Fort/Fortification – Page 4 – WANDERLUST FAMILY ADVENTURE

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site – Williston, North Dakota

August 4, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Fort/Fortification, Historic Sites, National Parks Service, North America, North Dakota, Rivers, United States

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is a partial reconstruction of the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri, 1829-1867. The fort site is about two miles from the confluence of the Missouri River and its tributary, the Yellowstone River, on the North Dakota/Montana border, 25 miles from Williston, North Dakota.
The park is named Fort Union Trading Post by the National Park Service to differentiate it from Fort Union National Monument, a historic frontier Army post in New Mexico.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Petersburg National Battlefield – Petersburg, Virginia

July 27, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Fort/Fortification, Hiking, Historic Sites, Memorials, Museums, National Parks Service, North America, United States, Virginia

Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service unit preserving sites related to the American Civil War Siege of Petersburg (1864–65). The Battlefield is centered on the city of Petersburg, Virginia, and also includes outlying components in Hopewell, Prince George County, and Dinwiddie County. Over 140,000 people visit the park annually. This post will cover the Eastern Front portion of the park. Popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, this was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg.

One of the most famous battles of the siege is the Battle of the Crater. Union forces tunneled under the confederate lines and filled the tunnel with explosives. After the explosion a massive crater was created in the confederate line. The Union forces charged down into the cuter instead of going around the edge. The confederates fired down into the crater from the edge causing a Union retreat. What could have been a major advantage turned into a major defeat.

Ninety Six National Historic Site – Ninety Six, South Carolina

July 26, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Fort/Fortification, Hiking, Historic Sites, National Parks Service, North America, South Carolina, United States

The Ninety Six National Historic Site preserves the original site of Ninety Six, South Carolina, a small town established in the early 18th century. It encompasses 1,022 acres of property. The origin of the name Ninety Six is not certain. Some say it is the distance to a Cherokee town but the milage does not equate, the other explanation is that it derives from two nearby streams one with nine tributaries and one with six. There was a star fort here at the time of the Revolutionary War it was the site of South Carolina’s first land battle of the war. The area was a loyalist stronghold during the war and there were several battles and skirmishes. A trail from the visitor center takes you to the remains of the fort and there are several other trails throughout the property.

Fort Matanzas National Monument – St. Augustine, Florida

July 26, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Canoeing, Florida, Fort/Fortification, Hiking, Historic Sites, National Parks Service, North America, Rivers, United States

Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the fortified coquina watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine. It also protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest, and associated flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species. To get to the fort there is a park service ferry that is on a first come first served basis.

Timucuan Ecological Preserve – Jacksonville, Florida

July 26, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Beaches, Florida, Fort/Fortification, Hiking, Historic Sites, Memorials, National Parks Service, North America, United States

The Timucuan Ecological Preserve protects a tract of land along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. It is one of the few unspoiled coastal wetlands still extant along the coast of the southern United States.

The preserve also administers the Fort Caroline National Memorial a reconstructed fort on the site of an attempted French colonization in 1564. This post goes into more depth on the fort.