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| Name | Historic Fort D |
| Brief Description | Civil War Site |
| Type | Attraction |
| Category | Cape Girardeau Missouri Historic Site |
| Description | In the summer of 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War, four forts were built around the strategic city of Cape Girardeau on the orders of General John Frèmont. Designed by German-American engineers from St. Louis, the forts were built by soldiers of the 20th Illinois Infantry, Bissell's Engineers of the West and local militia under the direction of Illinois Lt. John Wesley Powell, who would later gain fame as the explorer of the Grand Canyon, was detached from his regiment by the new general, Ulysses S. Grant, in order to raise a local company to man the forts. This Powell did, and his new Battery F served the forts until leaving for the Battle of Shiloh. Fort D featured as many as five cannons, the largest of which could fire a 32-pound cannon ball. The fort was manned throughout the Civil War. Of the four earthen forts only Fort D still exists, an intact survivor thanks to civic action in the 1930's. Today owned by the city, Fort D is located 4 blocks south of the intersection of Missouri Rte. 74 and Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau, just west of the Mississippi River Bridge. The fort grounds, featuring interpretive signage are open free to the public dawn to dusk. For more information visit www.visitcape.com. or to schedule group tours call the Convention and Visitors Bureau 1-800-777-0068.
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| Address | Sprigg and Locust Street |
| CSZ | Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 |
| Cost | Free |
| Website | www.visitcape.com |
| Additional Information | Additional Information |
| Information Request | Request Cape Girardeau Missouri Visitor Information |
| Last Updated | 7/1/2009 |
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