Fort Wyman was an earthen fort built by the Union Army near

Rolla, Missouri Rolla () is a city in and the county seat of Phelps County, Missouri, United States. Its population in the 2020 United States Census was 19,943. It is approximately midway between St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. Its micropolitan sta ...

during 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 ...

. Rolla had been captured by General

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

on June 12, 1861 and from that date throughout the Civil War it remained in Union hands for President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

had issued an order: "By all means hold Rolla." Rolla was the westernmost supply depot in Southern Missouri being at the Western Terminus of the Pacific Railroad at that date. Following the Union defeat at the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri. In August, Confe ...

on August 10, 1861, the Union Army fell back to Rolla and began building an earthen fort on the top of a hill alongside the present Highway 63 about a mile from the Courthouse. The rectangular fort had a dry moat around the perimeter with 32-pound field pieces located on each corner of the fort to cover any attack on Rolla from the south. It was named Fort Wyman after Colonel John B. Wyman. Colonel Wyman sent out soldiers from Rolla in all directions who captured what they called rebellious residents of the Rolla area and made them prisoners and forced them to clear the Fort Wyman area of the brush and trees by using the ax, shovel, pick, and saw. Four huge guns arrived by railroad to be placed at the four corners of the Fort. The guns were called " 32-pounders". Each gun required a ten-mule team to drag the gun from the railroad depot to the fort that was done on August 18, 1861. These guns were fired only for practice. The fort was a Union stronghold in the Midwest. While it never saw military action, it trained and provided Union troops that kept Missouri in Union hands.

References

* ''Welcome Newcomers'' publication, Rolla Chamber of Commerce * History of Yancy Mills, Missouri Rolla, Missouri Wyman Wyman 1861 establishments in Missouri {{PhelpsCountyMO-geo-stub