Fort Laughlin was a

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 polic ...

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 sold ...

, built in 1863 for the defense of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

by the employees of Jones and Laughlin Iron Works, and named for James H. Laughlin. It was also known as ''Fort McKinley'' or ''Fort Ormsby''.Swetnam, George.
The Forts Nobody Knows
" Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: ''The Pittsburgh Press'', May 7, 1961, p.134. It was a circular earthwork on '' Ormsby's Hill'', now part of Arlington Park on Arlington Avenue.White, Thomas. ''Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh'':
Pittsburgh's Civil War Forts
" Charleston, South Carolina, The History Press, 2010.Fleming, George T.
Fortifying Pittsburgh in 1863
" Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: ''Pittsburgh Gazette Times'', July 1, 1923, sec. 5, p. 2.

History

Built along the bluffs of the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-c ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1863 by Jones and Laughlin Iron WorksMcCarthy, Bill.
One Month in the Summer of '63: Pittsburgh Prepares for the Civil War
" in ''Pittsburgh History'', Winter 1998-1999. in response to the threatened invasion of Pennsylvania by the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, this circular, earthen, Civil War redoubt was also known as "Fort McKinley" or "Fort Ormsby." It was located on Ormsby's Hill in what is now Arlington Park, which is located on Arlington Avenue and is bordered by Fernleaf, Salisbury, Sterling, and Fort Hill streets. No remains of the structure were evident as of 2019.

References

{{American Civil War, state=collapsed Laughlin Laughlin Buildings and structures in Pittsburgh Demolished buildings and structures in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania in the American Civil War 1863 establishments in Pennsylvania