“Fort D,” one of the four forts erected in Cape Girardeau by Union forces in 1861, is the only one preserved. Its site southeast of the town was chosen to command the entire bend of the river southward, and also the river road from downstream. . . . — — Map (db m236773) HM
In April 1861, Ulysses Simpson Grant, a graduate of West Point and a former army officer, was out of the army and clerking in his father's store in Galena, IL. Grant's loyalties were clear: "We have a government and laws and a flag, and they . . . — — Map (db m236791) HM
The 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was formed in northern Illinois in April and May of 1861. On July 10, 1861, the regiment disembarked from a steamer at Cape Girardeau, the first formal Union troops to arrive in this city. One of the . . . — — Map (db m236813) HM
After the Civil War, the forts and earthworks of Cape Girardeau slowly disappeared as the city grew. Finally, only Fort D remained. In the early 1900's the area surrounding the fort was developed as Fort D Highlands. A campaign by veterans, . . . — — Map (db m236814) HM
Their names may not be recorded in the official records, but thousands of women volunteered their time, labor and money during the Civil War. As a teenager, Julia Gill, a future resident of Cape Girardeau, volunteered her services as a nurse, . . . — — Map (db m236815) HM
Work on Fort D began on August 6, 1861 under the direction of Lieutenant John W. Powell of Illinois. Later, Powell recruited a company of loyal Cape Girardeau men to serve in the Union army. Since Powell was from Illinois, these men were mustered . . . — — Map (db m236816) HM
At the beginning of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln requested states raise 75,000 volunteers for troops. In response, the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment was organized during the early summer of 1862, partially, in order to . . . — — Map (db m236817) HM
Reportedly Fort D was armed with three 32-pounder smoothbore cannon, Model 1829, and two 24-pounders, Model 1819. A 32-pounder can fire a solid round shot weighing 32 pounds for nearly a mile. Such a shot required a load of 8 pounds of gunpowder. . . . — — Map (db m236818) HM
Rarely being on alert and never under attack, boredom and disease were the biggest enemies of the soldiers serving at Fort D. Soldiers passed their spare time reading, writing letters, playing cards, sewing, gambling, or playing music. Games played . . . — — Map (db m236820) HM
During the winter, some of the soldiers stationed here dug shelters into the hillside. One soldier reported that his “mess” of four men built a covered shelter measuring ten feet long by eight feet wide. The top was covered with dirt, and a . . . — — Map (db m236821) HM
In order to help dissuade potential attackers, some Union soldiers shaped and painted logs to make them look like cannons from a distance. Since these "cannons" could not fire, they were called “Quaker” cannons after the Quakers, a peaceable . . . — — Map (db m236822) HM
