Fort Davidson

Fort Davidson Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site
Location	Pilot Knob, Iron County, Missouri, United States
Coordinates	37°37′11″N 90°38′24″W / 37.61972°N 90.64000°W / 37.61972; -90.64000
Area	77.4 acres (31.3 ha)
Established	1968
Visitors	139,425 (in 2019)
Website	Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site
Fort Davidson
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Fort Davidson earthworks and moat
Location	Pilot Knob, Missouri
Area	9.9 acres (4.0 ha)
Built	1863
Architect	John Wynn Davidson
NRHP reference No.	70000332
Added to NRHP	February 26, 1970

Fort Davidson, a fortification near the town of Pilot Knob, Missouri, was the site of the Battle of Fort Davidson during the American Civil War. Built by Union Army soldiers during the American Civil War, the fort repulsed Confederate attacks during the Battle of Fort Davidson on September 27, 1864, during Price's Raid. That night, the Union garrison blew up the fort's magazine and abandoned the site. A mass grave was constructed on the site to bury battlefield dead. After the war, the area was used by a mining company, before passing into private hands and eventually the administration of the United States Forest Service. In 1968, the Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site was created as a Missouri State Park. The fort itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. As of 2020, a visitors center containing a museum is located within the park. The museum contains a fiber optic display, as well as artifacts including Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr.'s sword. The fort's walls are still visible, as is the crater created when the magazine was detonated. A monument marks the location of the mass grave.