Built by

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Lieutenant Collier and Virginia militia with the aid of Federal prisoners, the Fort Collier redoubt guarded the north entrance of

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

on the east side of the Martinsburg Pike. During later Federal occupations, it was known as Battery No. 10. The fort was set on low ground, and generally offered little military advantage, except as a guard post for the pike. Lieutenant General Jubal Early used it as part of his defensive works in the

Third Battle of Winchester The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate ...

Background

The fort is located on a tract of land acquired by Benjamin Stine from Jacob Baker in 1859. Shortly afterwards the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

began, and extensive defensive preparations were made in the northern

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

. After General Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of

forces centered in

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

he quickly decided that Harpers Ferry was indefensible, and to re-center his defensive posture based in Winchester. The Stine farmstead and homesite was located on high ground alongside the valley pike, and made a natural defensive position for the north end of town, and was chosen as the site for the fort by Confederate Engineer Lieutenant Collier and William Henry Chase.

During the war

1861

Confederate troops began construction on July 7, 1861, under the orders of a Confederate engineering officer, Lieutenant Collier, assisted by a detachment of Federal prisoners. The supervision of construction may have been under Major

William H.C. Whiting William Henry Chase Whiting (March 22, 1824 – March 10, 1865) was a United States Army officer who resigned after 16 years of service in the Army Corps of Engineers to serve in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He ...

, the Chief Engineer for Gen. Johnston, and the fort was occupied by the Army of the Shenandoah during the winter of 1861 into 1862, under the command of General Johnston. It then fell under the Valley District, commanded by MajGen

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

one of three districts under the Department of Northern Virginia. Stonewall Jackson's

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

was located just south of the fort. On August 21, 1861, the fort was described in the diary of Harriet H. Griffith:

1862

Defensive troops occupied the fort during the

Romney Expedition The Romney Expedition was a military expedition of the Confederate States Army during the early part of the American Civil War. It is named for Romney, West Virginia, which at the time was still in the state of Virginia. The expedition was conduct ...

in early 1861, but Jackson evacuated Winchester in March 1862 as MajGen Banks invaded the town at the outset of the Valley Campaign. By May, Jackson returned to Winchester and routed all remaining Federal troops on May 25, who chose not to defend the fort during the

First Battle of Winchester The First Battle of Winchester, fought on May 25, 1862, in and around Frederick County, Virginia, and Winchester, Virginia, was a major victory in Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley ...

1863

During the occupation of MajGen Milroy from January to June 1863, Federal troops manned the fort, and listed it under the name of Battery No. 10, making it a part of a series of fortifications in the defensive scheme of Gen. Milroy. As the

Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was a military organization within the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during much of the American Civil War. It was officially created and named following the Battle of Sharpsburg in 1862, b ...

under LtGen Ewell routed Milroy on their movement to Gettysburg, they initially bombarded Milroy's command as they holed up in the various Winchester forts, damaging the Stine house on the night of June 15. Early the next morning, Milroy abandoned the fort and Winchester, fleeing north on the pike, with Fort Collier being the last fortification abandoned as his troops marched north toward Martinsburg.

1864

In September, 1864, the Fort and Winchester again became a base for Confederate operations during LtGen Jubal Early's Valley Campaigns of 1864. MajGen Sheridan advanced on Winchester September 17, forcing Early to make a defensive stand along the north and eastern borders of Winchester on September 19, with Fort Collier as a center piece and anchor of his defensive line, which stretched from Fort Alabama (also known as Star Fort) on the west to a long line of trenches and ramparts to the east and south of Fort Collier to the Berryville Pike. A Federal cavalry charge was made that day during the

composed of 6,000 cavalrymen coming south from Stephenson's Depot. The assault, composed of five brigades lined across the open fields north of town, was the largest charge in the war made by cavalry against infantry. Three regiments commanded by Colonel George S. Patton, grandfather of the World War II general, were defending the fort and locations, and Colonel Patton was killed during the course of the battle. The Confederate forces in Fort Collier and along the defensive line were overrun and the Fort was captured with no survivors, while Early's forces retreated up the Valley through Winchester, rallied for a short while at Mount Hebron Cemetery, and reconsolidated further south at Fisher's Hill near

Strasburg, Virginia Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town by population in the county and is known for its grassroots art culture, pottery, antiques, and American Civil W ...

Modern

The Fort Collier Civil War Center, Inc. purchased a parcel on April 1, 2002, with the help of a Federal grant, the Civil War Preservation Trust, the County of Frederick, Virginia, and private donations. Events and activities held at the camp include the Fort Collier Kids Civil War History Camp, Civil War Haunting, Shenandoah at War Events, and the Fort Collier Bluegrass Festival.

Notes

External links

*http://www.fortcollier.com/

References

* Delauter, Roger V., Jr. ''Winchester in the Civil War''. Lynchburg, Virginia. H. E. Howard, Inc., 1992. * Mahon, Michael G., Ed. ''Winchester Divided: The Civil War Diaries of Julia Chase & Laura Lee''. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002. * Noyalas, Jonathan A. ''Plagued by War: Winchester, Virginia During the Civil War''. Leesburg, VA: Gauley Mount Press, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Fort Collier Buildings and structures in Frederick County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Frederick County, Virginia Virginia in the American Civil War Buildings and structures in Winchester, Virginia American Civil War forts in Virginia Tourist attractions in Winchester, Virginia American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places