...Memphis'  Historic Civil War Fort

In June of 1862, a fleet of Union gunboats quickly defeated the Confederate fleet in the Battle of Memphis.  From then on, Memphis became an occupied city during the Civil War.  As such, the first order of business for the Union army was the construction of a new Fort Pickering on the Memphis bluffs.  It was a major fortification which included a number of structures needed to serve the large number of troops who would be passing through.   However Fort Pickering defenses were never put to the test and the Union army held Memphis throughout the war.  After Fort Pickering was demolished in 1866, all traces of the fort were removed and  Memphis forgot about it - until 2007, when there was interest about the possibility of finding Civil War remnants still around.  Trenches were excavated and archaeologists were able to identify two cisterns, brick foundation piers, and particularly, evidence of the defensive parapet and ditch.  Further excavations found very few actual Civil War items.  They had been thorough in the demolition of 1866.  The items that were found were mostly  evidence of an earlier residential area of  a young Memphis.

Memphians were not happy with Fort Pickering, especially when a "colored" regiment was established at the fort.  The regiment was  made up of ex-slaves and free-men.  Suddenly here were some of their ex-servants ordering them around.  Not the best of times!  Indeed, an African-American soldier from Fort Pickering figured prominently in the beginnings of the Memphis Race Riot of 1866.  It's no wonder that when the Fort was decommissioned in 1866,  Memphians wanted all traces of it removed - brick by brick.  And they did a good job.  (Could this be when Memphis learned  the art of demolition?)

From the Website:  "African American Military History of Memphis"

On April 15, 1863, orders were issued to recruit and muster into service eight companies of colored men for service as heavy artillery at Fort Pickering, Defenses of Memphis. Lieutenant I. G. Kappner was appointed recruiting officer, and the instructions were that each company should have one captain, two lieutenants and an orderly sergeant, who were to be white men. The other non-commissioned officers were to come from the colored recruits. The commissioned and non-commissioned staff officers for the battalion were to be white. The pay and allowances were to be the same as in other artillery organizations in the U. S. Service.

The site of Fort Pickering was once the fortress of Chickasaw chief Chisca and features two ceremonial mounds built by Paleo-Indians in the 1500s.  During the Civil War, the mounds were hollowed out and used for gun emplacements and munitions storage. This area, previously known as DeSoto Park, is believed to be where Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto first viewed the Mississippi River in 1541.

Several forts, built by the French, Spanish and Americans have been located in this area. The United States’ first was Fort Adams.  It was built too close to the river and was susceptible to flood and malaria.   In 1801, Fort Adams was renamed and moved to just above the Indian Mounds.  The new name was Fort Pickering, named after George Washington’s Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering.  It quickly lost it's importance after the Louisiana Territory  purchase, and was generally  abandoned in 1806.

A Military Cemetery was officially established for Fort Pickering. The order was signed by William Sherman in 1862.  The location of this cemetery is not known.

1865 Prison Release