Existing comment:
Second Fort Union:
Soon after the Civil War began, a Confederate army marched out of Texas aimed at Fort Union and gold-rich Colorado beyond. Troops at Fort Union built a star-shaped fieldwork to meet this threat. Hastily constructed of green logs and earth, the fortifications were damp and stuffy.
In March 1862, a battle fought at Glorieta Pass -- seventy miles to the southwest -- thwarted the Confederate invasion. The star fort was subsequently abandoned with construction of a Third Fort Union. |