Fort Curtis (Helena-West Helena, Arkansas)
Helena-West Helena · Arkansas · Civil War
History & Significance
Following the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862, the Union Army of the Southwest under the command of Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis moved across northern Arkansas and southern Missouri before eventually taking the town of Helena. Although the Union army arrived in Helena on July 12, 1862, construction on the fort did not begin until mid-August.
Federal troops as well as freed slaves worked to construct the fortifications. Fort Curtis was dedicated on October 30, 1862.
For the next year, Fort Curtis served as an important command post in eastern Arkansas. The fort's defining moment came on Independence Day 1863, when Confederate forces under the command of Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes gathered for an attack on the city in an effort to provide some relief for their comrades under siege at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
At 3:30 a.m., a single cannon in Fort Curtis fired to warn the Union troops of the impending attack. The fort was defended by six thirty-two-pound siege guns.
As the battle opened, Fort Curtis was not directly attacked by the Confederates, who directed their attention to the batteries. Artillery pieces inside the fort shelled the approaching Confederates with ease.
Helena was not seriously threatened by Confederate forces again for the remainder of the war and also served as the base for the successful campaign to capture Little Rock in September 1863. After the war, Fort Curtis was abandoned, and the city of eventually Helena grew around it. The reconstructed fort was dedicated in Helena-West Helena on May 11, 2012, and is open to the public.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Partially reconstructed Civil War earthen fortification built by Union forces in 1862
- Battle of Helena (July 1863) defense history and Confederate assault repulsion
- 2012 replica structure with period-appropriate design
- Exhibits and interpretive displays on Civil War Arkansas
- Mississippi River valley setting and strategic military positioning
Sources
- https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fort-curtis-7681/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Curtis_(Arkansas)
- https://fortwiki.com/Fort_Curtis