States Secretary of War
, Brigadier General
Gideon J. Pillow
endorsed Randolph on April 26, 1861 as "the most eligible situation for a battery to protect Memphis". Within a few days, in late April of that same year, Tennessee Governor
Isham G. Harris
ordered Lieutenant Colonel
Marcus Joseph Wright
to establish a camp at Randolph and complete the fortification. About 5,000 troops from Tennessee, Arkansas
and the Confederate Army
were stationed at the location to accomplish the task. It took four months to fortify the bluff at Randolph with earthen defenses and artillery batteries in order to protect the fort from land and naval attacks.
By June 1861, the construction of the fortification was not yet completely finished. However, 50 cannons were reported to be ready at Fort Wright by that time, "mostly thirty-two pounders; the rest larger, 42s and 64s. Thirty-two of them are mounted". The Memphis Bulletin published a status report of Fort Wright after a visit at the fortification on June 22, 1861. By that time, the "earthen breastworks have been sodded with grass" and were reported "twenty to thirty feet in thickness" (6–10 m). Only one "narrow defile on the landward side" was reported by the Bulletin which was "defended by heavy guns" and "crossed by an earthen wall thirty to forty feet in thickness" (10–12 m). A "crescent shaped wall" 0.25 to 0.5 mi (402.3 to 804.7 m) to the east of the fortification provided a defense from land attacks. Fort Randolph
, a second Confederate stronghold in the area, was constructed only months after Fort Wright, in Fall 1861.
Nathan Bedford Forrest
(1821–77) and Alexander P. Stewart
(1821–1908) trained at Fort Wright. Stewart was promoted to the rank of Major
in the "Tennessee Militia" by Governor Harris and was assigned "command of the heavy artillery and water batteries (...) at Fort Wright" shortly after his own training there was completed. Stewart "organized and trained 20 batteries of Tennessee artillery" at Fort Wright at Randolph. Both Forrest and Stewart would later become important figures in the rank of Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army
during the Civil War. Other future leaders in the Army of Tennessee
and Forrest's cavalry received training at Fort Wright.
Fort Wright was Tennessee's first military training camp in which soldiers could gain experience in the construction of fortifications and the setup of artillery batteries to counter naval attacks. They could undertake defense drills and acquire general military skills and discipline. Soldiers who were trained at Fort Wright fought in battles on different battlefields later in the war, the Battle of Shiloh
, the Battle of Belmont
, the Battle of Murfreesboro
, the Battle of Chickamauga
, the Battle of Franklin
and the Battle of Bentonville
. The Confederate stronghold at Fort Wright was the forwardmost defensive position on the Mississippi River until July 1861, it was abandoned by the Confederate infantry by 1862 but sporadically occupied by other southern forces during the Civil War.
In 2008, only a powder magazine
is left of Fort Wright.
Chickasaw Bluff
The term Chickasaw Bluff refers to high ground rising about above the flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. Composed of eroded Pleistocene loess over Pliocene glacial gravel, they are slide prone...
at Randolph
Randolph, Tennessee
Randolph is an unincorporated rural community in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States, located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Randolph was founded in the 1820s and in 1827, the Randolph Post office was established. In the 1830s, the town became an early center of river commerce in West...
, Tipton County
Tipton County, Tennessee
Tipton County is a county located on the western end of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 51,271. Its county seat is Covington. Tipton County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area, centered on Shelby County, which borders Tipton on...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Fort Wright was a 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...
fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
and the first military training facility of the Confederate Army
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...
in Tennessee.
History
On January 20, 1861, the Memphis Appeal published a pro-secessionSecession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ist proposal to build a fort at Randolph to defend Memphis from invaders. In a communiqué
Message
A message in its most general meaning is an object of communication. It is a vessel which provides information. Yet, it can also be this information. Therefore, its meaning is dependent upon the context in which it is used; the term may apply to both the information and its form...
sent to LeRoy P. Walker
LeRoy Pope Walker
LeRoy Pope Walker was the first Confederate States Secretary of War.-Early life and career:Walker was born near Huntsville, Alabama in 1817, the son of John Williams Walker and Matilda Pope, and a grandson of LeRoy Pope. He was educated by private tutors, then attended universities in Alabama and...
, the first Confederate States Secretary of War
Confederate States Secretary of War
The Confederate States Secretary of War was a member of the Confederate States President's Cabinet during the Civil War. The Secretary of War led the Confederate States Department of War. The position ended in May 1865 when the Confederacy crumbled during John C. Breckinridge's tenure of the...
, Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Gideon J. Pillow
Gideon Johnson Pillow
Gideon Johnson Pillow was an American lawyer, politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He is best remembered for his poor performance at the Battle of Fort Donelson.-Early life:...
endorsed Randolph on April 26, 1861 as "the most eligible situation for a battery to protect Memphis". Within a few days, in late April of that same year, Tennessee Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Isham G. Harris
Isham G. Harris
Isham Green Harris was an American politician. He served as Governor of Tennessee from 1857 to 1862 and as a U.S. Senator from 1877 until his death....
ordered Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Marcus Joseph Wright
Marcus Joseph Wright
Marcus Joseph Wright was a lawyer, author, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was agent for collection of Confederate records for War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, a U.S. War Department publication.-Early life:Wright was born in Purdy,...
to establish a camp at Randolph and complete the fortification. About 5,000 troops from Tennessee, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and the Confederate Army
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...
were stationed at the location to accomplish the task. It took four months to fortify the bluff at Randolph with earthen defenses and artillery batteries in order to protect the fort from land and naval attacks.
By June 1861, the construction of the fortification was not yet completely finished. However, 50 cannons were reported to be ready at Fort Wright by that time, "mostly thirty-two pounders; the rest larger, 42s and 64s. Thirty-two of them are mounted". The Memphis Bulletin published a status report of Fort Wright after a visit at the fortification on June 22, 1861. By that time, the "earthen breastworks have been sodded with grass" and were reported "twenty to thirty feet in thickness" (6–10 m). Only one "narrow defile on the landward side" was reported by the Bulletin which was "defended by heavy guns" and "crossed by an earthen wall thirty to forty feet in thickness" (10–12 m). A "crescent shaped wall" 0.25 to 0.5 mi (402.3 to 804.7 m) to the east of the fortification provided a defense from land attacks. Fort Randolph
Fort Randolph (Tennessee)
Fort Randolph was a Confederate Army fortification built in 1861 during the Civil War. Fort Randolph was located on the second Chickasaw Bluff at Randolph, Tipton County, Tennessee.-History:...
, a second Confederate stronghold in the area, was constructed only months after Fort Wright, in Fall 1861.
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...
(1821–77) and Alexander P. Stewart
Alexander P. Stewart
Alexander Peter Stewart was a career United States Army officer, college professor, and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
(1821–1908) trained at Fort Wright. Stewart was promoted to the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the "Tennessee Militia" by Governor Harris and was assigned "command of the heavy artillery and water batteries (...) at Fort Wright" shortly after his own training there was completed. Stewart "organized and trained 20 batteries of Tennessee artillery" at Fort Wright at Randolph. Both Forrest and Stewart would later become important figures in the rank of Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army
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 Civil War. Other future leaders in the Army of Tennessee
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...
and Forrest's cavalry received training at Fort Wright.
Fort Wright was Tennessee's first military training camp in which soldiers could gain experience in the construction of fortifications and the setup of artillery batteries to counter naval attacks. They could undertake defense drills and acquire general military skills and discipline. Soldiers who were trained at Fort Wright fought in battles on different battlefields later in the war, the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
, the Battle of Belmont
Battle of Belmont
The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S...
, the Battle of Murfreesboro
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
, the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
, the Battle of Franklin
Battle of Franklin
Battle of Franklin may refer to three battles of the American Civil War:* Battle of Franklin , a major battle fought November 30, 1864, at Franklin, Tennessee as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign...
and the Battle of Bentonville
Battle of Bentonville
At 3 p.m., Confederate infantry from the Army of Tennessee launched an attack and drove the Union left flank back in confusion, nearly capturing Carlin in the process and overrunning the XIV Corps field hospital. Confederates under Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill filled the vacuum left by the retreating...
. The Confederate stronghold at Fort Wright was the forwardmost defensive position on the Mississippi River until July 1861, it was abandoned by the Confederate infantry by 1862 but sporadically occupied by other southern forces during the Civil War.
In 2008, only a powder magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
is left of Fort Wright.
Location
- Fort Wright (historical) was at coordinates 35.521121°N 89.887437°W.
See also
- History of Randolph, TennesseeHistory of Randolph, TennesseeRandolph is an unincorporated rural community in Tipton County,Tennessee, United States, located on the banks of the Mississippi River. The lands of the Mississippi River Basin were inhabited by Paleo-Indians and later Native American tribes of the Mississippian culture for thousands of years...
- Nathan Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford ForrestNathan 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...
- Fort Randolph (Tennessee)Fort Randolph (Tennessee)Fort Randolph was a Confederate Army fortification built in 1861 during the Civil War. Fort Randolph was located on the second Chickasaw Bluff at Randolph, Tipton County, Tennessee.-History:...
- List of forts in Tennessee
- Location of Fort Randolph and Fort Wright