Fort Curtis

Fort Curtis (1862-1865) - A U.S. Army post established in 1862 during the U.S. Civil War at the town of Helena in Phillips County, Arkansas. Helena was strategically located on the west bank of the Mississippi River south of Memphis, Tennessee. The Fort was named for Union General Samuel R. Curtis. The post was abandoned near the end of the war in 1865. Fort Curtis Reproduction in 2020 History Union forces captured Helena, Arkansas in the summer of 1862 and erected five earthworks fortifications, one of which was Fort Curtis. Two companies of the 33rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry manned the fort with three, 30 pounder Parrott cannons. The four other defenses were batteries A, B, C, and D all facing outward and covering the land approaches to the city. The forts at Helena were attacked by 7,648 Confederates on 4 July 1863. The Union forces prevailed and the Confederates suffered over 2,000 dead and wounded. The fort was abandoned after the battle and was reoccupied between January and March 1865. Current Status Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: 350 Columbia, Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas. Maps & Images Lat: 34.52861 Long: -90.59111 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 203' GPS Locations: 34.52861, -90.59111 Fort Curtis 34.52904, -90.59058 Fort Curtis Marker 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 53 Links: North American Forts - Fort Curtis Visited: 5 Sep 2020