Tennessee Forts

American Forts: East

TENNESSEE

Last Update: 15/MARCH/2008

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2008 American Forts Network

Fort Watauga
(Sycamore Shoals State Historical Park)
(1772 - unknown), Elizabethton
The Transylvania Treaty was signed here by the Watauga Association to buy Cherokee lands. The Cherokee lay seige to the fort in July 1776. This was the principal muster post of the Overmountain Men in September 1780 prior to the Battle of King's Mountain, NC. The current structure is a reproduction of the first permanent American settlement in what was to be present-day Tennessee. Located at 1651 West Elk Ave.. A stone monument (1909) marks the actual site of the fort, located about one mile away on West G Street at Monument Place.

Fort Caswell
(1776 - unknown), near Watauga
A NC militia fort at the Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River. (Possibly the same as Fort Watauga above ?)

Fort Lee
(1776 - unknown), Watauga
A Virginia militia fort located on Limestone Creek. Attacked by Cherokee Indians in July 1776.

Johnson City Camp
(1861), Johnson City
A CSA camp, monument (1904) located at Lamont and Tennessee Streets.

Col. David Looney's Fort
(1770's), Fairview
A settlers' fort on Muddy Creek at the South Fork Holston River.

Fort on Long Island
(1760), Long Island
A temporary VA colonial militia fort located on Long Island during the Cherokee War. It was built by the relief force for Fort Loudoun, but they never arrived in time to help. Replaced by Fort Robinson.

Fort Robinson
(1761), Fort Robinson
A VA colonial militia fort located on the north bank of the South Fork Holston River, nearly opposite the western end of Long Island. A large bastioned work, possibly with a blockhouse.

King's Mill Fort
(1776 - unknown), Kingsport
A fortified stone-built gristmill at the mouth of Reedy Creek, built by Col. James King in 1774.

Fort Patrick Henry
(1776 - 1780's), Kingsport
A Virginia state militia fort built at or near the site of Fort Robinson. It was a bastioned 100-yard square work.

Camp Adrian
(1862), Hawkins County
A CSA training camp. Exact location undetermined.

Fort Armistead
(1827, 1838), Cedar Creek
Originally built to keep out white settlers from Cherokee lands during the 1827 gold rush. Also used during the Cherokee Removals of 1838.

Rogersville Post
(1863), Rogersville
A Union garrison post was here, attacked by Confederates in November 1863 (Big Creek Skirmish), capturing several guns and other supplies.

Bean's Station
(1787 - unknown), Bean Station
A settlers' fort, built by brothers Robert and William Bean. The actual site is under the waters of Cherokee Lake (German Creek).

Russellville Encampment
(1863 - 1864), Russellville
A CSA winter encampment for troops under Major General James Longstreet, after retreating from Knoxville.

Bulls Gap Earthworks
(1864), Bulls Gap
Traces of Union earthworks still remain in the area, mostly in Greene County. Site of battle in November 1864.

Swaggert's Blockhouse
(1787 ? - unknown), Parrottsville
A settlers' fort. Structure was later covered by a barn, which has since been removed. Original structure still exists.
(thanks to Greg Parrott for info)

Fort Bell Canton
(1797 - 1800), Jefferson City
A Federal fort located on the Holston River to protect the Cherokees from white encroachment.

Fort Santa Elena
(1567), near Deep Springs
A Spanish blockhouse built by the Juan Pardo Expedition on the French Broad River near the Indian village of Chiaha on Zimmerman's Island. When Pardo arrived in October 1567, the 30 men that had been left behind at Xuala (North Carolina) in January or February 1567 were found here. About 15 or so men were left here in October or November 1567, but they probably did not survive the winter. Hernando DeSoto visited Chiaha in June 1540. Site now inundated by Douglas Lake.

Fort in Powell Valley
(1797 - unknown), Claiborne or Campbell Counties
A Federal fort built to prevent white encroachment on Cherokee lands. Exact site undetermined.

Henry's Station
(1783 - 1790's), near Kodak
A settlers' fort located near the mouth of Dumplin Creek at the French Broad River. The Treaty of Dumplin Creek (State of Franklin) was signed here in 1785 wherein the Cherokees relinquished their rights and title to the land in this area. The treaty was invalidated later that year by the United States Congress upon the ratification of the Treaty of Hopewell.

Samuel Newell's Station
(1784 - 1790's), Newell Station
A settlers' fort located near the head of Boyd's Creek (at US 411 and US 441).

Samuel McGaughey's Station
(1784 - 1790's), Sevier County
A settlers' fort located on Boyd's Creek below Newell's Station.

Jacob Derrick's Fort
(1779 ?), Sevier County ?
A settlers' fort and gristmill at what was known as the "German Settlement". Location undetermined.

John Adair's Fort
(1788 - unknown), near Knoxville
A settlers' blockhouse used as a supply depot for the Cumberland Guard militia. Exact location undetermined.

Alexander Cavet's Station
(1780's), near Knoxville
A settlers' fort. Attacked by Cherokees in September 1793, killing all but one. Exact location undetermined.

Capt. James White's Fort (1) (State Historic Site)
(1786 - 1790's), Knoxville
The house dates to 1786 but the palisade was added later (September 1793 ?) as a defense against Indians. Most of the current structure is a reproduction. The Treaty of Holston was signed here in 1791. Located at 205 East Hill Ave.. Admission fee. Another website from Knoxville.org

Post at Knoxville
(1793 - 1807), Knoxville
A Federal garrison post was located here.

Civil War Defenses of Knoxville
(1863 - 1864), Knoxville
A line of Union earthworks and batteries surrounded the city, mostly on the north-side of the Tennessee river.
Fort Byington, on Cumberland Ave. at entrance to University of Tennessee (Ayres Hall).
Battery Harker, below Battery Noble.
Battery Noble, just west of Fort Byington at Melrose Hall, U. of Tenn..
Fort Sanders (previously named Fort Loudon (2) (sic) and Fort Buckner), site on campus of University of Tennessee, two blocks north of Strong Hall, at 17th Street and Laurel Ave.. Battle of Fort Sanders summary from NPS.
Battery Elstner, adjacent to Fort Sanders.
Battery Karnasch, between Batteries Elstner and Zoellner.
Battery Zoellner, between Fort Sanders and Second Creek (Forest Ave. between 11th and 13th Streets).
Battery Galpin, across Second Creek from Battery Zoellner (Vine Ave. between Broadway and Locust Street).
Fort Comstock, on West Church Ave. on Summit Hill, now Lawson McGhee Library.
Battery Wiltsie, marker on Vine Ave. between Market and Walnut Streets.
Battery Billingsley, between Gay Street and First Creek.
Fort Huntington Smith, on Payne Ave., marker on lawn of Green School on Temperance Hill.
Battery Clifton Lee, just east of Fort Smith.
Battery Stearman, east of Battery Lee, west of Vine Ave. and Main Street.
Battery Engle, near Battery Lee.
Fort Hill, on Mabry's Hill at Surrey Street and Saxton Ave.
Battery Fearns, on Flint Hill overlooking the river.
Fort Dickerson (park), on Fort Dickerson Hill, marker on Chapman Highway at Woodbine Ave..
Fort Stanley, at the end of Gay Street.
Fort Higley, on the south-side of the river near the railroad.
Fort Mihalotzy (1), unknown location.
Sevierville Hill was also fortified by the Union.
Markers for additional Union earthworks are located on Neyland Drive west of Second Creek, and on the Tennessee River side of Riverside Drive at McCammon Ave..

A Confederate seige camp (November 1863) was located at present-day Knoxville College, and a CSA battery (November 1863) was located on Cherokee Heights against Union-held Fort Sanders. Most of the CSA seige works were located along Third Creek west of the city, across to Second Creek.

Camp John S. Poland
(1898 - 1899), Knoxville
A Spanish-American War winter training camp, originally established because of overcrowding at Camp Chickamauga, GA. Originally named Camp Wilder. Located at Lincoln Park in the Lonsdale section of the city. The camp hospital was located at Turner Park.

Camp Bob Taylor
(1898), Knoxville
A Spanish-American War training camp, located in the Fountain City section of the city, at what was then known as Elmwood Park, two miles east of downtown.

James Gillespie's Fort
(1785), near Rockford
A settlers' fort attacked and destroyed by Cherokee Indians in October 1788. Afterwards it was known as Burnt Station. Located about two miles northeast of town.

Kelly's Fort
(1780's), near Rockford
A settlers' fort. Exact location undetermined.

John Craig's Fort
(1785 - unknown), Maryville
A small blockhouse surrounded by a two-acre stockade. Sam Houston once lived here as a youth with his widowed mother.

David Craig's Fort
(1780's), near Maryville
A settlers' fort at the "Brick Mill" (?). Exact location undetermined.
(NOTE: the hamlet of Blockhouse is nearby to the south, a reference to Craig's Fort ?)

James Houston's Fort
(1785 - unknown), near Maryville
A settlers' fort (or station) located on Little Nine Mile Creek south of town. Attacked by Cherokee Indians in 1788.

Ish's Fort
(1790's), near Maryville
A settlers' fort, possibly located on Ish Creek (?) to the west. General John Sevier with 300 militia defeated about 1000 Cherokee Indians here who were on their way to attack Knoxville in September 1793.

Fort Southwest Point (Park)
(1792 - 1807), near Kingston
A reconstruction of a local militia fort. Originally built by General John Sevier to prevent Cherokee raids. Federal troops were later garrisoned here in 1797 before the post was abandoned, transferring to Hiwassee. Site excavated in 1974. This is the only reconstructed fort in the state on the original foundation. Located south of town on TN 58 at the mouth of the Clinch River.

Civil War Defenses of Loudon
(1863 - 1864), Loudon
Fort Ammen was a Union redoubt located on a hill 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 Tennessee River.

Fort Granger (1)
(1794 - 1807), Lenoir City
A state militia fort, possibly also garrisoned by Federal troops.

Fort Loudoun (1) (State Historical Park)
(1756 - 1760), near Vonore
Built by the VA colonial militia as a defense against the French and Indians. It was the first British post in the region, also called Fort at Choto (or Chota). It was a moated and palisaded diamond-shaped bastioned work. Later garrisoned by South Carolina militia and British Regulars. The Cherokee War broke out in 1759, and the garrison surrendered to the Indians in August 1760 and the fort was burned. The soldiers and their families were then massacred at camp 15 miles away. Site excavated in the 1930's. The current structure is a 1960's reproduction.

Tellico Blockhouse
(Fort Loudoun State Historical Park)
(1794 - 1807), near Fort Loudoun
A local militia work built of stone, located near Fort Loudoun (1), across from the mouth of Ninemile Creek at the Little Tennessee River. Garrisoned by Federal troops in 1796. The "Tellico Treaty" was signed here in 1798. Ruins still exist.

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.

Fort Virginia
(1755 - 1757), Tallassee
This unfinished Virginia militia fort was never actually garrisoned, and was abandoned after Fort Loudoun (1) was completed.

Camp Armistead
(1832 - 1835), Tellico Plains
A Federal camp, probably associated with the Cherokee Removals.

Fort Cass
(1835 - 1838), Calhoun
Built for the Cherokee Removals. See also The Unicoi Turnpike

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 Charleston
Built for the Cherokee Removals.

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

Fort Marr
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1814, 1835 - 1838), Old Fort, and Benton
A two-story log blockhouse originally built to guard General Jackson's supply line to New Orleans during the Creek War. Regarrisoned in 1835, and possibly renamed Fort Morrow at that time, it is now the only remaining stockade fort (of 23) used for the Cherokee Removals in 1838. The central structure was relocated in 1922 about 12 miles to Benton, and still survives today as a historic site, located on US 411 north of town.

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
Built for the Cherokee Removals. 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.

Post at Hiwassee
(1807 - 1814), near Five Points
A Federal garrison post and Indian Agency located near the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers, transferred from Fort Southwest Point. Abandoned after a land dispute forced its closing. The Indian Agency then moved to Charleston. Site located off of Garrison Road, south of the old Armstrong Ferry location.
(additional info courtesy of Peggy Hall)

Harrison Batteries
(Harrison Bay State Park)
(1863), Harrison Bay
Two or three CSA gun batteries in the old town of Harrison on the Tennessee River. The town no longer exists, now under the waters of Chickamauga Lake.

Camp Ross
(1812 - 1813), Chattanooga
A supply depot for the TN state militia during the Creek War. Located at the mouth of Chattanooga Creek on the Tennessee River.

Civil War Defenses of Chattanooga
(Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park)
(1863 - 1864), Chattanooga
Extensive lines of earthworks surrounded the area, mostly south of the Tennessee River along Missionary Ridge to Lookout Mountain.
Union forts:
Redoubt Carpenter (six guns), on Cameron Hill.
Fort Sheridan, monument at 1219 East Terrace on Cameron Hill.
Fort Mihalotzy (2) (eight guns), at 221 Boynton Terrace on Cameron Hill.
Battery (Redoubt) Coolidge (1864), below Fort Milhalotzy.
Fort Crutchfield (1864), between Fort Lytle and Fort Mihalotzy.
Fort Lytle (aka Star Fort) (1864) (five guns), on College Street between 13th and 14th Streets.
Fort Phelps (10 guns), at 1706 Read Ave.. It still existed until 1885.
Fort Negley (2), near Fort Phelps. It still existed until 1885.
Fort Jones (aka Stone Fort), site now U.S. Custom House and Post Office near Market and 11th Streets. Leveled in 1880.
Battery Erwin, between Fort Jones and Fort Sherman.
Fort Wood, originally named Fort Creighton (14 guns), site now under the water standpipe of the city water company. NPS emplaced three display cannon nearby.
Fort Sherman (eight guns), at Walnut and 5th Streets. Leveled in 1880.
Battery O'Meara, adjacent to Fort Sherman.
Fort (Redoubt) Putnam (six guns), near 4th and Lindsay Streets, at Brabson Square. Leveled in 1886.
Fort King, unknown location.
Fort Palmer, site now Park Place.
Battery (Redoubt) Bushnell, east of Georgia Ave. near Battery Place. Leveled in 1885.
A log blockhouse was located at the railroad depot in town.
Union batteries were also north of the river on Moccasin Point, and at Brown's Ferry.

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

Confederate forts:
Fort Cheatham (1862), located between 4th Ave. and 23rd and 28th Streets. Earthworks remain ?
Fort Hindman, unknown location.
Battery Smartt, unknown location.
Lookout Mountain was heavily fortified.
Three CSA gun batteries from the 1863 seige line are located in Point Park.

Admission fee to National Park areas.

NOTE: The "Lost State of Franklin" existed from 1785 - 1788, encompassing most of present-day Eastern Tennessee, with its capital at Greeneville. It was declared illegal by North Carolina, and was never recognized by the United States Congress. The Southwest Territory, or formally the Territory South of the Ohio River, was formed in 1790.

NEED MORE INFO: Fort Sumter Road near Copper Ridge, Knox County.

Towns: Blockhouse near Maryville; Camp Creek near Greeneville; Camp Austin in Morgan County; Kingsley Station near South Knoxville; Miser Station near Maryville; Puncheon Camp in Grainger County.

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