Fort Duffield was ordered into existence in the fall of 1861, when Union commanders realized that the ridge above West Point controlled the Louisville–Nashville Turnpike, the Salt River barrier, and the vital supply depot at the river landing. Brigadier‑General Robert Anderson began the fortification plan, and Brigadier‑General William Tecumseh Sherman finalized the order: a major defensive work must be built on the hill.

On November 3, 1861, the 9th Michigan Infantry and elements of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry began the laborious task of carving a fortress out of the steep, wooded hillside. Their experience is preserved in the diary of Private Wellington White, who wrote that the hill “looked more like a cliff than a place to build anything,” and that men climbed it “cold, wet, and worn from marching.”

The hillside was densely forested. White recalled that “the trees were so thick a man could hardly swing an axe.” Soldiers cut timber, dragged logs up the slope, and shaped earthworks by hand using picks, shovels, and improvised tools. Every foot gained on the hill “was paid for in sweat.”

The fort’s design was unusual: instead of a star or octagon, Fort Duffield was shaped like a wide “W,” providing ten angles of fire for artillery. The rear of the fort—facing the town and the steep drop—was left open because the natural slope was considered an impenetrable barrier.

A road was cut up the hill so wagons could haul supplies and cannons to the fort. Timber was used to reinforce parapets and build shelters. By late 1861, the massive thousand‑foot‑long earthwork wall stood ready.

Large log gates were built at both ends of the fort, extending to the very edge of the steep hillside. When a request was made for locks, Lt. Col. Parkhurst jokingly told the quartermaster to send “two toy locks less than an inch in diameter,” confident that the fort was already impregnable.

Captain DeLand wrote home that the men felt “as secure as a nest of young eagles in our new fort,” preferring the hilltop huts to the wet camps below.

The 9th Michigan was an infantry regiment trained to fight with muskets, not artillery. When the fort was first completed, it had only two cannons. Some infantrymen were ordered to learn artillery drill until proper artillery units arrived.

Captain DeLand noted that the cannons had a range of about three miles. Eventually, Fort Duffield mounted as many as ten guns, covering every approach to West Point.

Conditions were harsh. Sanitation was poor, food was limited, and the men had no protection against diseases like measles. At one point, over 300 soldiers of the 9th Michigan were sick. Wellington White wrote that “the hospital tent was never empty,” and that rain “fell for days without stopping,” turning the trail into a river of mud.

Houses in West Point were used as hospitals. Two local doctors assisted the Army surgeon, and despite the town’s Confederate leanings, several women helped nurse the sick. One young woman, Malvina Hall—nicknamed “Miss Mallie”—became beloved for her tireless care.

Some soldiers died in accidents. Private James Winters fell into a dry cistern the night the regiment arrived. Others succumbed to measles, pneumonia, and typhoid fever.

Thirty‑nine soldiers of the 9th Michigan died while stationed at West Point. Ten were sent home for burial. The remaining twenty‑nine were buried on the adjacent hill southwest of the fort in what became known as the “Michigan Cemetery.”

In 1868, the U.S. government ordered the remains moved to the New Albany National Cemetery in Indiana, where they rest today.

Most of the 9th Michigan left Fort Duffield in early January 1862 for Elizabethtown. Major Dorus M. Fox remained in command of the fort. On February 24, 1862, Fox received orders to build a bridge across the Salt River; his men completed it in two days, allowing government wagon trains to cross.

In early March 1862, Battery F and Battery G of the 1st Michigan Light Artillery arrived with additional cannons. Soon after, the remaining infantry of the 9th Michigan were sent to Elizabethtown.

The regiment became part of the U.S. 23rd Brigade under Colonel William W. Duffield. On March 19, 1862, the 9th Michigan—now commanded by Colonel John G. Parkhurst—boarded six steamboats at West Point and departed around midnight, traveling down the Ohio River toward Nashville.

Battery G left Fort Duffield on April 1, 1862. Battery F remained until June.

In July 1862, Company C of the 28th Kentucky was assigned to Fort Duffield. After the Battle of Perryville in October 1862, Confederate forces retreated south, and Kentucky remained under Union control.

By December 1862, Fort Duffield was no longer regularly garrisoned. Cannons and equipment were removed to Louisville. In 1864, Confederate guerrillas briefly occupied the abandoned fort, burning the winter huts built in 1861–62.

After the war, the land passed through various owners and served as farmland, a rock quarry, and a hunting lodge for a member of the DuPont family. In 1895, veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic visited the fort during the 29th National Encampment, traveling by special train from Louisville to West Point.

After World War I, the U.S. Army purchased the property as part of Fort Knox. The fort remained protected until the late 1970s, when the land was declared surplus and deeded to the City of West Point for park use.

In 1992, volunteers began reclaiming Fort Duffield from nature. Their work continues today, preserving one of Kentucky’s most remarkable Civil War landmarks.