Fort Laughlin was a Civil War redoubt, built in 1863 for the defense of Pittsburgh by the employees of Jones and Laughlin Iron Works, and named for James H. Laughlin. It was also known as Fort McKinley or Fort Ormsby.[1][2] It was a circular earthwork on Ormsby's Hill, now part of Arlington Park on Arlington Avenue.[3]40°25′07″N 79°58′30″W / 40.41861°N 79.97500°W[4]
| Fort Laughlin | |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in United States | |
| Type | American Civil War redoubt |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Union Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1863 |
History
editBuilt along the bluffs of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1863 by Jones and Laughlin Iron Works[5] in response to the threatened invasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederate States Army, this circular, earthen, Civil War redoubt was also known as "Fort McKinley" or "Fort Ormsby."[1][2] It was located on Ormsby's Hill in what is now Arlington Park, which is located on Arlington Avenue and is bordered by Fernleaf, Salisbury, Sterling, and Fort Hill streets.[3][4]
No remains of the structure were evident as of 2019.
References
edit- ^ a b "Greater Pittsburgh Area". North American Forts.
- ^ a b Swetnam, George. "The Forts Nobody Knows." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, May 7, 1961, p.134.
- ^ a b White, Thomas. Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh: "Pittsburgh's Civil War Forts." Charleston, South Carolina, The History Press, 2010.
- ^ a b Fleming, George T. "Fortifying Pittsburgh in 1863." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Gazette Times, July 1, 1923, sec. 5, p. 2.
- ^ McCarthy, Bill. "One Month in the Summer of '63: Pittsburgh Prepares for the Civil War," in Pittsburgh History, Winter 1998-1999.