Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Colonial Heights is a small city resting mostly on a peninsula formed by the Appomattox River and Swift Creek. I call this small yet suburban city my home. When people ask me where I’m from, I find it interesting that I must tell them where it is in relation to our state capitol, for my city possesses much heritage and history that is crucial to our countries own story. During the Civil War, the Confederates used the city of Petersburg as a base for supply and deployment. Just north of the city along the Appomattox River a fort had been constructed not only to protect Petersburg but also to and keep a strong defense line between Richmond and Petersburg. It was called Fort Clifton. The fort was constructed during the winter of 1863-1864 on a high elevation near the Swift Creek/Appomattox River junction and controlled navigation of the river to the North of Petersburg (Malgee 1). Charles H. Dimmock and Henry de Feuvre were the Confederate engineers under whom the fort was built. The fort was comprised of earthen fortifications on top of which were placed artillery. A two-story guard ho