Artifact of the Quarter | March 2025

Several years ago, MCWI established a relationship with the Fort Collier Civil War Center to support educational and interpretive efforts at Fort Collier, among the first earthwork fortifications constructed during the Civil War. Part of that relationship entails the care and storage of artifacts related to Fort Collier’s history when the artifacts are not on display at Fort Collier. For this newsletter, we wanted to highlight one of the dozens of artifacts in the collection — an Enfield bayonet bent for use as an entrenching tool.

This is perhaps the most poignant item among the collection’s artifacts as it is intimately connected to the fort’s construction. While those tasked with building Fort Collier in the summer of 1861 would have had access to various tools such as shovels and picks, it is unlikely that everyone involved in its construction would have had access to those tools. Soldiers manipulated bayonets into various shapes throughout the Civil War to aid them in moving earth. The soldier using this bayonet bent the blade at a right angle.

This artifact and others are displayed at the Fort Collier Civil War Center during special events, including the annual anniversary commemoration of the Third Battle of Winchester in September.