Fort DeWolf

Last updated
Marker denoting the fort Fort DeWolf marker.jpg
Marker denoting the fort

Fort DeWolf was an American Civil War fort located just south of Shepherdsville, Kentucky. It was placed so that the L&N railroad would bisect the fort, to better protect the vital railroad bridge over the Salt River.

See also


Related Research Articles

Ohio River River in the midwestern United States

The Ohio River is a 981-mile (1,579 km) long river in the United States. It is located in the midwestern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania south of Lake Erie to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It is the third largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the second largest tributary by volume, behind the Missouri River, of the north-south flowing Mississippi River that divides the eastern from western United States. The river flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes parts of 15 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for three million people.

Mercer County, Kentucky U.S. county in Kentucky

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,331. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county was formed from Lincoln County, Virginia in 1785 and is named for Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer, who was killed at the Battle of Princeton in 1777.

St. Matthews, Kentucky City in Kentucky, United States

St. Matthews is a city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. It forms part of the Louisville Metro government but is separately incorporated as a home rule-class city. The population was 17,472 at the 2010 census, up from 15,852 at the 2000 census. It is the 23rd-largest city in the state.

James Guthrie (Kentucky) American politician and businessman

James Guthrie was a Kentucky lawyer, plantation owner, railroad president and Democratic Party politician. He served as the 21st United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Franklin Pierce, and then became president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. After serving, part-time, in both houses of the Kentucky legislature as well as Louisville's City Council before the American Civil War, Guthrie became one of Kentucky's United States Senators in 1865. Although Guthrie strongly opposed Kentucky's secession from the United States and attended the Peace Conference of 1861, and sided with the Union during the Civil War, he declined President Abraham Lincoln's offer to become the Secretary of War. As one of Kentucky's Senators after the war, Guthrie supported President Andrew Johnson and opposed Congressional Reconstruction.

Louisville and Nashville Railroad defunct American Class I railway

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.

Battle of Munfordville United States historic place

The Battle of Munfordville was an engagement in Kentucky during the American Civil War. Victory there allowed the Confederates to temporarily strengthen their hold on the region and impair Union supply lines.

History of Louisville, Kentucky

The geology of the Ohio River, with a but a single series of rapids halfway in its length from the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to its union with the Mississippi, made it inevitable that a town would grow on the site. Louisville, Kentucky was chartered in the late 18th century. From its early days on the frontier, it quickly grew to be a major trading and distribution center in the mid 19th century, important industrial city in the early 20th, declined in the mid 20th century, before revitalizing in the late 20th century as a culturally-focused mid-sized American city.

Cave Hill Cemetery United States historic place

Cave Hill Cemetery is a 296-acre (1.20 km2) Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at 701 Baxter Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of burials in Louisville.

Kentucky Railway Museum

The Kentucky Railway Museum, now located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originally created in 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, the museum is at its third location, in extreme southern Nelson County. It is one of the oldest railroad stations in the United States.

Kentucky in the American Civil War

Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of the Commonwealth when, in a September 1861 letter to Orville Browning, he wrote:

I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we cannot hold Missouri, nor Maryland. These all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us. We would as well consent to separation at once, including the surrender of this capitol.

Louisville, Kentucky, in the American Civil War

Louisville in the American Civil War was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the Western Theater. By the end of the war, Louisville had not been attacked once, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Perryville and Corydon, took place nearby.

The Battle of Rowlett's Station was a land battle in the American Civil War, fought at the railroad whistle-stop of Rowlett's in Hart County, Kentucky, on December 17, 1861. The outcome was inconclusive, although the Union Army continued to hold its objective, a railroad bridge across the Green River.

Fort Duffield United States historic place

Fort Duffield is a Union American Civil War fort located outside West Point, Kentucky. It saw use in 1862, and was abandoned when it appeared that the war would never come near the fort. Ironically, John Hunt Morgan would in 1863 lead his Raiders right past the fort and may have been stopped had the fort not been abandoned.

32nd Indiana Monument United States historic place

The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the August Bloedner Monument, honors the Union soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as Indiana's "1st German" regiment, who died in the Battle of Rowlett's Station on December 17, 1861, near Munfordville, Kentucky. Originally placed at Fort Willich, near Munfordville, in January 1862, the monument was moved to Cave Hill National Cemetery at Louisville, Kentucky, in June 1867. Due to its fragile condition, the monument was removed from the national cemetery in 2008. After undergoing conservation treatment at the University of Louisville, it was placed on display at the Frazier History Museum lobby in August 2010. Although it is no longer in its original location, the 32nd Indiana Monument is generally considered to be the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War. A replacement monument at Cave Hill National Cemetery was dedicated in December 2011.

History of slavery in Kentucky

The history of slavery in Kentucky dates from the earliest permanent European settlements in the state, until the end of the Civil War. Kentucky was classified as the Upper South or a Border state, and enslaved African Americans represented up to 25% of the population before the Civil War, concentrated in the cities of Louisville and Lexington, both in the fertile Bluegrass Region, a center of tobacco plantations and horse farms.

American Civil War fortifications in Louisville

Louisville's fortifications for the American Civil War were designed to protect Louisville, Kentucky, as it was an important supply station for the Union's fight in the western theater of the war. They were typically named for fallen Union officers; usually those that served in the Army of the Ohio. The inspiration for building the forts came in October 1862, when Confederate forces engaged in their largest attack in Kentucky, only to be halted at the Battle of Perryville. Construction began in 1863, going at a slow pace until Confederate forces marched on Nashville, Tennessee, in the autumn of 1864. This caused General Hugh Ewing to demand from the city to force both military convicts and local "loafers" to help build the fortifications. Due to military engineers being needed on the front lines, the fortifications in Louisville were designed by civilian assistant engineers, as were the ones in Cincinnati, Ohio. Louisville was never endangered, so the guns never fired, save for salutes.

New Haven Battlefield Site Area of American Civil War military engagement

The New Haven Battlefield is the area of American Civil War military engagements at the intersection of the Rolling Fork and the former Louisville and Nashville Railroad line between Knoxville and New Haven, Kentucky. The geographic area includes the James Howell Farm and additional combat areas of December 30, 1862.

The 48th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Frederick R. De Funiak was an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Later he became a successful railroad engineer and an official of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. DeFuniak Springs, Florida is named for him.