Columbus, Kentucky

“General view of Columbus, Ky., and its fortications, looking down the river, showing the ‘Iron Bluffs’ crowned with batteries, the water batteries and the arrival of the Federal gunboats, March 4th, 1862. Our sketch of Columbus and its fortifications, which was called the Western Gibraltar by the Confederates, became untenable by them after the fall of Fort Henry, Donelson, Bowling Green, and especially Nashville. A glance at our illustration will show its immense strength on the river side, and it must be confessed that General Polk had not been slow to improve its natural advantages. The water batteries entirely command the river, and to silence them would have required all Commodore Foote’s gallantry and skill. Our picture represents all the water batteries which are situated about a mile above the City of Columbus. The bluffs which are also crowned with cannon, are from seventy to eighty feet high."— Frank Leslie, 1896

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