Fort Pickering -- Memphis TN - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

At its height during the Federal occupation of Memphis during the Civil War, Fort Pickering stretched over a mile up and down the Mississippi River bank and a third of a mile deep inland. the site of the actual Fort itself with a small doorway still visible into the earthworks lies about a half-mile west of this sign.

The waymark coordinates are for this sign next to the I-55 at Crump Park.

Built on the site of a 1799 fortified trading post, Fort Pickering became the most powerful fort on the Mississippi River.

A sign at the parking area for this small park reads as follows:

"FORT PICKERING
Protecting Memphis

In June 1861, Confederate supporters in Memphis erected earthworks to protect the city here at Fort Pickering, the site of a frontier era fortified trading post. Capt. William Pickett and his company of sappers and miners supervised the slave and free black laborers who built the stronghold. Local volunteers mounted artillery and built ammunition magazines on the two Indian mounds within the Fort.

After the fall of Memphis in June 1862, Union forces used Fort Pickering as a major supply depot and staging area. Gen. William T Sherman increased its size of that extended more than a mile along the river and a third of a mile inland. By 1864, with 102 cannons in place, and more than 10,000 soldiers, Fort Pickering was the strongest military installation on the Mississippi River.
When Federal troops occupied Memphis, hundreds of slaves fled their plantations in Arkansas and Mississippi to work for the Army at Fort Pickering. The government established Camp Shiloh in 1862 and Camp Fiske in 1863 south of the Fort to provide housing, churches, and schools for the families of these men.

Many of the former field hands and laborers, known as contrabands, clamored to join the Union army. By December 1863, nearly 1200 African-Americans had enlisted in the 3rd United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment. They manned the huge guns that protected the river approaches to Memphis, and perform guard detail and other military duties. Col. Ignatz G. Kappner commanded the predominantly black garrison at Fort Pickering until the end of the war.

“The majority of freedmen manifest a partiality for military service, and are undoubtedly happy and contented in their positions in the Army.” --Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas"

Group that erected the marker: Tennessee Civil War Trails Assn URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Crump Park at the I-55 Memphis, TN

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Date Logged Log   03/08/2015 Benchmark Blasterz visited it