Fort Anderson, in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

was the site of the

Battle of Paducah The Battle of Paducah was fought on March 25, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Confederate cavalry force led by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest moved into Tennessee and Kentucky to capture Union supplies. Tennessee had been occupied by U ...

Marine Hospital

The site was originally the site of the Paducah U.S. Marine Hospital, which was funded by the federal Marine Hospital Fund primarily for the benefit of the civilian merchant marine. The building's construction was part of the hospital system's expansion to the "western waters" of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

, and

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. The site was selected in 1842 and the building was constructed during 1849–1852. The building layout was based on the then-standard Marine Hospital plan by Robert Mills and Thomas Lawson.

Stephen Harriman Long Stephen Harriman Long (December 30, 1784 – September 4, 1864) was an American army civil engineer, explorer, and inventor. As an inventor, he is noted for his developments in the design of steam locomotives. He was also one of the most pro ...

was in charge of its construction. During the years of its operation it was only lightly used.

Fort

Upon the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1861, the Union military took possession of the hospital and constructed Fort Anderson around it. The building itself burned down in 1862. Originally a supply depot, it was rebuilt as a seven-gun fort. Fort Anderson was 400 feet long and ran 160 feet toward the

, surrounded on the west, north and south by 50 foot ditches filled with water. The fort was commanded by Colonel

Stephen G. Hicks Stephen G. Hicks (February 22, 1809 – December 14, 1869 (or 1866)) was an American soldier born in Jackson County, Georgia. His father, John Hicks, was one of the seven soldiers killed in action at the Battle of New Orleans. Stephen Hicks served ...

, a federal commander. The fort was occupied by 665 men.

Battle of Paducah

In March 1864,

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Major-General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

set out from Columbus, Mississippi, with a force of less than 3,000 men on a multipurpose expedition (recruit, reoutfit, disperse Yankees, etc.) into West Tennessee and Kentucky. He arrived in Paducah on March 25, and quickly occupied the town. The cavalry began destroying unwanted supplies, and took what they wanted, mainly horses and mules. Fort Anderson was commanded by Union officers Col. Stephen G. Hicks and Lt. Cdr. James W. Shirk. They had support of two gunboats on the Ohio River, and refused to surrender. A message was sent by Forrest to Hicks asking for unconditional surrender. The letter reads as follows:

Colonel:
Having a force amply sufficient to carry your works and reduce the place, and in order to avoid the unnecessary effusion of blood, I demand the surrender of the fort and troops, with all public property. If you surrender, you shall be treated as a prisoner of war; but if I have to storm your works, you may expect no quarter.
N.B. Forrest,
Major-General, Commanding Confederate Troops.

Colonel Hicks answered with a letter of his own, which reads:

Sir:
I have this moment received yours of this instant, in which you demand the unconditional surrender of the forces under my command. I can answer that I have been placed here by the Government to defend this post, and in this, as well as all other orders from my superiors, I feel it to be my duty as an honorable officer to obey. I must, therefore, respectfully decline surrendering as you may require.
S.G. Hicks
Colonel, Commanding Post

As a result, on March 25, 1864, at 4:30, the order to charge came from Forrest. Led by Colonel Albert P. Thompson, of Paducah, the Confederate cavalrymen swooped down on the fort. They were met with a barrage of grapeshot and canister from newly converted gunboats. They fell back, and then charged once more, only to meet with the same fierce barrage. The Confederates entered homes near the fort and began firing under cover of the houses. General Forrest gave the order to cease firing. Although this is considered to be a

victory, it was not a conflict that made any lasting changes.

Later history

In 1905, Riverside Hospital opened on the site. Initially operated by the city, it was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Owensboro in 1959 and renamed Lourdes hospital. The hospital was sold in 1973 and became a nursing home. The site is now occupied by the Paducah–McCracken County Convention & Expo Center.

References

{{coord, 37, 05.580, N, 88, 36.121, W, type:landmark_region:US-KY, display=title Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky Kentucky in the American Civil War Anderson 1864 in Kentucky United States Marine Hospitals 1852 establishments in Kentucky