Fort Davidson

Location: Pilot Knob, Missouri
Date: July 4, 2013

Fort Davidson in Pilot Knob, Missouri was the location of the Battle of Fort Davidson (also known as the Battle of Pilot Knob) during the American Civil War on September 27, 1864. This was the first battle of Price's Raid during which Confederate Major General Sterling Price raided and fought throughout Missouri and into Kansas. The Union was outnumbered 10 to 1 but managed to devastate the Confederates, although the Union soldiers did slip away during the night allowing the Confederates to take the fort the next day.

Fort Davidson (the raised area at center)

Today the fort is part of the Missouri state parks system as Fort Davidson State Historic Site. The grounds and museum are open daily, although there are no fees or fences blocking access to the area.

The fort with the crater from the powder magazine blast on the right with Pilot Knob in the background (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Anela)

On a side note, the mountain of Pilot Knob rises to the east of Fort Davidson and is the location of abandoned mines that now support 1/3 of the world's endangered Indiana bat population in Pilot Knob National Wildlife Refuge. However, public access to the area is prohibited. After visiting here, I continued on north to Elephant Rocks State Park.

© Copyright 2017 Matthew Pintar. All rights reserved.