The Civil War in the Southeast Missouri Region, Iron County Archives IRON COUNTY Iron County is rich in Civil War sites. At the beginning of the war, the Federal Army planned to invade the southern part of the state from their headquarters at St. Louis. The first of these invasions occurred in July, 1861. A regiment under the command of B. Gratz Brown was sent from St. Louis and took possession of the town of Pilot Knob, which was then the terminus of the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad. Pilot Knob remained a seat of Union military operations throughout the war. On August 8, 1861, Brown was relieved by the 21st Illinois Regiment under Ulysses S. Grant who would later become Commander of the union army. Grant at this time held a colonel's commission; he had been appointed Brigadier-General, but had not received his commission. Grant made his headquarters at the house of Colonel James Lindsey in Ironton. It was here that he received his commission as a general. It was brought to him while standing under one of the great trees in the yard. A statue of a Union soldier on a native red granite base marks the spot. The statue was erected by the members of his regiment in 1886 on the grounds of what is now the Church of St. Marie du Lac. The towns of Pilot Knob, Ironton and Arcadia lie in the Arcadia Valley of Iron County. In Ironton, the Iron County Courthouse, built in 1860, still bears the mark of a cannonball fired during the Battle of Pilot Knob. The courthouse was occupied several times by both the Union and Confederate forces during the battle, and served as a barracks and hospital. In nearby Pilot Knob, stands Fort Davidson, the target of the Battle of Pilot Knob in 1864. The fort is a hexagonal dirt earthwork, constructed by the Union Army. The fort stands 300 yard from the base of Pilot Knob Mountain and about 1,000 yards from the gap leading south to Ironton. Fixed armament included four heavy siege cannon, which threw 32 pound shells, three howitrzers, which fired 24 pound shells and three 12-inch mortars. The fort was surrounded by a ten foot wide dry moat and had to be accessed by a drawbridge. The assault on Fort Davidson left over 800 Union and Confederate soldiers dead or wounded. Detailed information about the Battle of Pilot Knob is available at the Fort Davidson State Historic Site. Immanuel Lutheran Church in Pilot Knob served as a Union field hospital during the Battle of Pilot Knob. The frame structure has the original pipe-organ, one-piece alter, pews and pulpit. Along Highway 72 in Arcadia stood the Union Fort Curtis, the site identified now by a granite marker. It commanded the high ground overlooking the junction of the road from Pilot Knob and Ironton to Fredericktown, now the site of the United Pentecostal Church. In 1863 it was abandoned for Fort Davidson because it was too far from the rail terminus and supply depot in Pilot Knob. Confederate officers used this site as an observation post during the battle. The Liberty United Baptist Church is located 12 miles southeast of Arcadia on route E in the Marble Creek community. The church has original pews and other furnishings and was built soon after the congregation organized in 1857. It was damaged by soldiers during the Civil War. Missouri Division of Tourism _==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Jeanette Henson McClure ====================================================================