Anderson’s Fort Duffield remains as state’s largest earthen fortress

Union Major Robert Anderson – who later would found Fort Duffield – was with his men at Fort Sumter in 1861 when a Confederate assault jumpstarted the Civil War.

Anderson, a Jefferson County native, surrendered Sumter after withstanding 34 hours of continuous bombardment. When the fort’s gates were destroyed, the walls broken and with ammunition supplies surrounded by flames, the commander finally surrendered on April 14. He was cited for bravery by President Abraham Lincoln, promoted to brigadier general and given command of the Department of Kentucky, then the Department of the Cumberland.

And, that led to the establishment of Fort Duffield.

Charged with developing a strong defensive post to protect Louisville, Anderson found his answer at the confluence of the Ohio and Salt Rivers at West Point. The position was ideal, but illness prevented the general from fulfilling his task. William Tecumseh Sherman was selected as his replacement.

Gen. Sherman acted quickly, completing Anderson’s plan to fortify West Point by ordering the 37th Indiana and the Ninth Michigan regiments to be stationed there. Sherman planned to use West Point as a supply base for Union troops stationed at Elizabethtown in addition to defending the Commonwealth’s largest city from river attack. In order to protect the supply depot, Sherman ordered a fortification be constructed on Pearman Hill, a position commanding West Point and the rivers. The fortification would help secure the Federal supply line and Union troops would have defensible position to fall back upon in case of a military setback.

By November 1861, the fortification of Pearman Hill had begun. Engineers of the Ninth Michigan Infantry initiated construction of the earthworks that would be named Fort Duffield. Ten pieces of artillery eventually were placed within the fort, and, by December, soldiers were constructing log structures for their quarters just outside of the earthworks.

By Jan. 1, 1862, the cabins and the fort were finished. The Federal army had some 950 troops stationed at Fort Duffield and the supply line was secure. And, the fort became the largest earthen work Civil War fortress in Kentucky.

The Ninth Michigan Infantry Regiment was commanded by Col. William Duffield. The fort was named in honor of his father, George Duffield, a Michigan clergyman.

By March, the fort was finished and the men of the Ninth moved further south. Construction of the facility was hard work, as the men dug up earth and piled it to make the high walls that characterize Fort Duffield. All trees were cleared out for a one-mile radius around the fort, leaving a clear field of fire for the garrison and its artillery. It was an impregnable position, which helps explain why it was never challenged.

The walls were more than 1,000 feet long, 17 feet high and 9 feet wide. Two large wooden gates guarded the entrance to the fort. When officers ordered two locks to secure the gates, the quartermaster reportedly sent two toy locks because the fort was believed to be impenetrable. “We are secure as a nest of young eagles in our new fort,” one soldier wrote.

Like all things, the fort had a cost. Sixty-one men from the Ninth Michigan died of disease and privation while building it.

As the war continued, it moved away from Louisville, and, by 1863, the fort no longer was garrisoned on any regular basis. In 1864, Confederate guerrillas occupied it several times, burning the huts the Union soldiers had built.

After the war, the land on which the fort lies went through various hands and had various uses. It served as a farm, rock quarry, and even as a hunting lodge for one of the du Ponts.

With the start of World War I, the U.S. Army purchased the Fort Duffield property as part of Fort Knox. About 1978 the U.S. government declared the land surplus and deeded it to the City of West Point for park purposes.

In 1992, a group of volunteers began the laborious task of reclaiming Fort Duffield from nature. Several replica cabins were built around the fort, but little remains now of the fort itself, except for portions of the large earthwork walls. A few reproduction cabins and outbuildings have been constructed to recreate the many small farms that dotted the area. A scenic overlook provides views of the Ohio and Salt Rivers and a small memorial cemetery is located on a hill south of the fort.