The Impregnable Fortress
You are now at the western end of Fort Mulligan. The acute angles at this end of the works were clearly designed to be occupied by several artillery pieces to fend off attacks from the Seneca Road and the ravine to the southwest.
Fort Mulligan was built to be an impregnable fortress. The inner
walls of the Fort were lined with timber and a defensive
barrier of cut trees, known as
an abatis, protruded from the
outer entrenchment walls to prevent a major assault. There are indications of as many as three entrances and at least seven
gun emplacements.
It’s not hard to picture the incredible
amount of work that was done here.
Construction of the dirt earthworks
was most likely done almost entirely
with picks and shovels, with horses
dragging in logs and perhaps hauling some earth in wagons. Hundreds and perhaps, at times, over a thousand men
labored here for weeks on end. Some companies would work on
the Fort while other companies were on picket duty and guard duty. Sources indicate that the works were still being improved in December of 1863, four months after construction began.
From the Diary of Joshua Winters, October 12-26, 1863. “Mon Oct 12, 1863. Clear today. am on fitigue today a diging on the fort. Tues 13. clear today and nuthing strange. Wed 14. clear and plesant. Thur 15. i am on pikit today. it rained all day and night. Fri 16. it is raining today. Sat17. clear today. thair was a empty train hear today. Sun 18. clear today but rained tonight. Mon 19. plesant day. i am on fitigue at the fort. Tues 20. plesant day. ia was out in the Cunttrey. Wed 21. plesant day and no news. Thur 22. plesant day. i was 7 miles from camp today. Fri 23. this is a damp day and nuthing new at Petersburg. Sat 24. it still rains. Sun 25 this is a plesant day. Mon 26. clear and no news.”
Marker can be reached from the Grant Memorial Hospital Parking Lot south of Houghlin Lane (West Virginia Route 55).
Courtesy hmdb.org
