History: John F. Kennedy Documents & Recordings Online for the First Time

Regardless of where in the world you live, you might have an interest in American history or American political history.  If you do, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts has just put thousands upon thousands of documents, photographs and recorded telephone conversations online that will make you very happy.

Before the digital age, amateur historians, researchers and individuals with just a passing interest would have had to travel from their homes to Boston to read, see and hear the historically significant material at the Kennedy Library and Museum.  Now, anyone with online access can view 200,000 document pages, 1,200 recordings of telephone conversations, speeches and meetings and some 1,500 photographs of the late 35th American president.

Digitizing the material was a four-year project for almost two dozen individuals at the Library and Museum and work is ongoing to further expand the collection.  Even major technology firms were involved in the process to bring these documents to the public.  EMC Corp. donated high-speed storage, Iron Mountain provided secure computing facilities, AT&T provided hosting and networking and Raytheon led project management.

Massachusetts born John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States serving from 1961 until he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963.  Many Americans consider Kennedy to be one of the finest presidents to date and he remains an American hero to many to this day.  The Kennedy years, often referred to as "Camelot" are thought of by many as the closest to having royalty as the United States ever came.

Follow this link if you would like to browse the Digital Archive of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.

Source:  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70C4WE20110113

Titanic Expedition Begins and Ends After Capturing Remarkable Images

Few names spark the imagery that "Titanic" can.  The name conjures images of romance, luxury, opulence, tragedy and death.  When the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage from England to New York City ninety-eight years ago in 1912, more than 1,500 souls perished in the icy waters of the Atlantic.  Seventy-three years later, some 370 miles (600 km) south-east of Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, Dr. Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Jean-Louis Michel of Ifremer discovered the wreckage of the Titanic 2 1/2 miles (4 km) beneath the Atlantic's surface.

The ship has always been at the center of interest for researchers.  Before Ballard and Michel discovered the ship, many wanted to do just that.  Some even wanted to raise it.  There have been several visits to the site with submersibles being dispatched to collect artifacts, video or photographs.

Ninety-eight years later, yet another expedition to the Titanic site has come and gone.  Plagued by both Hurricanes Danielle and Igor, the research expedition was conducted in two parts.  The first ended in August of 2010 when Hurricane Danielle forced the expedition to return to port in St. John's, Newfoundland.  The goal of the expedition is to document little-known areas of the wreckage before it completely disintegrates.  Their focus is the stern of the ship.  It hasn't been studied since the Titanic was discovered in 1985.  Once all danger of Danielle had passed, the expedition on the research vessel Jean Charcot returned into the cold Atlantic waters to continue their work. 

Fossils Suggest "Lucy" Species Used Stone Tools & Ate Meat

Two animal bones, both over three million years old, have yielded information to researchers that stone tools were used to butcher the animals for eating by early human ancestors, known as Australopithecus afarensis, the species best known for the "Lucy" fossil.

The study of the bones was published in the Thursday issue of the journal Nature by Zeresenay Alemseged and colleagues from the California Academy of Sciences.

The study claims afarensis carved the meat from the animal carcasses and used other stones to smash the bones to get the marrow.  Researchers believe this discovery is the earliest evidence of meat eating among hominins.  They believe the afarensis probably scavenged carcasses instead of actually hunting live prey.

Two female afarensis fossils have been found near the same site where the two animal bones were found.  In 1974 "Lucy" was found and latter, a female skeleton named "Selam" was found approximately 200 yards from the bone site.

Not all scientists are convinced by the research done by Alemseged and the California Academy of Sciences researchers. 

Paleoanthropologist Nicholas Toth of Indiana University has doubts because of the fact the bones were found on the surface rather than buried beneath the earth requiring excavation.  He also believes the markings on the bones differ from marks commonly left by stone tools, an area Toth studies.  Toth speculates the marks could have even been made by animal bites.

Other scientists agree with the Nature paper.

According to Bernard Wood of George Washington University, "I'd be willing to bet a month's salary that those are cut marks (from stone tools) and not tooth marks."

For more information about this interesting research and to see a photograph of the two animal bones you can read this MSNBC Technology and Science article.

Egypt Unveils Discovery of 4,300-Year-Old Tombs

On Thursday, July 8, 2010 Egyptian archaeologists announced a newly-unearthed double tomb containing vivid wall paintings in the necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo, Egypt.

The tomb has two false doors containing colorful paintings of two people buried there, a father and son, both royal scribes.  The father's false door was inscribed with the name of Pepi II and dates the tomb to the 6th dynasty.  Pepi II was believed to have been the longest reigning pharaoh.  He controlled Egypt for 90 years.

The sarcophagus of the father, Shendwas, was destroyed by humidity.  The tomb of the son, Khonsu, was robbed in antiquity. 

Zahi Hawass stated that because of their "amazing colors", the tombs were "the most distinguished tombs ever found from the Old Kingdom".  Hawass believes it could be the start for uncovering a vast cemetery in the area.

Visit this article for more information and to see one of the brilliant paintings.

Cleopatra's Death Not From an Asp Bite?

Christoph Schäfer, a German historian and professor at the University of Trier, the last ancient Egyptian queen, Cleopatra didn't die from the bite of a poisonous asp, an Egyptian cobra, as we have believed for centuries.  Instead, she died from a drug overdose.

Schäfer's book, Cleopatra is the product of his search through historic writings in an attempt to disprove the theory of Cleopatra having died from the bite of an asp.  The German channel ZDF is also going to air a program featuring his research on the Egyptian queen.

According to Schäfer, Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, wrote some 200 years after Cleopatra's suicide that she died a quiet and painless death.  Schäfer states that the death from the asp's venom would not have been painless.  German toxicologist Dietrich Mebs confirms that death by asp venom would have in fact been painful and unpleasant.

Schäfer also cites the ancient texts stating that Cleopatra's two handmaidens died with her.  Had she died from an asp bite, that would have been unlikely.  According to Schäfer, a snake bite is unpredictable because of the amount of venom a snake may or may not release during the bite.  Also, he says that at the time Cleopatra died, in August of 30 B.C., the temperatures in Egypt would have been too high for an asp to stay still long enough to bite.

Schäfer states that ancient Egyptian papyri prove the Egyptians knew about poisons and that one papyrus says Cleopatra actually tested them having observed the deaths of condemned prisoners from a variety of poisons including snake venom.

Both Schäfer and Dietrich Mebs believe she died from a mixture of opium, wolfsbane and hemlock rather than snake venom.

Alain Touwaide, an international authority on ancient medicinal plants at the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions in Washington D.C. believes the only way to finally solve the mystery of how Cleopatra died would be for her body to be found and to apply forensic methods of testing to it.

Are Schäfer's findings truly a breakthrough or is he just putting old theories into new packaging?

For more information, please refer to this article:  Cleopatra Killed by Drug Cocktail?

Lake Michigan Shipwreck Found After 112 Years

Over a century ago, in October 1898, the L.R. Doty, a 300-foot-long wooden steamship was carrying a cargo of corn from South Chicago, Illinois to Ontario, Canada.  A fierce storm on Lake Michigan that produced heavy winds, snow, sleet and waves as high as 30 feet caused the steamship to sink.

By all accounts, the Doty should have been able to withstand the storm.  The ship was a mere five years old and its massive hull was reinforced with steel arches.  But, it had a weakness.  It was towing a small schooner, the Olive Jeanette.  The schooner began to founder in the storm and the tow line snapped.  Experts believe the Doty sank when it came to the aid of the Olive Jeanette.  All 17 of the ships crew members, and two ship's cats, Dewey and Watson, perished when the ship sank.

Until now, the Doty was the largest wooden ship still unaccounted for.  The ship was discovered in the Milwaukee-area shoreline and appears to be completely intact having been preserved by the cold fresh waters.

In 1991, a Milwaukee fisherman reported snagging his nets on an underwater obstruction about 300 feet down.  His report was forgotten until diving technology improved to allow exploration at such a depth.  In recent months, researchers conducted preliminary surface scouting, then used deep-sea technology to finally find the massive wreckage.  Last week, divers were able to go into the waters.  Immediately, they knew they had the Doty.

The Doty is sitting upright and completely intact--including the cargo of corn in the hold--in the clay at the bottom of Lake Michigan.  The ship has been protected for the last 112 years because of the cold waters of Lake Michigan and its depth shielded it from storms.  Brandon Baillod, president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association who worked on this find believes the bodies of the 17 crew members are likely intact as well, mostly likely in the boiler room where they believes they probably went as the ship sank.

Baillod believes the rudder chain must have snapped when the Doty was turning to assist the Olive Jeanette leaving the massive steamship at the mercy of the storm.  He imagines the crew must have had at least an hour of knowing they were going to die in the icy Lake Michigan waters before the cargo holds collapsed.

There are no plans to raise the Doty.  Doing so would probably be more harm than good.  As it sits, the ship is protected by the cold Lake Michigan waters and its depth in them.  Raised, the ship would be exposed to air that could cause it to rot away within a few years.  Diver interference isn't something the Doty must worry over either.  The depth of the ship guarantees that few divers will visit it because of the amount of experience one must have to make such a deep and dangerous dive.

For more information, to see an underwater photo of The Doty and to read about Brandon Baillod's next project, please visit the MSNBC.com Technology and Science Article.

Update:  More spectacular underwater photographs of The Doty, courtesy of John Scoles, can be seen at this link.  The photographs are amazing quality; very clear and you really get a great look at this amazing find.

"Great Grandfather" of Lucy Found in East Africa

A 3.6 million year old partial skeleton from the same species as "Lucy" was recently discovered .  The skeleton, Kadanuumuu, meaning "big man", was found in Ethiopia's Afar region, the same place Lucy was found in 1974.  Both skeletons share the species name Australopithecus afarensis.  Australopiths share traits with chimpanzees and humans.  They share protruding faces and small brains with chimpanzees and skeletons built for upright walking with humans.

There isn't much information on Kadanuumu at this point.  I'm sure there will be more released as further research is conducted.

The complete press release from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History regarding Kadanummu can be found here.

Major Mystery of the 20th Century Solved?

For seventy-three years it has been one of the most intriguing mysteries to capture international attention. 

On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan took from from Lae with the intended destination of Howland Island some 2,556 miles away.  The last known position of Earhart and Noonan was a mere 800 miles into the flight near the Nukumanu Islands.  Approximately one hour after Earhart's last message, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) ship Itasca began search efforts that proved to be unsuccessful.  No trace of Earhart's twin-engine plane, a 1935 Lockheed Electra 10E, or of Earhart and Noonan were to be found.  The search was called off July 19, 1937.  To that point in history, the $4 million air and sea search by the USCG and US Navy was the most expensive and intense search in United States history.

In the years since that historic flight, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan have been the subject of much spectulation, rumor and theory.  Just what did happen on that fateful day in July 1937?  Did they crash into the sea and drown?  Did they crash on Saipan Island and were executed by Japanese troops?  Perhaps we shall never know.  Or will we?

New clues have surfaced that might just solve the mystery once and for all.

Over the course of twenty-one years and ten visits, researchers have scoured Nikumaroro, a remote island in the South Pacific where they believe Earhart and Noonan spent their final days.  The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has found several artifacts they feel might shed a little more light on the Earhart disappearance.  Three pieces of a pocket knife and fragments of a broken cosmetic jar are the latest artifacts that have been found.  According to Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR believes that "touch DNA" can be taken from the objects and compared to an Earhart DNA reference sample held by a DNA lab working with TIGHAR. 

Nikumaroro lies approximately 300 miles southeast of Earhart and Noonan's original destination of Howland Island. 

The researchers will be working on the island through June 17, 2010.

For more in-depth reading of this fascinating development in the interesting story of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan please read the MSNBC.com Technology and Science article and visit the TIGHAR web site.  The TIGHAR site contains photographs of a couple of of the artifacts recovered on Nikumaroro.

3,300 Year Old "Lost Tomb" of Egyptian Mayor Found

On Sunday, May 30, 2010, officials in Cairo, Egypt announced a most fascinating find.  The 3,300 year-old tomb of Ptahmes, mayor of the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis had been found since it had last been plundered in 1885 by treasure hunters. 

The tomb, located in a New Kingdom necropolis at Saqqara was plundered over 120 years ago and artifacts such as the decorative wall panels were removed and sold to museums.  After the ancient treasures were removed the tomb was all but forgotten.  Were it not for the artifacts that ended up in museums in the Netherlands, United States, Italy and even the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Pthames and his tomb might have been forgotten forever.

In 2005, a team of archaeologists from Cairo University's archaeology department found the tomb while excavating in the area.  A vivid wall engraving of fishermen in papyrus reed boats, amulets and statue fragments were found in the discovered chambers.  The inner chambers and the mayor's mummy have not been discovered.

Pthames served as Mayor of Memphis, army chief, overseer of the treasury and royal scribe under the rulers Seti I and his son, Ramses II in the 13th century B.C. 

For more information and to view photographs of the outside of the tomb and an unfinished funeral painting please visit the MSNBC.com article.  (Click on "view related photos" next to the picture of the funeral painting.)

Horned Dinosuar Possibly Moved From Island to Island Into Europe

There have been several great dinosaur stories in science news lately.  This latest discovery is just as exciting as the others recently reported.

Horned dinosaurs, known as ceratopsians, were plentiful during the late Cretaceous, roughly 100 million to 65 million years ago  (Ceratopsians include such well-known dinosaurs as Triceratops.)  It wasn't until scientists found a new small horned dinosaur, possibly a dwarf dinosaur, in Europe that they believed ceratopsians lived only in Asia and North America.

Three skull bones belonging to the horned dinosaur, Ajkaceratops kozmai, were unearthed in the summer of 2009 in a Hungarian quarry near the town of Ajka.  Fully grown, the newly discovered dinosaur grew to a tiny 3 feet long.  Dwarf dinosaurs did live in what we now know as Transylvania.

In 2007, scientists reported fossil teeth that could have been ceratopsian having been found in Sweden.  But the Hungarian find is the first clear discovery of a horned dinosaur in Europe.

The newly revealed small horned dinosaur lived roughly 85 million years ago and, at that time, much of what is now Europe was part of a complex series of island chains known as the Tethyan archipelago.  These islands were situated between the African and Eurasian land masses in the Tethys Ocean.  It is theorized that the small horned dinosaur moved from island to island thus eventually ending up in what we know as Europe.

For more information and to see a photo of a research team excavating the remains of the small horned dinosaur, please refer to this MSNBC.com Technology and Science article.

Divers Exploring Cleopatra's Palace in Alexandria Harbor

On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 divers entered the waters of Alexandria harbor to explore the ruins of a palace and temple complex belonging to ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra.  They had to swim over heaps of limestone blocks that went into the sea over 1,600 years ago because of earthquakes and tsunamis.

An international team of researchers led by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio are using advanced technology to survey the Alexandria Royal Quarters.  It is encased deep below the harbor sediment.  They are working to confirm  the accuracy of 2,000 year-old historical descriptions left by Greek geographers and historians.  Researchers have been doing topographical surveys of the area since the early 1990's.

The researchers are have discovered such artifacts as coins, granite statues of Egyptian rules, sunken temples dedicated to Egyptian deities and every day objects.  Also among the finds is a massive stone head believed to be of Caesarion, son of Queen Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, two sphinxes, one of which most likely represents Ptolemy XII, the father of Cleopatra.  Their finds will be going on display at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute from June 5, 2010 to January 2, 2011 in the "Cleopatra:  The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt" display of more than 250 artifacts before going on the road to tour four other North American cities.

Cleopatra was from the last dynasty to rule Egypt as the country was annexed into the Roman Empire in 30 B.C. 

For more information on the Cleopatra:  The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt exhibit please visit the artmuseumjournal.com article.

For more information on the archaeological expedition and to see a photograph of a diver inspecting a quartzite block please read the MSNBC.com article.

57 Ancient Egyptian Tombs Containing Mummies Discovered in Lahun

Fifty-seven ancient Egyptian tombs, most of which contain sarcophagi have been unearthed by a team of archaeologists led by Abdel Rahman El-Aydi, according to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.  The find is located at Lahoun, in Fayoum, approximately 70 miles (100 kilometers) south of Cairo.  This is the same area where, last year, 53 tombs dating to various periods of ancient Egypt were discovered.

The oldest of the 57 tombs dates back to approximately Egypt's first and second dynasties, 2750 B.C., with twelve dating to the 18th Dynasty during the second millennium.  We are familiar with the 18th Dynasty thanks to names such as Queen Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun and Akhenaten.

The 18th Dynasty ornately painted wooden sarcophagi contain mummies covered in linen decorated with religious texts from the Book of the Dead. 

According to Abdel Rahman El-Aydi, one of the oldest tombs discovered is almost completely intact.

Thirty-one of the tombs date to approximately 2030-1840 B.C. and contain painted scenes depicting ancient Egyptian deities like Horus, Hathor, Khnum and Amun.

Follow this link to see a photo of one of the wooden sarcophagi Lahun 20th Tomb 0-52.

Tutankhamun's Leftover Linens Give New Insight Into Mummification

Leftover linens used to wrap the body of King Tutankhamun are the highlight of the "Tutankhamun's Funeral" exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The bandages run from 15.4 feet to 15.3 inches (4.70 meters to 39 centimeters) and consist of 50 linen pieces that were woven especially for King Tutankhamun upon his death and mummification.

Now, after a century of being stored in large ceramic jars at the museum's Department of Egyptian Art, the bandages have been put on permanent display at the museum's Egyptian galleries. 

Dorothea Arnold, curator of Egyptian art at the museum told Discovery News that the linens used on King Tutankhamun's actual mummy were decayed because of the excessive use of resins.  The linens on display at the museum were not exposed to the resins and are the best-preserved lot of Tutankhamun's wrappings.

The linens look a great deal like modern-day gauze bandages.  They bear an inscription containing the date the linens were woven.  One linen features the inscription "Year 8 of the Lord of Two Lands, Nebkheperure".  "Nebkheperure" was Tutankhamun's throne name and "Year 8" was the final year of his life (1341-1323 B.C.).

The jars containing the leftover linens were discovered in a pit 110 meters (360.8 feet) away from the undiscovered tomb of King Tutankhamun.  The jars also contained bits and pieces of pottery, animal remains, dried flowers, kerchiefs and embalming material leading the discoverer, Theodore M. Davis to believe he'd uncovered the tomb of a poor man.

For more information about the linens, their discovery and to see a couple of photos of them you can check out the Discovery article or the article from MSNBC.com's Technology and Science section.

114 Terracotta Warriors Excavated in China

In 1974 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, farmers drilling a well one and a half miles from the unexcavated tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang (259-210 B.C.) discovered terracotta soldiers and horses. Since that discovery, there have been three archaeological digs that have thus far unearthed more than one thousand of the estimated eight thousand terracotta soldiers guarding the tomb.

The latest group of unearthed soldiers, mostly infantrymen, were found at Pit 1, the largest of the three pits at the excavation site. The dig began in June 2009 and was concentrated to a 656 square foot area of the main pit.

The soldiers, considered to be an "Eighth Wonder of the World" are life-sized standing over six feet tall with black hair, black or brown eyes and green, white or pink faces.

Many of the warriors had burn marks and were broken into pieces. Liu Zhanchang, director of the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the burn marks offer evidence that the pit was at one time set afire. Research is currently being done to determine the date of the blaze that marked the figures.

Archaeologists are estimating that when Pit 1 has been fully estimated they will have found as many as six thousand more terracotta warriors and 180 or more chariot horses.

For more information on this interesting find and to see photos of the terracotta warriors you can read the MSNBC article or the discovery.com article.

Fort Heiman, Kentucky: 2002 Photographs

The photographs of the remains of Fort Heiman presented here were taken on June 8th, 2002.



This sign is located approximately one-half mile to one mile from the entrance to Fort Heiman. As you can see beneath the sign, there is information pertaining to the unfortunate development of the fort.



This sign is located approximately a few hundred feet past where the original entrance sign (this can be seen above) was located.



As difficult as it is to tell from this photograph, this is a trench. Upkeep on the Fort leaves much to be desired.



Another trench that has been taken over by underbrush.



This is a wonderful view of the Tennessee River was taken atop one of the many hills that comprise the Fort. This isn't too far from where the cemetery and ammunition bunker used to be.



Same as above.



This is a view of the Tennessee River taken not far from the cemetery and ammunition bunker. There is pretty much a straight drop to the river. When the water-level of the lake was low you used to be able to see the remains of an old road that existed, to my best guess, around the time of the War.



Same as above.



This is a trench directly across the road from the above photos. If you look very hard on the right of the photo is the road leading to where the cemetery and ammunition bunker was located.



Same as above.



Another view of the hill overlooking the Tennessee River described above.



Same as above.



Trench.



When the Fort was cut into tracts and sold this is the replacement for the old house (see photos above) originally located on top of one of Heiman's hills. The trench in the previous photo is in the back yard of this house. If you are in front of this house you have a magnificent view of the Tennessee River. The fifth, sixth and seventh photos I posted yesterday (the 1980's photos) were taken from that viewpoint before the Fort was sold. From the rock in photo number seven you can see the general area where Fort Henry once stood.



Another view of the trench.



Another view of the house.

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I hope you have enjoyed looking at these pictures and taking your "virtual tour" as much as I have enjoyed posting them for you.

If you have any information about Fort Heiman that you wouldn't mind sharing, please post in the comments or drop me a note and I will, with your permission, post the information or references you have. I will give proper credit.
As I find historical information regarding Fort Heiman I will be certain to share it with you.

Fort Heiman, Kentucky: 1980's Photographs

**In this, my second-to-last post about Fort Heiman, I will be sharing with you photographs I took when I was able to visit the fort with my family back in the mid-1980's. Please note that it has been a very long time since I've been to Fort Heiman. Anything I have marked in red as no longer being in existence was at the fort in the 80's but NOT there when I last visited on my own in 2002. If any of the signs that I have marked as being no longer in existence have been restored I am unaware of it at this time. While areas such as the ammunition bunker and empty Union cemetery surely still exist, the last time I was there extremely thick underbrush had overtaken the areas. I am hopeful that now the National Park Service owns Fort Heiman they will do whatever they can to restore these areas so they can be viewed once again.**



This is the sign signifying the outer defenses of the fort. This is no longer in existence.



This is the entrance sign leading from the main road back into the fort. This is no longer in existence.

This structure is no longer standing nor was it part of the original Civil War fort. To the best of my knowledge, this house was built by a former professor of Murray State University in the 1960's. The property it sat on is now private property as it was purchased when the fort was sold off. A new building, looking much like this one, has been constructed in its place. I would imagine the current owner assumed this building was "period" and copied its style for the structure he built. Tomorrow I will be posting a picture of the "new" house that was built to take the place of this.

The back and side of the old house. This side of the house was a large living room. The chimney belonged to a huge fireplace, suitable for cooking in. Walking out of the living room, was a kind of 'dog-trot' as my grandmother called it. (A dog trot is an open breeze way between two parts of a structure.) Across the dog trot was the kitchen of the house. The kitchen and living room were the only rooms I was ever in.

This photo, as is the one below, is the river view just before proceeding down a small path that is located in front of the old building. This view and the two photos below are now on private property and cannot be accessed.

This is a path in front of the building that leads to a very large rock. From this rock there is a magnificent view of the river. Standing or sitting on this rock, I couldn't imagine anyone not being able to dream of a little bit of the past. I vaguely remember also being able to see a path below the rock that may or may not have been some sort of road at one time.

The following three photographs are some of the trenches of the fort.

The sign reads: OLD POWDER MAGAZINE Here, Cannonballs & Black Powder
Were Stored For the FORT This is no longer in existence. I could not find the sign for this and the area where it was once located consists of very thick underbrush.

This is the Ammunition Bunker. When this photo was taken, it had rained just a few days prior which is why there is so much standing water in the bunker. While the bunker itself surely still does exist, (or I'd like to think it still does!) I could not find the sign for this and the area where it was once located consists of very thick underbrush.

The sign reads: EMPTY UNION CEMETERY After the Civil War The bodies were
taken home or reburied in Dover at the NATIONAL MILITARY CEMETERY. This is no longer in existence. I could not find the sign for this and the area where it was once located consists of very thick underbrush.

This is the where the empty Union cemetery is located. This is no longer in existence. I could not find the sign for this and the area where it was once located consists of very thick underbrush.

This is one of the final trenches you can see on your way out of the fort. The area where this is located consists of extremely thick underbrush.

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I hope you have enjoyed looking at these pictures and taking your "virtual tour" as much as I have enjoyed posting them for you. Tomorrow, I will be posting photographs taken in 2002.

If you have any information about Fort Heiman that you wouldn't mind sharing, please post in the comments or drop me a note and I will, with your permission, post the information or references you have. I will give proper credit.
As I find historical information regarding Fort Heiman I will be certain to share it with you.

Fort Heiman, Kentucky: Maps & Illustrations

Here's a collection of maps and illustrations about Forts Henry and Heiman. The drawings and maps collected here were taken from Forts Henry and Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland by Benjamin Franklin Cooling. University of Tennessee Press, 1987. If you look hard enough, you can also find a few scattered maps and illustrations (most likely the same that I have here) in copies of old newspapers from the Civil War era as well as books that focus on illustrations and maps of the era. I know my focus in all my posts has been Fort Heiman but I have included illustrations and maps of Fort Henry because you pretty much can't talk about one without focusing on the other as well.

Click on the thumbnails to see a larger image.


The Western Theater, 1861-62


Twin Rivers Area, 1862


Interior of Fort Henry, the morning after its capture, February 2, 1862. Sketch by H. Lovie, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 15, 1862.


Landing of Federal troops below Fort Henry, February 4, 1862. Sketch by H. Lovie, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 15, 1862. (I apologize for the center crease of the book spine.)


Foote's Flotilla Attack on Fort Henry, February 6, 1862. Sketch by S.O. Hawley, Massachusetts Order of Loyal Legion Collection, U.S. Army Military History Institute.


Confederates defend Fort Henry, February 6, 1862. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 1, 1862. (I apologize for the center crease of the book spine.)


Country between Forts Henry and Donelson, 1862. U.S. Army Infantry School. Military History Methods of Research Compilation of Sources (Fort Benning, 1937).


Environs of Fort Henry, 1862. U.S. Army Infantry School. Military History Methods of Research Compilation of Sources (Fort Benning, 1937).

Fort Organization of Forces, Forts Henry, Heiman & Donelson--Confederate

This information taken from: Forts Henry & Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland by Benjamin Franklin Cooling. University of Tennessee Press, 1987.

TILGHMAN (approximately 2,700-3,300, Feb. 6, Fort Henry)

• 6 infantry regiments + 1 battalion
• 3 batteries of light and heavy artillery
• 2 battalions + 1 company + miscellaneous cavalry

1st Brigade (Heiman)

• 10th, 48th Tennessee Infantry
• 27th Alabama Infantry
• Culbertson’s Light Artillery Battery
• Gantt’s Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry

2nd Brigade (Drake)

• 4th Mississippi Infantry
• 15th Arkansas Infantry
• 51st Tennessee Infantry
• 26th Alabama (Garvin) Infantry (2 companies)
• Crain’s Light Artillery Battery
• Alabama Cavalry Battalion (Hubbard, Houston)
• Milner’s Cavalry Company
• Padgett’s Spy Company
• Milton’s Ranger Detachment

Taylor’s Company, Tennessee Artillery Corps

FLOYD (approximately 15,000-21,000, Feb 13-16, Fort Donelson)

• 27 infantry regiments + 1 battalion + 2 companies
• 9 artillery batteries (field guns, siege, seacoast)
• 2 cavalry regiments + 1 battalion

Pillow’s Division (B. Johnson)
Heiman’s Brigade

• 10th, 30th, 42nd, 48th, 53rd Tennessee Infantry
• 27th Alabama Infantry
• Maney’s Tennessee Battery Light Artillery

Drake’s Brigade

• 4th Mississippi Infantry
• 15th Arkansas Infantry
• 26th Alabama (Garvin) Infantry (2 companies)
• 1st Tennessee Battalion (Browder, Colms) Infantry

Simonton’s (Davidson’s) Brigade

• 1st, 3rd Mississippi Infantry
• 7th Texas Infantry
• 8th Kentucky Infantry

Baldwin’s Brigade (-) (Buckner)

• 26th Tennessee Infantry
• 20th, 26th Mississippi Infantry

Wharton’s Brigade (Floyd)

• 51st, 56th Virginia Infantry

McCausland’s Brigade (Floyd)

• 36th, 50th Virginia Infantry

Artillery

• Guy’s Battery, Goochland (Va.) Light Artillery (Floyd)
• Green’s Tennessee Battery Light Artillery
• French’s Virginia Battery Light Artillery (Floyd)

Buckner’s Division
Brown’s Brigade

• 3rd, 18th, 32nd Tennessee Infantry
• Porter’s Tennessee Battery Light Artillery
• Graves’ Cumberland Kentucky Battery Light Artillery

Baldwin’s Brigade

• 2nd Kentucky Infantry
• 14th Mississippi Infantry
• 41st Tennessee Infantry
• Jackson’s (Va.) Battery Light Artillery (Floyd)

Forrest’s Cavalry Brigade

• 3rd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment
• Gantt’s Tennessee Cavalry Regiment
• 1st Kentucky Cavalry Regiment

Fort Donelson Garrison (Head)

• 30th, 49th, 50th Tennessee Infantry
• Maury Tennessee Battery Light Artillery (Ross)
• Detachment Taylor’s Company Tennessee Artillery Corps (Stankiewicz)
• Water Battery Heavy Artillery (Culbertson)

Fort Organization of Forces, Forts Henry, Heiman & Donelson--Federal

This information taken from: Forts Henry & Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland by Benjamin Franklin Cooling. University of Tennessee Press, 1987.

Federal Forces:

Army:
GRANT: (approximately 12,000, Feb. 6; approximately 25,000, Feb. 16.)

• 37 infantry regiments + 1 company
• 8 artillery batteries (field guns)
• 2 cavalry regiments + 4 independent companies

First Division (McClernand)
1st Brigade (Oglesby)

• 8th, 18th, 29th, 30th, 31st Illinois Infantry
• Battery D, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery (Dresser)
• Battery E, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery (Schwartz ) (Gumbart)
• Companies A, B, 2nd Illinois Cavalry (Noble)
• Company C, 2nd US Cavalry (Powell)
• Company I, 4th US Cavalry (Powell)
• Carmichael’s Illinois Cavalry
• Dollins’ Illinois Cavalry
• O’Harnette’s Illinois Cavalry
• Stewart’s Illinois Cavalry (King)

2nd Brigade (W.H.L. Wallace)

• 11th, 20th, 45th, 48th Illinois Infantry
• Battery B, 1st Illinois Light Artillery (Taylor)
• Battery D, 1st Illinois Light Artillery (McAllister)
• 4th Illinois Cavalry (Dickey)
• 3rd Brigade (Morrison—wounded, Feb. 13, command passed to W.H.L. Wallace on
• Feb. 15, Ross senior officer present)
• 17th, 49th Illinois Infantry

Second Division (C.F. Smith)
1st Brigade (McArthur)

• 9th, 12th, 41st Illinois Infantry

3rd Brigade (Cook)

• Battery D, 1st Missouri Light Artillery (Richardson)
• Battery H, 1st Missouri Light Artillery (Welker)
• Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery (Stone)
• 7th, 50th Illinois Infantry
• 12th Iowa Infantry
• 13th Missouri Infantry

4th Brigade (Lauman)

• 25th Indiana Infantry
• 2nd, 7th, 14th Iowa Infantry
• Birge’s Western Sharpshooters

5th Brigade (M.L. Smith)

• 8th Missouri Infantry
• nth Indiana Infantry

Third Division (L. Wallace)
1st Brigade (Cruft)

• 31st, 44th Indiana Infantry
• 17th, 25th Kentucky Infantry

2nd Brigade (attached to 3rd Brigade)

• 46th, 57th, 58th Illinois Infantry

3rd Brigade (Thayer)

• 1st Nebraska Infantry
• 58th, 68th, 76th Ohio Infantry

Not Brigaded

• Company A, 32nd Illinois Infantry
• Battery A, 1st Illinois (Chicago) Light Artillery (Wood)

Navy:
FOOTE: (6-8 iron- and timber-clad gunboats)

At Fort Henry
Cincinnati (Stembel); Essex (Porter); Carondelet (Walke); St. Louis (Paulding); Conestoga (Phelps); Tyler (Gwinn); Lexington (Shirk)

At Fort Donelson
St. Louis (Paulding); Carondelet (Walke); Louisville (Dove); Pittsburg (Thompson); Tyler (Gwinn); Conestoga (Phelps)

Fort Heiman, Kentucky: An *Almost* Forgotten U.S. Civil War Fort

Fort Heiman is a somewhat unknown part of the Fort Henry/Fort Donelson battle of 1862. There is very little information available on Fort Heiman at the moment. While there is a little more information available today about Fort Heiman than when I first started researching the U.S. Civil War 15+ years ago, unfortunately, when you are lucky enough to come across anything about it it's usually just a passing mention in the accounts of the Fort Henry/Fort Donelson battle.

Fort Heiman was a Confederate battery during the early stages of the United States Civil War (1861-1865). It was named after Colonel Adolphus Heiman and in December of 1861 was "constructed" across the river from Fort Henry. Both forts were situated in an area where they could easily spot and stop river traffic. While Fort Heiman was located on a hill Fort Henry was located on low, swampy land. On February 4, 1862 Fort Heiman was abandoned when General Lloyd Tilghman (Confederate commander in charge of Forts Henry and Donelson) realized Fort Henry was doomed to fall. Fort Henry was taken on February 6, 1862 and by February 8, 1862 it was completely underwater. Fort Donelson fell to the Union Army on Febuary 16, 1862.

Unfortunately, the gentleman who owned the property Fort Heiman is located on could not keep it. The land was divided up into lots and sold to the highest bidder. Historians and local politicians have worked hard to bring a bit of attention to the plight of Fort Heiman and thanks to their efforts the fort was saved!

A $60,000 federal land grant was awarded to Calloway County, Kentucky to go towards the preservation of the lands comprising Fort Heiman. The Fort has been on the National Register since December 12, 1976. I have scans of newspaper articles related to this grant that I will post later.

On October 30, 2006 Calloway County, Kentucky transferred 150 acres belonging to Fort Heiman to the National Park Service. The NPS now manages the land of Fort Heiman and it has become part of the Fort Donelson National Battlefield.

I have been lucky enough to visit the Fort Heiman location several times and on two occasions snapped some photographs that I will be posting over the next few days. The first set of photographs were taken in the late 1980's so quite a bit has changed since. The second set of photographs were taken on June 8, 2002. They are new photos of what remains of Fort Heiman--which isn't much. Each set of photographs are contained in their own post and there is a description of each photo.

I truly hope you enjoy the photos of a little-mentioned and mostly forgotten part of the United States Civil War. Hopefully, Fort Heiman, now that it is under the preservation and control of the National Parks Service it will be able to take its rightful place in the history books along with Forts Henry and Donelson.