Southeastern Tennessee

Last Update: 16/FEBRUARY/2019

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2019 American Forts Network

Fort Southwest Point (2)
(1797 - 1811), near Kingston
A partial reconstruction of a Federal stockade fort with four blockhouses. Army troops built the fort in 1797 (a proposed named was Fort Hamtramck), later abandoning it in 1807 when the garrison was transfered to Hiwassee. The fort was thereafter used by local or state militia, or small detachments of Federal troops from Hiwassee. The post was also known (unofficially) as Fort Wade and Fort Butler before 1799, but was afterwards apparently only known officially as Southwest Point Garrison. The Cherokee Indian Agency was located here from 1801 - 1807, thus making the fort part of the Federal "Factory system" of Indian trading posts during this time. Site excavated in 1974. This is the only antebellum fort in the state reconstructed on its original foundation. One blockhouse, two segments of the outer stockade wall, and several interior buildings have been reconstructed. Located south of town on TN 58 at the mouth of the Clinch River at Southwest Point Park (city park). See also Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture || See also The Avery Trace
See also Fort Southwest Point from Groover Research

An unnamed local militia blockhouse (Southwest Point Blockhouse (1)) was originally built in 1792 about one-half to three-quarters of a mile upstream on the Clinch River by General John Sevier to prevent Cherokee raids. A detachment of Federal troops was posted there beginning in 1793 to 1797, known as Camp Southwest Point. The site of this blockhouse/camp is now under the waters of Watts Bar Lake. Kingston was founded in 1799.

Civil War Defenses of Loudon
(1863 - 1865), Loudon
Fort Ammen was a Union redoubt located on a hill on the south side of the Tennessee River, overlooking the town. A smaller second redoubt was located on the river bank, as well as two small redoubts on either end of the railroad bridge across the river.
Fort De Hart was the tęte-du-pont (fortified gate/bridgehead).
Fort Russell adjoined the tęte-du-pont.
Fort Davis was on the north side of the river.

Fort Grainger (1)
(1794 - 1797), Lenoir City
A state militia fort, also garrisoned by a detachment of Federal troops at various times.

Belle Canton
(1797 - 1800), near Lenoir City
A Federal post located at or near the mouth of the Holston River (as the upper Tennessee River in this area was then known at that time) to protect the Cherokees from white encroachment. Sometimes referenced as Fort Belle Canton. Actual site most likely inundated by Fort Loudoun Lake.

Fort Loudoun (1) (State Historical Park)
(1756 - 1760), near Vonore FORT WIKI
Built by the SC colonial militia as a defense against the French and Indians. It was the first British post in the Overhills region. It was a moated and palisaded diamond-shaped bastioned work. Later garrisoned by British Regulars. The Cherokee War broke out in 1759, and the garrison surrendered to the Indians in August 1760 and the fort was afterwards burned. Marching back to South Carolina, the soldiers and their families were then killed or taken prisoner 15 miles away, at Cane Creek on the Tellico River near Belltown. The site of the fort was first marked by the Tennessee Society of the Colonial Dames of America in 1917 (as Fort Loudon (sic)). Became a state historic site in 1933. Site was excavated in the 1930's and the 1970's. The fort was reconstructed after 1936 and operated by the Fort Loudoun Association until 1977 when taken over by the state. Tellico Dam was built in 1979 and the impoundment of Tellico Lake forced the relocation of the reconstructed fort to higher ground 17 feet above and behind the original site. See also Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture

Tellico Blockhouse
(Fort Loudoun State Historical Park)
(1794 - 1807/1811), near Fort Loudoun
Initially a state militia blockhouse located near Fort Loudoun (1), across from the mouth of Ninemile Creek at the Little Tennessee River. Rebuilt and enlarged with stone foundations and garrisoned by Federal troops in 1796 as part of the "Factory system" of Indian trading posts. The "Tellico Treaty" was signed here in 1798. The Cherokee Indian Agency, first located here in November 1795, became a subagency after 1801 when the Indian agent relocated his office to Fort Southwest Point. The garrison at Tellico was transferred to Hiwassee in 1807, but small detachments remained here until 1811. Stabilized foundation ruins still exist, maintained and preserved by Fort Loudoun State Park. Artifacts are on display at the Frank H. McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Toqua Archaeological Site
(Tellico Lake Wildlife Management Area and Refuge)
(1400 - 1560 ?), Monroe County
A Late Mississippian Period (Dallas Culture) palisaded Indian town located near the mouth of Little Toqua Creek at the Little Tennessee River. The palisade wall had several bastions. There were two platform mounds, Mound A was about 50 meters in diameter and 7.3 meters high. This may have been the location of the Indian town of Tali which was visited by Hernando DeSoto in July 1540. The area was most likely abandoned within a few decades of DeSoto's visit. Site was excavated by the University of Tennessee. Site now inundated by Tellico Lake.

Virginia Fort
(1756), near Pumpkin Center
This unfinished Virginia colonial militia fort, built in the spring of 1756 for the protection of the Overhill Cherokee against the French, was never actually garrisoned, and was later destroyed by the Cherokee as unsuitable. Also called Fort at Chota (or Choto). It was a stockade about 100 feet square located at the mouth of Four Mile Creek on the north bank of the Little Tennessee River, opposite from the Cherokee town of Chota, and intended for a garrison of 50 men. It was later replaced by Fort Loudoun (1). Ten men from the soon-to-be built Fort Loudoun did occupy this fort in the fall of 1756 before that fort was completed the following winter. Site is now most likely inundated by Tellico Lake.

Camp Armistead
(Cherokee National Forest)
(1832 - 1835), Coker Creek FORT WIKI
A Federal post built to keep white settlers from Cherokee lands after the 1827 gold rush. Also referred to as Fort Armistead in some modern sources. Site acquired by the U.S. Forest Service in 2005 for inclusion into the Cherokee National Forest.

Fort Cass
(1835 - 1838), Charleston FORT WIKI
Built for the Cherokee Removals. Located on the south bank of the Hiwassee River, south of Calhoun. The Cherokee Indian Agency was also located nearby from 1821 (or 1823) to 1838. See also The Unicoi Turnpike

Charleston Redoubt
(1863 - 1864), Charleston
A Union redoubt was located by the Hiwassee River overlooking the railroad bridge, along with blockhouses on both ends of the bridge from Calhoun.

Ledford Island Archaeological Site
(1400 - 1550 ?), near Mt. Harmony
A Late Mississippian Period (Mouse Creek Culture) palisaded Indian town located near the mouth of Candies Creek on the Hiwassee River. Site excavated by the Tennessee Valley Authority before the flooding of Chickamauga Lake.

Fort Scott
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1838), near Bellefounte
A major assembly camp built for the Cherokee Removals (13,000 Cherokees), located at Rattlesnake Springs, about four miles south of Charleston.

Fort Marr
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park)
(1814, 1835 - 1838), Old Fort, and Benton FORT WIKI
A two-story log blockhouse originally built to guard General Jackson's supply line to New Orleans during the Creek War. Rebuilt and garrisoned in 1835, and named Camp Lindsay or Fort Morrow at that time, it is now the only remaining extant fort in the region used for the Cherokee Removals in 1838. The blockhouse was moved in 1858 to the nearby Higgins Farm and was used as a smokehouse. It was relocated in 1922 about 12 miles north to the high school grounds in Benton, and was relocated again in 1965 adjacent to the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Jail, located at 6042 US Highway 411 north of town. Transferred to state ownership in 1977. The blockhouse was moved again in 2012 to the Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park near Delano, at 404 Spring Creek Road.

Civil War Defenses of Cleveland
(1863 - 1864), Cleveland
Two unnamed Union redoubts were located on hills overlooking the town from the southwest, near South Mouse Creek. Fort Hill Cemetery is probably the site of one of these works.

The Union Army of the Ohio was encamped in this area, and south along the railroad towards Red Clay, during the winter of 1863-64.

Fort Red Clay (State Historic Park)
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1838), near Weatherly Switch FORT WIKI
A stockade or assembly camp may have been located here for the Cherokee Removals, although historical evidence is currently lacking. This site was the last Cherokee Nation capital before the Trail of Tears, after it was moved from New Echota, Georgia in 1832. Located just north of the state line, about 12 miles south of Cleveland.

Hiwassee Archaeological Site
(1200 - 1500), Hiwassee Island
A Mississippian Culture palisaded village and mound complex, located on the original Hiwassee Island, inundated by the waters of Chickamauga Lake since the late 1930's. Indians were still living here as late as 1818.

Post at Hiwassee
(1807 - 1814), near Five Points
A Federal "factory" fort and adjacent Cherokee Indian Agency ("40 rods" distant from each other) located on the north or west bank of the Tennessee River along the Armstrong Bend, just north of its confluence with the Hiwassee River. The military post and Indian agency were transferred from Fort Southwest Point. Also known as Hiwassee Garrison. Abandoned after a land dispute forced its closing. Site located off of Garrison Road, south of the old Armstrong Ferry landing.
The Indian Agency was afterwards relocated up the Hiwassee River to the mouth of Agency Creek, near Big Spring, from 1816 (or 1817 ?) to 1821 (or 1823 ?).

Ooltewah Blockhouse
(1864), Ooltewah
A Union blockhouse guarded the railroad station and the Wolftever Creek trestle on the East Tennessee and Georgia line.

Civil War Defenses of Harrison
(Harrison Bay State Park)
(1863), Harrison
Two or three CSA shore batteries, and a large redoubt, were in or near the old town of Harrison on the Tennessee River. The old town no longer exists, now under the waters of Chickamauga Lake since the 1930's.

Tyner's Station Defenses
(1863), Tyner
Confederate troops built two earthen redoubts to guard the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroads Tyner's Station and its associated village. The southern redoubt was built on Tyner Hill, now occupied by Tyner Middle School at 6837 Tyner Road, at Hickory Valley Road. The structure for which the redoubt was destroyed was the original Tyner High School, built in 1906, burned in the 1950s. The northern redoubt lay at the center of the former village, next to the house which CSA General Patrick Cleburne used as his headquarters. This redoubt, for which the Redoubt Soccer Complex on Bonny Oaks Drive is named, still remains and is well-preserved, located in the woods on the north side of Bonny Oaks Drive. Unlike the village, which was seized under eminent domain along with the village of Hawkinsville along Hickory Valley Road north of Bonny Oaks Drive which disappeared in the construction of the former U.S. Army's Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant in the 1940's.

The Union built a blockhouse at the railroad station in 1864.

Concord Blockhouse
(1864), East Ridge
A Union blockhouse guarded the two railroad trestles over South Chickamauga Creek on the Western and Atlantic Railroad line. Located between the bridges, in the vicinity of present-day Douglas Drive.

Chickamauga Station Defenses
(1863), East Chattanooga
Confederate troops built two earthen redoubts to guard the Western and Atlantic Railroad's Chickamauga Station on Millikens Ridge. The first redoubt, overlooking the former Col. Lewis Shepherd mansion "Altamede" (1838 ?) to the east, stood atop Dupree Hill where Grace Works Church now sits, at 6445 Lee Highway. This structure had been long-since destroyed by the final owner of Altamede, who had sold off the top of the hill for dirt. Altamede was demolished in 1977. The second redoubt stood atop Stein Hill in the exact location now occupied by the water tower past the end of Franklin Drive overlooking Perimeter Place Mall. The base of the redoubt still exists, supporting the water tower, surrounded by the remains of several rifle pits.

The Union built a blockhouse at the railroad station in 1864. Located just east of the present-day Chattanooga Airport terminal.

Chickamauga Junction Defenses
(1864), East Chattanooga
At the junction of the Western and Atlantic Railroad and the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, in the vicinity of Lightfoot Mill Road. A Union blockhouse was built on the Western and Atlantic line, and another blockhouse was built 0.3 mile east to guard the two separate bridges over South Chickamauga Creek.

Camp Ross
(1812 - 1814), Chattanooga
A supply depot for the TN state militia during the First Creek War, and an assembly camp for the Cherokee Regiment. Located at the mouth of Chattanooga Creek on the Tennessee River. The city was known as Ross' Landing until 1838.

Fort Wood (1)
(1838), Chattanooga
Built for the Cherokee and Creek Removals to house the garrison guarding the detainees at Camp Cherokee (at present-day UT-Chattanooga Scrappy Moore Field, along the Tennessee Riverwalk near the mouth of Citico Creek) and at Camp Clanewaugh (Creek Removal, June 1838) (at "Indian Springs", now site of National Health Care of Chattanooga at 2700 Parkwood Ave.). Located at the site of the present-day Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS), at 865 East 3rd Street.

Civil War Defenses of Chattanooga
(Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park)
(1863 - 1864), Chattanooga FORT WIKI
Extensive lines of earthworks surrounded the area, mostly south of the Tennessee River along Missionary Ridge to Lookout Mountain. The city was occupied by the Union beginning in September 1863. The Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge occured in November 1863.

Union forts built during the November 1863 siege or the following winter:
Signal Hill (1), a signal station located at the apex of Cameron Hill, along present-day Cameron Lane.
A large Powder Magazine was constructed within the east side of Cameron Hill.
Redoubt Carpenter (six guns), on Kirkman (Reservoir) Hill. Site later became the city's water reservoir after the war, then became the athletic field (Hawk Hill) for Kirkman Technical High School after urban renewal projects in the late 1950's. Now a minor league professional baseball field (Bell South / AT&T Field, built 1999) at 201 Power Alley. The former school is now the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Center.
Battery (Redoubt) Coolidge (1864), on Terrace Hill below Fort Milhalotzy, at present-day West Martin Luther King Boulevard and Boynton Drive.
Fort Mihalotzy (2) (eight guns), at 221 Boynton Terrace on Terrace Hill, near West Martin Luther King Boulevard and Gateway Avenue.
Fort Sheridan, aka Fort Crutchfield (1864), between Fort Lytle and Fort Mihalotzy. A monument was once located at 1219 East Terrace, which was leveled in 1958 for highway and bridge approach construction. Actual site now Boynton Towers.
Fort Lytle (aka Star Fort) (1864) (five guns), on Academy Hill on College Street between West 13th and West 14th Streets. Site now College Hill Courts.
Fort (Redoubt) Putnam (six guns), southeast corner of present-day Walnut Street and East 5th Street. Leveled in 1886.
Fort Sherman (eight guns), between East 3rd Street and East 5th Street, and between Georgia Avenue and Lindsay Street. Leveled in 1880.
Battery (Lunette) O'Meara, adjacent to Fort Sherman, at the northwest corner of present-day East 5th Street and Lindsay Street. Leveled in 1880.
Battery (Redoubt) Bushnell, at the southwest corner of East 4th Street and Lindsay Street. Leveled in 1885.
Signal Hill (2), a signal station located on Brabson Hill, at or near the site of the earlier CSA Battery Smartt. Site now the parking lot of the Hunter Museum of American Art on Bluff View Ave., at the end of High Street at East 2nd Street.
Battery McAloon, on the Tennessee River near the end of Houston Street, in the present-day Battery Place neighborhood.
Citico Creek Blockhouse (1864), a blockhouse built on top of the old Indian mound at the mouth of Citico Creek. The mound was further leveled in 1914 during the construction of Riverside Drive/Parkway, but is still partially extant on the grounds of the Tennessee-American Water Company complex.
Battery Erwin, between Fort Jones and Fort Sherman. Actually divided in half, one section located in the southeast corner of present-day East 8th Street and Mabel Street (First Baptist Church), while the other section was in the northeast corner of East Martin Luther King Boulevard and Peeples Street (UT-Chattanooga campus).
Fort Jones (aka Stone Fort (2)), site now the U.S. Customs House and (Old) Courthouse (built 1893) at 31 East 11th Street. Leveled in 1880. The nearby Stone Fort Inn at 120 East 10th Street was built in 1909.
Battery Taft, south of the present-day 200 block of East Martin Luther King Boulevard, between Lindsay and Houston Streets. Site now the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.
Fort Wood (2), originally named Fort Creighton (14 guns), site on Fort Wood Hill. The NPS has emplaced period display cannon (two guns each) in the general vicinity at 801 Oak Street (UT-C Faculty Club and Alumni Office) and at 850 Fort Wood Street.
Fort Palmer (1) (1864), site now Park Place School (built 1924) at 1000 East Martin Luther King Blvd.. Building is now private condos.
Fort King (1864), stood on top of Bald (or Brushy) Knob, now the site of the National Cemetery on South Holtzclaw Ave..
Fort Phelps, aka Fort Negley (2) (10 guns), at 1706 Read Ave.. Site bound by East Main Street, East 17th Street, Mitchell Street, Read Ave. and Rossville Avenue. Leveled in 1885.
A log blockhouse was located at the railroad depot in town, site now Union Square and the city public library and the Krystal Company Building on Broad Street at West 10th Street.
Nothing remains today of any of the preceding Union works.

Several gun emplacements and rifle pits still remain on Billy Goat Hill and Angora Hill, facing the north end of Missionary Ridge; and earthworks still remain on Trueblood Hill (aka Tunnel Hill) in the Sherman's Reservation section of the National Military Park in East Chattanooga.

Union batteries were also located north of the river on Moccasin Point, and at the eastern landing of Brown's Ferry.
Fort Whitaker, at the southern tip of Stringers Ridge on Moccasin Point. Originally built as a CSA battery in 1862. No remains.
Fort Hooker, anchored the line of works protecting the western approach to Brown's Ferry. No remains.
An unnamed Union redoubt was located in North Chattanooga at present-day Valentine Circle, off of Fairmount Avenue. No remains.
Signal Point, a Union signal station located on the Tennessee River on Signal Mountain, in the town of Signal Mountain. Site preserved as a unit of the National Military Park.
Chattanooga Creek Blockhouse (30 men), located at the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad bridge over Chattanooga Creek at the base of Lookout Mountain.

The combined Union Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Cumberland were encamped here during the winter of 1863-64.

Confederate forts:
There were reportedly twelve numbered forts built by the Confederates in late 1862 or early 1863, surrounding the city on the north, east, and south. At least three were named.
Fort Cameron, located at the crest of Cameron Hill, about one city block south of the Union's later Signal Hill (1) station. The hill was later leveled for highway construction and urban renewal in 1958. Site now occupied by the Gordian Health Division of Blue Cross/Blue Shield on Cameron Circle.
Fort Cheatham, located between 4th Ave. and East 23rd and East 28th Streets. No remains.
Battery Smartt, along the south bank of the Tennessee River near the upper end of Maclellan Island, at Bluff View. No remains.

There were once twelve log blockhouses (1863) built along the length of South Chickamauga Creek, from the Tennessee River to present-day Camp Jordan Park in East Ridge. Exact sites undetermined, no remains.
Located within Camp Jordan Park are two surviving large man-made earthen walls enclosing the south and west sides of a peninsula formed by the junction of South and West Chickamauga Creeks. The structure could have been an anchor fort for the twelve blockhouses, or earthworks constructed by Union troops who later bivouacked there in the winter of 1863-64. It could also be nothing more than the remnant of an old levy.
Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge were heavily fortified with earthwork trenches and rifle pits. West of the Cravens House, the Rifle Pits Trail runs past the trenches of the 29th and 30th Mississippi Infantry, the only ones still remaining on Lookout Mountain. Orchard Knob on Missionary Ridge still has two lines of remaining earthworks.
The so-called Fort Bragg, Fort Hindman, Fort Breckenridge, and Fort Buckner were shown on some early maps of the battlefield. These were most likely the headquarters positions of the several Confederate generals involved in the battle. No remains, if in fact they actually existed to begin with.
Several CSA rifle pits still remain in the hills on both sides of Brown's Ferry.
Three CSA gun batteries from the 1863 seige line are located in Point Park.

Admission fee to some National Park Service areas.

Old French Store
(1760 or 1761), near Valdeau
A short-lived French trading post was established here on the river at an Indian village, possibly on Williams' Island, sometime after the British defeat at Fort Loudoun in August 1760. Insurmountable navigation hazards in this section of the Tennessee River forced its abandonment.

Lookout Creek Blockhouse
(1864), Tiftonia
A Union blockhouse on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad at the bridge over Lookout Creek. Garrisoned by 30 men.

Wauhatchie Station
(1864), Wauhatchie
A Union blockhouse (or two ?), and possibly a small redoubt, guarded the junction of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and the Wills Valley Railroad from Trenton, GA.

Camp Whiteside
(1863 - 1864), Whiteside
A Union infantry base camp for four satellite blockhouses (30 men each) that guarded the massive railroad trestle over Running Water Creek and through Running Water Valley on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad line towards Ladds. The Running Water Blockhouse (80 men) was located about one-half mile west of the main base camp.

Nickajack Creek Blockhouse
(1864), near Moore Crossing
A Union blockhouse on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad at the bridge over Nickajack Creek, about one-quarter mile west of Shellmound. Garrisoned by 30 men.
(NOTE: it is unclear if this blockhouse is included with the four unnamed blockhouses mentioned on the historical marker for Camp Whiteside.)

Fort (Alexander) McCook (1)
(1862 - 1864), South Pittsburg
A Union blockhouse on the Tennessee River at Battle Creek. Originally built in the early summer of 1862, reoccupied during the 1863 Chickamauga Campaign and renamed Fort Thomas (2). It was briefly held by Confederate troops in August 1862 as Fort Maxey. Marker located on Jaycee Drive at South Pittsburg River Park.

NEED MORE INFO: Camp Reed (sp?) (1814), unknown location. A temporary camp of the Company of Drafted East Tennessee Militia, under Capt. Isaac Williams, in January 1814 according to muster rolls, located somewhere south of Hiwassee Post. Possibly actually a reference to Camp Ross.

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