Ft. Smith was erected in the early days of September 1861, as a Union fortification for several very important reasons. First, by mid-August 1861, the Confederacy was will on its way to gaining military control over the state of Missouri. On August 10, 1861, Confederate General Sterling Price achieved a major victory at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, located outside Springfield, Missouri in the southwest corner of the state. Commanding Union General Nathaniel Lyon was killed d