Fort Pickering

[ClintI]

Recently I was in Memphis to see the former site of Fort Pickering. I know the earthen native american mounds were hollowed out and used for ammunition bunkers and gun encasements. The attached picture shows some flat stones or concrete slabs atop one of the mounds. I've not been able to determine what they were used for or why they are there. Can anyone help me out please?

 

[bankerpapaw]

Where are the pictures?

 

[ClintI]

Recently I was in Memphis to see the former site of Fort Pickering. I know the earthen native american mounds were hollowed out and used for ammunition bunkers and gun encasements. The attached picture shows some flat stones or concrete slabs atop one of the mounds. I've not been able to determine what they were used for or why they are there. Can anyone help me out please?

Where are the pictures?

I'm having a problem attaching the picture. I'll keep working on it.

 

[ClintI]

Trying to attach the picture.

 

[RedRover]

Recently I was in Memphis to see the former site of Fort Pickering. I know the earthen native american mounds were hollowed out and used for ammunition bunkers and gun encasements. The attached picture shows some flat stones or concrete slabs atop one of the mounds. I've not been able to determine what they were used for or why they are there. Can anyone help me out please?

The Fort Pickering site, at least where those mounds survive, was developed into an "amusement park" in the late 1880s. There was a dance pavilion and band-stand constructed on the larger, western Indian mound near the river. The remaining blocks are probably the foundations for the large dance pavilion that covered the top, along with the stage, bandstand, and former stairways that are now long gone.

 

[ClintI]

Wow! I've not read of this in any history of the site, including a website called Historic Memphis. Thank you. I can't seem to load the picture but the blocks I saw are clearly visible in your photo. Thank you.

 

[ClintI]

Do you know why it was called Jackson Mound Park on the map? Was it in honor of Andrew Jackson?

 

[RedRover]

Do you know why it was called Jackson Mound Park on the map? Was it in honor of Andrew Jackson?

Yes. The park was named after Andrew Jackson until after 1912.

The US Army established itself on the bluff near the modern park (as Fort Adams originally) in 1797. Previously the Spanish had a post there, and the Americans wanted to ward them off, and the French had occupied the site too in the 1730s in their war with the Chickasaw. The US agency to the Chickasaw nation was there at Fort Pickering, and there was a community thereabouts.

In 1818, Major General Jackson was the United States commissioner in the Treaty with the Chickasaw that opened the district up to settlement. As US President, Jackson enacted the Indian removal act, and negotiated with the Chickasaw to remove west. They commenced in 1837 and for the next thirteen years continued their emigration to today's Oklahoma.

Subsequently, the principal developer of that section of Memphis in the 1800s, Mr. J.C. McLemore, intended to erect a monument to Jackson on the mound south of the old fort, thus the "Jackson mound." (the below from Keating's 1888 history of Memphis).

From an 1843 map, the large mound is shown as "monument square" for the intended Jackson monument.

No permanent monument was erected, but in the era the "Jackson mound" was the site of the democratic party picnics on the 4th of July, etc.

During the 1860s the forces reoccupied the bluff, and in fortifying, expanded Fort Pickering to include the old mounds, including the Jackson mound, which was incorporated into the southern end of the fortifications...

Sgt. Eaton's drawing of the mounds as mounting guns...

From the late 1880s, the "Jackson Mound Park Association" operated the amusement park on the grounds, including the dance pavilion erected over the Jackson mound, etc.

But it was claimed even in that period by some, that the Jackson mound, etc., was the site of De Soto's arrival on the Mississippi in 1541. This was described as the town of "Chisca," so consequently some called the "Jackson mound" the "Chisca mound" etc.

De Soto's chronicles don't include maps, so there really isn't any way to confirm if the site is that of ancient "Chisca." But it could be. And there were some about Memphis willing to make the claim, especially in the boom times of the late 19th Century. By the 1890s it was customary to state outright that the mounds at Jackson mound park was certainly the site of Chisca, where DeSoto reached the Mississippi... From "Empire of the South" (1894):

In 1912 the city of Memphis purchased the site for use as a public park, and renamed it De Soto Park, and emphasized the possibility it was the Chisca site of 1541.

From 1926

Anyways, as the DeSoto park, a memorial was placed on the old "Jackson mound" as follows, by 1922:

Although in more recent years, the park has been renamed "Chickasaw Heritage Park" which is a much more certain historic relation, given the ancient mound-builders were ancestors of the Chickasaw, and of the Chickasaw tribe itself in the historic period from the 1600s to the late 1830s when they removed west, but also regarding historic Fort Pickering. But there is yet a monument relative to the likelihood it was about where De Soto reached the Mississippi.

 

[ClintI]

Yes. The park was named after Andrew Jackson until after 1912.

The US Army established itself on the bluff near the modern park (as Fort Adams originally) in 1797. Previously the Spanish had a post there, and the Americans wanted to ward them off, and the French had occupied the site too in the 1730s in their war with the Chickasaw. The US agency to the Chickasaw nation was there at Fort Pickering, and there was a community thereabouts.

In 1818, Major General Jackson was the United States commissioner in the Treaty with the Chickasaw that opened the district up to settlement. As US President, Jackson enacted the Indian removal act, and negotiated with the Chickasaw to remove west. They commenced in 1837 and for the next thirteen years continued their emigration to today's Oklahoma.


View attachment 566312

Subsequently, the principal developer of that section of Memphis in the 1800s, Mr. J.C. McLemore, intended to erect a monument to Jackson on the mound south of the old fort, thus the "Jackson mound." (the below from Keating's 1888 history of Memphis).

View attachment 566306

From an 1843 map, the large mound is shown as "monument square" for the intended Jackson monument.

View attachment 566311


View attachment 566305

No permanent monument was erected, but in the era the "Jackson mound" was the site of the democratic party picnics on the 4th of July, etc.

View attachment 566307

During the 1860s the forces reoccupied the bluff, and in fortifying, expanded Fort Pickering to include the old mounds, including the Jackson mound, which was incorporated into the southern end of the fortifications...

View attachment 566313

Sgt. Eaton's drawing of the mounds as mounting guns...

View attachment 566332



From the late 1880s, the "Jackson Mound Park Association" operated the amusement park on the grounds, including the dance pavilion erected over the Jackson mound, etc.

But it was claimed even in that period by some, that the Jackson mound, etc., was the site of De Soto's arrival on the Mississippi in 1541. This was described as the town of "Chisca," so consequently some called the "Jackson mound" the "Chisca mound" etc.

View attachment 566308

De Soto's chronicles don't include maps, so there really isn't any way to confirm if the site is that of ancient "Chisca." But it could be. And there were some about Memphis willing to make the claim, especially in the boom times of the late 19th Century. By the 1890s it was customary to state outright that the mounds at Jackson mound park was certainly the site of Chisca, where DeSoto reached the Mississippi... From "Empire of the South" (1894):

View attachment 566299
View attachment 566300
View attachment 566301
View attachment 566310

In 1912 the city of Memphis purchased the site for use as a public park, and renamed it De Soto Park, and emphasized the possibility it was the Chisca site of 1541.

From 1926

View attachment 566302
View attachment 566303

View attachment 566304


Anyways, as the DeSoto park, a memorial was placed on the old "Jackson mound" as follows, by 1922:

View attachment 566320
View attachment 566321
View attachment 566322

Although in more recent years, the park has been renamed "Chickasaw Heritage Park" which is a much more certain historic relation, given the ancient mound-builders were ancestors of the Chickasaw, and of the Chickasaw tribe itself in the historic period from the 1600s to the late 1830s when they removed west, but also regarding historic Fort Pickering. But there is yet a monument relative to the likelihood it was about where De Soto reached the Mississippi.


View attachment 566309

This is all so fascinating, thank you!

 

[RedRover]

This is all so fascinating, thank you!

Indeed. It's a really interesting site. And Fort Pickering's importance in the American settlement of the region, and in the Civil War can't be over emphasized.


Fort Pickering in the early 1800s was established by troops under the indefatigable Capt. Zebulon Pike (of Pike's Peak notice). Originally the US troops established Fort Pike, to the northward, but malaria struck the small post, and so it was moved to higher ground toward the mounds, and there constructed "Fort Pickering" as a wooden stockade and blockhouses apparently just north of the old Indian mounds. A description of the fort and surroundings in 1811:

The factor there received trade goods from the Chickasaw Indians, etc. who frequently visited from their villages to trade, or deal with the US agents. Here's an excellent account of Fort Pickering in 1809, while it was commanded by then Lieutenant Zachary Taylor (later President Taylor)...

The US Army's frontier forts in the early 1800s were usually built around sturdy, bullet-proof blockhouses (the Indians didn't have artillery), often enclosing a space between them with upright pickets set in the ground to form a stockade. Here's an example of an Indian wars period blockhouse in Tennessee that was near Nashville...

The ruins of the fort were described by old timers at Memphis which commenced settlement in the 1820s as being near the mounds. They recalled at least the remains of the wooden blockhouses. Mr. W.T. Avery of Memphis stated in 1864:

J.J. Randolph could recall from the 1820s at least one of the old blockhouses yet standing yet near the mounds in the 1820s as Memphis developed.

It was said that the vestiges of the old stockade and blockhouse at Fort Pickering had fallen in decay by the 1840s, leaving only the old mounds to mark their vicinity.


By the 1860s Memphis was much developed. And of course with the war, Fort Pickering was once again active, and heavily fortified, including the old mounds.


It was General Sherman who fortified Fort Pickering in late 1862 with its much larger system of earthwork fortifications, incorporating the mounds in the present day park to mount artillery. In October, 1862 he reported to General Grant that the mounds mounted several guns, and on the whole Fort Pickering was ready for action...

Looking again at the mounds, which are so historic, here is a drawing of what the large "Jackson mound" looked like in 1858 before it was fortified during the Civil War...

Notice the ramp and sub-terranean entrance in the north side, which predates the Civil War. Both are still there, though the tunnel brick-work at the opening is said to have been placed during the war in converting it into a bomb-proof, etc.

When incorporated into the fortifications of the expanded Fort Pickering in 1862-65, the mound tops were excavated, to dig in the emplacements for the heavy guns mounted on top, as shown in this diagram...

You can see in the diagram for the fortification of the large mound above, that besides the tunnel running north-south through the mound, there was a ramp for access to the battery.


The earthworks surrounding the mounds, and the rest of Fort Pickering were considerable. Here's a drawing of their profile.

The Ft. Pickering mounds weren't the only use of local Indian mounds by Grant's troops in 1862. Here's notice that on the Shiloh Battlefield in April, many of the dead were buried in the mounds dotting the wooded battlefield...

Anyways, here's an 1865 report on the situation and defenses at Fort Pickering.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Fort Pickering building yards for Arkansas and Tennessee I

Fort Pickering building yards for Arkansas and Tennessee I | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

Fort Pickering was located south of Memphis on the eastern bank of the river and chosen as the building site by Prime Emerson based upon his experience building a river steamer there in the 1850s. ("...both men agreed that Fort Pickering, a landing a few miles above Memphis, Tennessee, on the...

civilwartalk.com

A SURVEY OF CIVIL WAR PERIOD MILITARY SITES IN WEST TENNESSEE
Fred M. Prouty and Gary L. Barker
Post #3 of the below thread

The Fortress War: Effect Of Union Fortifications In The Western Theater Of The American Civil War | Forts, Fortifications, & Other Forgotten Places

THE FORTRESS WAR: EFFECT OF UNION FORTIFICATIONS IN THE WESTERN THEATER OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR Thomas R. Flagel Doctor of Philosophy in Public History Middle Tennessee State University May 2016 ABSTRACT Civil War historiography generally overlooks Union occupation forts or interprets them as...

civilwartalk.com

LETTERS OF PRIVATE OTTO WOLF
117th Illinois Volunteer Infantry
Fort Pickering, Tennessee 1863

https://madcohistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/OW_1863.pdf

HTHs,
USS ALASKA

 

[ClintI]

Fort Pickering building yards for Arkansas and Tennessee I | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

Fort Pickering was located south of Memphis on the eastern bank of the river and chosen as the building site by Prime Emerson based upon his experience building a river steamer there in the 1850s. ("...both men agreed that Fort Pickering, a landing a few miles above Memphis, Tennessee, on the...

civilwartalk.com

LETTERS OF PRIVATE OTTO WOLF
117th Illinois Volunteer Infantry
Fort Pickering, Tennessee 1863

https://madcohistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/OW_1863.pdf

A SURVEY OF CIVIL WAR PERIOD MILITARY SITES IN WEST TENNESSEE
Fred M. Prouty and Gary L. Barker
Post #3 of the below thread

The Fortress War: Effect Of Union Fortifications In The Western Theater Of The American Civil War | Forts, Fortifications, & Other Forgotten Places

THE FORTRESS WAR: EFFECT OF UNION FORTIFICATIONS IN THE WESTERN THEATER OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR Thomas R. Flagel Doctor of Philosophy in Public History Middle Tennessee State University May 2016 ABSTRACT Civil War historiography generally overlooks Union occupation forts or interprets them as...

civilwartalk.com

HTHs,
USS ALASKA

This is why I value this forum. I learn so much.

 

[ClintI]

My specific interest in the Fort lay in the fact that my 2x great grandfather, Daniel Mounts (Co. K, 68th OVI) was present at the fort numerous times (he was assigned as a ward nurse at Washington Hospital from Jan - July 1864) and records in his diary on April 29 "Went out to fort Pickering Saw Smith hung" and on June 10 "went to fort Pickering and Saw three Soldiers Shot for Rape." Thank you for providing a detailed history for me.

 

[RedRover]

My specific interest in the Fort lay in the fact that my 2x great grandfather, Daniel Mounts (Co. K, 68th OVI) was present at the fort numerous times (he was assigned as a ward nurse at Washington Hospital from Jan - July 1864) and records in his diary on April 29 "Went out to fort Pickering Saw Smith hung" and on June 10 "went to fort Pickering and Saw three Soldiers Shot for Rape." Thank you for providing a detailed history for me.

Private Daniel R. Mounts, enlisted in Co. K, 68th Ohio in November, 1861, and mustered-out at expiration of service at Savannah, GA (after the march to the sea) in December, 1864.

From the Sanitary Commission, some notice of the Washington Hospital, among others, at Memphis...

The Washington Hospital with 400 beds was established in the building of D. Raffo's Candy Factory at 354 Main Street.

The building is no longer present.

 

[ClintI]

Thank you for the picture and history of the hospital. FYI, he was mustered out "before Savannah due to expiration of term of service, on Dec. 18!