Fort Carlos III was a Spanish

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

located at the ''Écores Rouges'', '' Luisiana'', within the present-day Arkansas Post National Memorial. Named for King Carlos III, it was located on the left bank of the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, about from the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

. This wooden

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

fort comprised a

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s, embrasures, storehouses, barracks,

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

s' quarters, a powder magazine,

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

swivel gun A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rot ...

s, and ordnance stores. The fort served as the headquarters of Spain's district of Arkansas from 1781 until 1791 when it was destroyed by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and replaced by Fort San Esteban (later called Fort Madison).

History

Fort Carlos III was completed on July 11, 1781, at the ''Écores Rouges'', ''Luisiana''. Discovery of the intention of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

partisans to capture

Arkansas Post The Arkansas Post (; ), officially the Arkansas Post National Memorial, was the first European colonization of the Americas, European settlement located along the Mississippi River, in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and in the present-day U. ...

earlier that month prompted its construction. The post's commandant, Captain Balthazer de Villiers, described the stockade as consisting of:

... red oak stakes thirteen feet high, with diameters of 10 to 15 or 16 inches, split in two and reinforced inside by similar stakes to a height of six feet and a banquette of two feet.

Captain de Villiers also wrote that the stockade enclosed all

necessary places, including a house 45 feet long and 15 feet wide, and a storehouse, both serving to lodge my troops, and around several smaller buildings.

In addition, the fort consisted of two gates on opposite sides and two bastions at opposite angles of the fort, each mounted with -inch brass cannons. Embrasures in the stockade, which were covered with bullet-proof sliding panels, were made for the cannons and swivel guns. Lieutenant Don Luis de Villars became acting commander at the post in April 1782 after Captain de Villiers became too ill to perform his duties. Captain Jacobo du Breuil took over as commander of the post on January 5, 1783, and added a bastion at one angle of the fort. Captain De Villier remained at the fort as second-in-command, despite orders from Governor Esteban Miró to leave. Fort Carlos III was the focus of James Colbert's 1783 raid 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, during which it was a place of refuge for the local women and children. During the late 1780s and early 1790s, the side of the fort closest to the river was slowly destroyed by

and flooding. After Captain Ignacio Delinó took control of the post in 1790, he had Fort San Estevan built about a half mile back from the river to replace the ruined structure. By February 1793, Fort Carlos III was entirely eroded into the river. Today, the remains of the fort are inundated beneath Horseshoe Lake (Post Bend), a former channel of the river now used as a navigation lake.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Carlos III 1781 establishments in New Spain 1791 disestablishments in New Spain Carlos III Arkansas in the American Revolution Arkansas Post Buildings and structures on the Arkansas River Charles III of Spain Former buildings and structures in Arkansas Carlos III Carlos III History of Arkansas County, Arkansas Military history of Arkansas Military installations established in 1781 Military installations closed in 1791 Rebuilt buildings and structures in Arkansas Soil erosion Carlos III Underwater ruins Wooden buildings and structures in the United States