Near Nicholasville in Jessamine County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Fort Jackson

Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin, February 4, 2019

1. Fort Jackson Marker

Inscription.
Defending Camp Nelson Designed to hold the middle of Camp Nelson's northern line, Fort Jackson is 280 feet deep and 300 feet wide with breastworks ten feet high. It is a lunette — a four-sided, unenclosed fort. It is one of three forts on the northern line that mounted artillery. Although it had 13 gun platforms, it never mounted more than seven guns: six 12-pounder Napoleon cannons and one 30-pounder Parrott. The fort also had a powder magazine.

A Nearly Impenetrable Fortification Fort Jackson was braced, or revetted, on the inside wall by wooden planks. Bundles of sticks called facines braced the inside of the embrasures. Bedrock made it impossible to dig the ditch in front of the fort as deep as regulations specified. To compensate, engineers made the ditch wider and placed a barrier of felled trees in it. Made of cedar and thorn-locust trees, the barrier, called an abatis, was nearly impenetrable.

Named for General James S. Jackson Kentuckian James Streshly Jackson gave up his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to raise the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry (U.S.). Born September 27, 1823, in Fayette County,

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

he attended Centre College in Danville and studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington. After serving in the Mexican War he returned to his law practice and entered politics. In 1861, he ran as a Unionist and won a seat in Congress. When the war began he resigned to serve in the Union Army. In July 1862, Jackson earned the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. He died at the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, on October 8, 1862, as he tried to rally his men. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

“Fort Jackson is comparatively low, as a line from Nelson to Taylor passes about 15 feet above its crest. This allows Forts Nelson and Taylor to fire over it with safety in protecting each other. The guns on its faces protect the ground to the front while those on the flanks enfilade the abatis line from Fort Nelson to Battery Pope.” — Chief Engineer John R. Gilliss, September 15, 1864

Caption: Fort Jackson would have looked much like Federal Fort No. 9 outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

Erected by Kentucky's Civil War Heritage Trail, Civil War Discovery Trail and National Underground Railroad

Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin, February 4, 2019

2. Fort Jackson Marker

Network to Freedom.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Network to Freedom series list.

Location. 37° 47.913′ N, 84° 35.907′ W. Marker is near Nicholasville, Kentucky, in Jessamine County. It can be reached from Danville Road Loop 2 0.4 miles south of Fitch Road. Marker is on Fort Trail in Camp Nelson National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6614 Danville Road Loop 2, Nicholasville KY 40356, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Bluegrass Region

and in Greater Lexington Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Camp Nelson (about 500 feet away,

Fort Jackson Marker Detail image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Thomas and Helen Martin, February 4, 2019

3. Fort Jackson Marker Detail

measured in a direct line); Graveyard No. 1 (about 600 feet away); African American Enlistment (about 800 feet away); The Thirteenth Amendment (approx. 0.2 miles away); The White House (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Northern Line of Fortifications (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Camp Nelson (approx. 0.3 miles away); Impressed Labor for the Army / Enslaved Men to Soldiers (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nicholasville.

Brig. Gen. James S. Jackson image. Click for full size.

Public domain

4. Brig. Gen. James S. Jackson

Credits. This page was last revised on April 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 24, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 769 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 24, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.