Who Built Fort Curtis

Who Built Fort Curtis. . , Thousands of escaped slaves, known as Contraband, followed the Union army to Helena in July 1862. Within weeks, the army put hundreds of Contraband to work building Fort Curtis., Hard Labor in Hot Weather , African American laborers moved tons of earth, cut trees, milled lumber and did everything else required to build Fort Curtis. Imagine moving enough dirt to build this fort with only shovels, picks and wheelbarrows. Then imagine doing this backbreaking work in the hottest months of the year. The men who came to Helena seeking freedom did just that, building a fort larger than this reconstruction in three months., Seized and Set to Work , Parties of Union soldiers seized African American men, including those working for the army in other jobs, and set them to work on Fort Curtis. General Eugene Carr, an advocate for the Contraband, complained to General Curtis, writing."It would be better to send the orders through the proper channels than to send parties to gather them Contraband] wherever they may be found!" Carr felt that the Union army's actions sent the wrong message about freedom saying," . . . there is no security for those [who] in good faith have engaged in labor in our service." , [Photo captions] , Middle left portrait: General Eugene A. Carr , Bottom right: In spite of being forced to labor on the fort many of the men who built Fort Curtis enlisted in the Union army the following spring.