Military
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Construction of this strong defensive work began in 1862 during the Confederate occupation of Bowling Green. After the Confederates abandoned the city, the Union Army completed the fortification and named it Fort C. F. Smith in honor of General Charles Ferguson Smith. Of the extensive fortifications that once occupied this hilltop, only the outer earthworks remain. The long linear wall was the breastwork, which protected infantrymen from enemy fire, and the semi-circular lunette sheltered artillery pieces. Union Colonel Benjamin Harrison supervised construction of these earthworks. Fort C. F. Smith was described as a bastion fort, designed to withstand attack from any direction. Because of the time and labor required for their construction, bastion forts were usually built only at sites of great importance that demanded the presence of troops. Fort C. F. Smith was heavily armed, mounting four 20-pounder Parrotts, two 3.8 inch James rifles, four 4-inch rifled guns, thirteen 12-pounder light guns, and two 6-pounder smooth bores.
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Bowling Green, Kentucky · United States
