Fort Beauregard | |
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General information | |
Town or city | Harrisonburg, Louisiana |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 31°46′28″N 91°49′15″W / 31.77442°N 91.82074°W |
Construction started | 1862 |
Completed | 1862 |
Technical details | |
Structural system | Earthen |
Fort Beauregard, located half a mile north of the village of Harrisonburg, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, was one of four Confederate forts guarding the Ouachita River during the American Civil War. In 1863, four Union gunboats attacked it, unsuccessfully.
Fort Beauregard is located on a hill overlooking the Ouachita River, several miles north of where it joins with the Tensas River and Little River to form the Black. The fort is situated on almost the only point where the upland hills of Louisiana come within artillery range of the Ouachita; thus the batteries of the fort controlled the water approach to Monroe, the only city of military importance in Northeast Louisiana. Because the Confederates concentrated here, the fort took on a greater significance: it was the key to the entire Ouachita River Valley.[1]
On September 4, 1863, the fort was evacuated and destroyed by fort commander Lieutenant Colonel George W. Logan[6] in the face of a formidale expedition under the Federal generals, M.M. Crocker and Walter Q. Gresham, which marched up from opposite Natchez.[7]
In recent years, the fort has been home to several re-enactments. It is also open to the public. At one time, there were plans to develop an amusement park on the site, but these plans did not develop to fruition. For a while it had several small shops that have now been bought out and moved to different locations. Plans for future re-enactments are being made.[8]