Fort Southerland, Civil War redoubt in Camden, United States.
Fort Southerland is an oval-shaped earthwork in Camden designed to hold artillery in three separate firing positions. The structure spans an area roughly the size of a city block and shows the layout of its defensive design.
Confederate forces built the fort in early 1864 as part of Camden's defensive network following the Union capture of Little Rock. The site changed hands between Confederate and Union forces in April 1864, with both sides making structural improvements.
The name Fort Southerland is disputed: historian William L. Shea questions the identification, and Mark K. Christ notes local sources call Redoubt D Fort Southerland while Redoubt E was Fort Diamond. The earthwork sits in Fort Southerland Park, a 5.5-acre municipal park dedicated in 1974; a 1987 request to add it to the state park system was refused for lack of funds and manpower.
The fort lies within Fort Southerland Park, a 5.5-acre municipal park dedicated in 1974, well south of Camden's historic centre. A 1987 request to transfer the park to the Arkansas state park system was refused for lack of funds and staff. Trees on the site, noted since 1993, help limit erosion of the earthworks.
Historians dispute the name: William L. Shea questions whether Redoubt E was really Fort Southerland, and Mark K. Christ notes local sources say Redoubt D bore that name while Redoubt E was Fort Diamond. The earthwork stands on a hilltop more than a mile southeast of the other redoubts, a position Shea called "splendid isolation".
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