Fort Proctor / Fort Beauregard (St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana)
St. Bernard Parish · Louisiana · American Civil War
History & Significance
Fort Proctor (also known as Fort Beauregard) was supervised in its construction by P.G.T. Beauregard, with architect J.G. Totten overseeing the design. Erected between 1856 and 1859, the structure was part of the Third System of Defense, an ambitious coastal fortification program spanning 1816 to the Civil War.
The fort was intended to be part of the fortifications protecting water routes towards New Orleans, responding to the 1814 British attack on New Orleans after their navy advanced up Lake Borgne and defeated a U.S. Navy gunboat flotilla in the Battle of Lake Borgne. The innovative Martello tower design provided all-around fire capabilities and was constructed for durability with composite brick and concrete walls, iron beams, and granite.
Construction delays caused by hurricane damage, and then the outbreak of the American Civil War, meant the fort was never garrisoned. By the end of the Civil War, improvements in artillery had made the design obsolete. The fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Key Facts
Map
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Sources
- https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/la0672/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Proctor
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/third-system-of-fortification.htm