Last updated: 4/28/2011
15080 Talcott TerraceIsle of Wight County, VA 23430
101 Main StreetSmithfield, VA 23430
Open daily from 8 a.m. until dusk
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J. L. Williams
phone: 757-357-0115
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Tracey Neikirk
phone: 757-356-1014
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Fort Huger is a strategic Civil War fort located on a bluff overlooking the James River. This fort, along with Fort Boykin, was established to block the approach by land and river to the Confederate capital in Richmond. In 1861, Confederate engineer Col. Andrew Talcott surveyed several defensive sites along the James River to protect Richmond including Harden's Bluff and nearby Fort Boykin.
The site at Harden's Bluff was renamed Fort Huger for Gen. Benjamin Huger who commanded the Department of Norfolk. Slaves and free blacks constructed the fort under the direction of the Confederate Engineer Bureau, and detachments of Lt. Col. Fletcher Archer's 5th Virginia Infantry Battalion were posted here.
Isle of Wight restored this fort and opened it to the public in 2007.
Fort Huger is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Virginia Landmarks Register, Virginia Civil War Trails, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, Captain John Smith's Trail: Lower Oyster Loop and Cornell eBird System.
Signage and interpretive panels allow visitors to enjoy the fort at their leisure.
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