Forts Randolph & Buhlow — Bailey's Dam Site

In 1864, Union gunboats stranded on the Red River were too large to clear the shoals during a drought. Lt. Col. Joseph Bailey ordered thousands of soldiers to build a timber dam across the river in nine days. The dam raised water levels enough to float the fleet over — it allowed Admiral David Porter's fleet to escape below the rapids during the Union retreat after the Battle of Mansfield. Military historians call Bailey's Dam one of the most audacious engineering solutions of the Civil War. Confederate earthwork traces from the guarding forts remain visible. Both Fort Randolph and Fort Buhlow are in the National Register of Historic Places. The site includes a visitor center, an elevated boardwalk, and a field for Civil War re-enactments. You're looking at the place where nine days of timber and desperation beat a river.