It’s no longer 1861 — far from it, actually — but that doesn’t mean visitors to Fort Duffield in West Point, Kentucky, can’t still be drafted into the Civil War. Situated among Fort Duffield Park’s 172 acres, the abandoned fort still stands tall, welcoming visitors to experience the past through walking tours and living-history programs that are offered twice a year on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Fort Duffield stood untouched on private property for 80 years when it belonged to Fort Knox — the army-training compound located just nine miles south — before becoming public land in 1992. Because Duffield was less exposed to tourists (and never saw battle) the Kentucky Historical Society considers it the best-preserved Civil War fort in the state. On a hilltop 300 feet above the city of West Point, the serpentine structure is still intact, as are its trenches and four reproduction cabins, including the colonel’s quarters. The fort is known for being the headquarters of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who had it built to protect both his supply base in the area and Louisville from attack. The fort’s hilltop position, with one side of the structure featuring a steep drop to the Ohio River, made it difficult to access.
Although some sites offer similar programming, Fort Duffield is one of the few forts where guests aren’t bound to the bleachers. Union and Confederate soldiers have a skirmish or two during the living-history programs, demonstrating how soldiers fought; re-enactors give a lesson on how weapons were used, teaching guests how to load muskets and various drill commands while they march; and a wartime music concert is also included.
The park is open to visitors year-round, and invites self-guided walking tours along 10 miles of trails. From the parking lot, you can access the fort by walking through a rugged quarter-mile trail to the right; Memorial Hill Cemetery, the burial place for 61 soldiers who helped build the fort (they died of disease), is to the left. With advance reservations, groups of 25 or more can receive guided tours of the site. With this year marking the beginning of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, there’s no time like the present to get in on the action.