Fort Mulligan
Portecting Looney's Creek (Petersburg)
Union Col. James A. Mulligan, 23rd Illinois Infantry, supervised the construction of Fort Mulligan between August and December 1863. Known locally as Fort Hill, the work protected the South Branch Valley and its Unionist residents and also served as an auxiliary depot for Federal camps occupied in October 1861 and May-June 1862. Federal troops manned the fort until 1864.
An earthen fortification, Fort Mullgan’s walls were lined with timber for additional strength. Abatis---trees felled so that their branches faced outward (a precursor of barbed wire)---outside the walls helped defend the fort against attacking infantrymen. The fort had at least three entrances and seven artillery emplacements. Four bombproofs (earthen shelters) within the fort protected arms, artillery shells, and gunpowder from bombardments.
Union Col. Joseph Thoburn ordered the evacuation of Fort Mulligan on January 31, 1864, when Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early’s army threatened an attack. Early’s men demolished the empty works. Although engagements occurred in the area for the rest of the war, the fort site was never again occupied.
(Sidebar): The oldest part of the Hermitage Inn, in front of you, was constructed in the 1840s for Dr. Jacob Kenny Chambers. During the Civil War, Federal officers occupied the house, which is located close to Fort Mulligan. Since 1881, the building has been in continuous use as a hostelry. The earliest guests arrived by stagecoach from Keyser and Cumberland, Maryland. Later, the inn's carriage met the daily train from Cumberland.
Marker is at the intersection of Virginia Avenue (U.S. 220) and Pine Street, on the right when traveling east on Virginia Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
