Some More on Cape Girardeau's Fort D-- Part 5: After the War

In 1911 the land around Fort D was subdivided for housing; the subdivision was to be called "Fort D Highlands".  Citizens of Cape Girardeau and the Southeast Missourian newspaper called for Fort D to be preserved (by then it was the only remaining Civil War fortification in the city).  It was preserved.

In June 1836, the Louis K. Juden Post 63 of the American Legion purchased the fort as a public park for the city.  The Works Progress Administration agreed to perform restoration and improvements in the form of a replica powder storehouse, while the City of Cape Girardeau agreed to maintain the  the fort in perpetuity.

The work on the fort and new powder house was completed on July 26, 1937, and the American Legion used  the building as a meeting house for several years.  However, eventually the Legion moved to another site.  From 1945 to 1948, the property was used by the Girl Scouts as a recreation center.

More Than You Ever Thought You'd Know About Fort D.  --Old Secesh

Fort D, Cape Girardeau-- Part 4: Modern Preservation

The fort was saved from development in the early 20th century.  The earthworks were repaired in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), part of FDR's New Deal during the Great Depression.

The stone blockhouse was built by the WPA in 1936 and has been used for various purposes since.

The fort was listed on the NRHP in 2019.

--Old Secesh

Fort D, Cape Girardeau, Mo.-- Part 2: Never Saw Action

The earthwork walls, as originally constructed in 1861 and restored in 1936 as part of a Works Progress Administration project.  A palisade wall made of sharpened upright wooden timbers, formed the rear of the fortification and had a gate.  The gap in the south wall may have been a "sally" port, where troops could access rifle pits below  the parapet.

The fort was armed with three 32-pounder cannons and two 24-pounder cannons.  A 32-pounder cannon  was a smoothbore one that could fire a 32-pound solid shot over a mile.

Fort D was garrisoned by soldiers from Missouri, Illinois and other Midwesterm states during the course of the war.  The fort never saw action, but the Battle of Cape of Cape Girardeau on April 26, 1863, took place west of the city.

--Old Secesh