Columbus-Belmont State Park
Encyclopedia
Columbus-Belmont State Park, on the shores of the Mississippi River
in Hickman County
, near Columbus, Kentucky
, is the site of a Confederate
fortification built during the American Civil War
. The site was considered by both North
and South
to be strategically significant in gaining and keeping control of the Mississippi River
.
fortified the area now occupied by the park beginning September 3, 1861. The fort at Columbus was built upon a bluff along the "cutside" of the river. The fort was christened Fort DeRussey, but Polk referred it as the "Gibraltar of the West." He had equipped it with a massive chain that was stretched across the Mississippi to Belmont, Missouri, to block the passage of Union gunboats and supply vessels to and from Southern destinations in the western theaters of the war. Equipped also with 143 cannons, Columbus was the Northern-most Confederate base along the Mississippi, protecting Memphis
, Vicksburg
and other key Southern holdings. As the northern terminus of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad
, Columbus was logistically tied to Confederate supply lines.
Many of the earthen fortifications, buildings and artillery
pieces were lost to erosion of the bluff during heavy flooding in the region during the 1920s. When the flooding receded in 1925, the giant chain was exposed, and the people of Columbus decided to save it for future generations. The area containing the park was purchased by the state of Kentucky in 1934.
built a stone monument to hold the chain in 1934.
Another attraction at the park is the remains of the "Lady Polk," a giant experimental cannon named for Polk's wife. At 10 feet (3 m) long and 15,000 pounds, the imposing gun bombarded Ulysses S. Grant
's troops at the Battle of Belmont
with 128-pound conical projectiles that it could fire up to three miles (5 km). However, repeated shots from the cannon heated and expanded the metal barrel, so when its last loaded but unfired shot from the Battle of Belmont was discharged two days later, the projectile was unable to escape the barrel, causing the cannon to explode into three pieces and killing 18 Confederate soldiers. A Federal newspaper soon after mocked that: "a person would be likely to consider himself as safe on one end [of the cannon] as the other."
building at the park, once a farmhouse, served as a Confederate hospital during the early part of the war. The restored building remains a museum and interpretive center for the Kentucky state park system. Exhibits focus on the Civil War history of the area and local natural and cultural history. The museum is open daily from May through September, and on weekends in April and October.
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in Hickman County
Hickman County, Kentucky
Hickman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1822. The elevation in the county ranges from to above sea level. As of 2000, the population was 5,262. Its county seat is Clinton. It is the least densely populated county in the state and is a prohibition or...
, near Columbus, Kentucky
Columbus, Kentucky
Columbus is a city in Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 229 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbus is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, is the site of a Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
fortification built during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The site was considered by both North
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and South
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
to be strategically significant in gaining and keeping control of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
History
Confederate General Leonidas PolkLeonidas Polk
Leonidas Polk was a Confederate general in the American Civil War who was once a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk...
fortified the area now occupied by the park beginning September 3, 1861. The fort at Columbus was built upon a bluff along the "cutside" of the river. The fort was christened Fort DeRussey, but Polk referred it as the "Gibraltar of the West." He had equipped it with a massive chain that was stretched across the Mississippi to Belmont, Missouri, to block the passage of Union gunboats and supply vessels to and from Southern destinations in the western theaters of the war. Equipped also with 143 cannons, Columbus was the Northern-most Confederate base along the Mississippi, protecting Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
and other key Southern holdings. As the northern terminus of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Mobile and Ohio Railroad
The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobile, Alabama and the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois...
, Columbus was logistically tied to Confederate supply lines.
Many of the earthen fortifications, buildings and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
pieces were lost to erosion of the bluff during heavy flooding in the region during the 1920s. When the flooding receded in 1925, the giant chain was exposed, and the people of Columbus decided to save it for future generations. The area containing the park was purchased by the state of Kentucky in 1934.
Attractions
The primary attraction in the park continues to be Polk's giant chain, which is estimated to have been over a mile long before flooding and erosion destroyed part of it. With an anchor weighing between four and six tons and each chain link being eleven inches (279 mm) long, the Civilian Conservation CorpsCivilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
built a stone monument to hold the chain in 1934.
Another attraction at the park is the remains of the "Lady Polk," a giant experimental cannon named for Polk's wife. At 10 feet (3 m) long and 15,000 pounds, the imposing gun bombarded Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
's troops at the Battle of Belmont
Battle of Belmont
The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S...
with 128-pound conical projectiles that it could fire up to three miles (5 km). However, repeated shots from the cannon heated and expanded the metal barrel, so when its last loaded but unfired shot from the Battle of Belmont was discharged two days later, the projectile was unable to escape the barrel, causing the cannon to explode into three pieces and killing 18 Confederate soldiers. A Federal newspaper soon after mocked that: "a person would be likely to consider himself as safe on one end [of the cannon] as the other."
Museum
A single surviving antebellumAntebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
building at the park, once a farmhouse, served as a Confederate hospital during the early part of the war. The restored building remains a museum and interpretive center for the Kentucky state park system. Exhibits focus on the Civil War history of the area and local natural and cultural history. The museum is open daily from May through September, and on weekends in April and October.
External links
- Columbus-Belmont State Park (Kentucky State Parks)
- Columbus-Belmont State Park (StateParks.com)
- Civil War Artillery in the News
- Interpreting the Civil War at Columbus-Belmont State Park and Sacramento, Kentucky: Two Case Studies by William H. Mulligan, Jr., Forrest C. Pogue Public History Institute, Murray State UniversityMurray State UniversityMurray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...