Fort Powhatan is a former river defense fort located at Windmill Hill (also called Hood's Bluff) near

Garysville, Virginia Garysville is an unincorporated community in Prince George County, Virginia, United States. It is located on State Route 10 about 12 miles east of Petersburg. The Flowerdew Hundred Plantation, listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

, southeast of

Flowerdew Hundred Plantation Flowerdew Hundred Plantation dates to 1618/19 with the patent by Sir George Yeardley, the Governor and Captain General of Virginia, of on the south side of the James River. Yeardley probably named the plantation after his wife's wealthy father, ...

Prince George County Prince George County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George, Virginia ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The fort was named for the area's

Powhatan The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhatan ...

tribe of

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

; the name is also an English term for their leader. It is on the south bank of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, sited to prevent enemy vessels proceeding upriver to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. The first fort on the site was a two-gun battery called Hood's Battery, built in 1779 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and named after the owner of the plantation it was on. In January 1781, British forces under

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

attacked and dismantled the battery and went on to burn Richmond. Later that year a larger fort was built, named Fort Hood (or Fort at Hood's Bluff). In 1808 this was replaced by the federal government with Fort Powhatan, part of what was later called the second system of US fortifications. The fort was not attacked in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. In 1862, during 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 ...

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 ...

forces added a new earthwork battery on the site; the fort area was abandoned by Confederates, and subsequently captured by

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces in July 1863. The fort was abandoned at the end of the war in 1865.Fort Powhatan at American Forts Network
/ref>Fort Powhatan at FortWiki.com
/ref>

American Revolution

As part of the

, in May 1779 the British

Chesapeake raid The Chesapeake Raid was an American Revolutionary War campaign by British naval forces under the command of Commodore Sir George Collier and land forces led by Major General Edward Mathew. Between 10 May and 24 May 1779 these forces raided econ ...

under Commodore Sir

George Collier Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...

caused Virginia's Revolutionary government to strengthen its defenses. Among these efforts was Hood's Battery, a two-gun earthwork on the south bank of the

at John Hood's plantation, at Windmill Hill (also called Hood's Bluff) in

. This battery was inadequate to prevent the burning of

by British forces under

in January 1781; the British successfully attacked the battery on their way upriver on 3 January, and captured and dismantled it on their way back on 10 January, despite being ambushed by a force under

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

.Historic markers at vcris.dhr.virginia.gov
/ref> A larger fortification named Fort Hood (or Fort at Hood's Bluff) was built on the site beginning later that year. It was an earthwork, possibly reinforced with brick, and had eight heavy guns facing the river, a

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

with at least two field guns for land defense, and a garrison of 60 men. The fort was not begun until late 1781, two months after British general

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

surrendered at Yorktown, and was never attacked.

1783 through War of 1812

In 1808 a new

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

fort was built by the federal government on the site of Fort Hood, as part of what was later termed the second system of US fortifications. It was named Fort Powhatan, and was designed for 13 guns with a

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

and a detached water battery (a battery near the river). The engineer in charge was Captain Walker K. Armistead. In the Army report on fortifications for December 1808, the water battery is described as "a strong battery of mason work has been erected", and the "regular enclosed work" was "in considerable forwardness...". Although incomplete, the fort was used as a district headquarters for coastal forts in Virginia by Colonel Edward Pasteur in 1809. The

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

(with a semi-circular water battery) was still incomplete in 1811 (though barracks for one company were complete), and was not armed until the

broke out. By 1814 the fort had 22 artillery pieces. It was not attacked in the war, and by 1830 was no longer reported to be in use.

American Civil War

During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the

government built a new battery on the bluff above the fort in 1862. The Union captured the battery in 1863, and in 1864 a garrison of U.S. Colored Troops repulsed a Confederate cavalry attack led by

Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 28, 1905) was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish–American War. He was the son of Sydney Smi ...

. The fort was abandoned after the war.

Present

The fort is now the private property of a gun club. The brick magazines, water battery, and Civil War battery still exist. Virginia Historical Marker K-215 (Hood's) (on

Virginia State Route 10 State Route 10 (SR 10) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 360 (US 360) in Richmond east to SR 337 in Suffolk. SR 10 is a major suburban highway through Chesterfield County between ...

east of County Route 614) mentions the Revolutionary War actions and the existence of Fort Powhatan.

References

{{Reflist

External links

American Forts Network, lists US, Canadian, some Latin American, and US overseas forts

FortWiki, lists most US and Canadian forts