Fort Duffield at the Mouth of Salt River

Fort Duffield Park and Historic Site spans 175 acres in North Hardin County, Kentucky. Once part of the
Fort Knox military reservation, the land was transferred to the City of West Point in 1978 through the
National Park Service’s Lands‑to‑Parks Program, ensuring its preservation for public recreation.

Kentucky’s Largest Earthen Civil War Fort

The fort sits atop historic Pearman Hill, rising nearly 300 feet above West Point. It is Kentucky’s largest
and best‑preserved Civil War earthen fortification, recognized as a Kentucky Landmark and listed on the
Civil War Discovery Trail.

Strategic Importance During the Civil War

In late 1861 and throughout 1862, West Point became a critical Union staging area. Supplies from Louisville
were shipped by steamboat down the Ohio River and offloaded at West Point, where wagons carried them south
to training camps and advancing Union forces.

Regiments from Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan passed through West Point on their way south. The 9th
Michigan Volunteer Infantry constructed Fort Duffield and built a wooden bridge across the Salt River,
improving troop and supply movement.

Securing Kentucky for the Union

President Abraham Lincoln insisted that “I must have Kentucky,” and Fort Duffield’s commanding position above
the confluence of the Salt and Ohio Rivers helped secure that goal. With no railroad passing through West
Point at the time, General Sherman recognized the need to protect both land and water routes essential to
Union operations.

After the War

Following the Battle of Perryville in 1862, the war shifted south. Artillery and munitions were removed from
Fort Duffield in December, and the fort was left largely undisturbed except for occasional guerrilla activity.
Though never challenged in battle, its strategic position played a meaningful role in the Union’s early efforts
to hold Kentucky.