Fort Mulligan (1)

Fort Mulligan (1) (1963-1864) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1963 near Petersburg, Grant County, West Virginia. Named Fort Mulligan after Colonel James A. Mulligan. Abandoned in 1864. History This fort was constructed between August and December of 1863, by Union troops commanded by Colonel James A. Mulligan. The fort was built to provide protection for the surrounding valley against Confederate forces and to provide an auxiliary supply depot for Union operations in the area. The fort site had been the site of previous temporary fortifications in 1861 and 1862. This was a large earthworks fortification with the inner walls lined with timbers and an abatis providing an additional protective barrier around the outer ditch. The remains of the fort indicate that it may have had three entrances and at least seven gun emplacement and four bombproofs. Union Colonel Joseph Thoburn evacuated the fort on 31 Jan 1864 in the face of an impending attack by Confederate General Jubal Early. For the remainder of 1864 and 1865 raids continued in the area but Fort Mulligan was not garrisoned again. Current Status Significant remains of this earthworks fortification with at least 9 on-site markers along an interpretive trail. Display cannons on site. Location: Petersburg, Grant County, West Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 39.00115 Long: -79.1398 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,115' GPS Locations: 39.00083, -79.14056 GNIS Fort Mulligan 38.99302, -79.12069 Fort Mulligan Marker 39.00115, -79.13980 Fort Mulligan See Also: U.S. Civil War Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 845. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1697236 Links: North American Forts - Fort Mulligan Grant County - Fort Mulligan Fortification ID: WV0214 - Fort Mulligan (1) Visited: No