The Battle of Blakeley - Spanish Fort, Alabama

When Spanish Fort fell on the night of April 8, 1865, Union General E.R.S. Canby immediately pushed troops up the east shore to join the growing attack on the Confederate fortifications at Blakeley, Alabama.

Sometimes called Fort Blakeley (and often mispelled "Blakely"), this position was actually a large establishment defended by batteries, breastworks and multiple forts. When Canby began his march up the East Shore of Mobile Bay, a second column of more than 10,000 Union soldiers left Pensacola under General Frederick Steele.

Fighting with and overrunning Confederates in a series of fights as he approached Pine Barren Creek in northern Escambia County, Florida, Steele broke up the Confederate post at Pollard and turned east per his orders and closed in on Blakeley. As Canby's men worked and fought to reduce Spanish Fort, Steele's men began erecting batteries, preparing parallel lines and digging zigzag trenches that allowed them to close in on the powerful Blakeley fortifications.

Steele and his men were joined on April 9, 1865, by reinforcements from Spanish Fort and immediately launched a series of hammering assaults. The attacks from moved from left to right along the battlefield, but the Confederates continued to hold out until the Third Brigade of the Second Division launched a rapid attack from a parallel just 500 yards from Redoubt #4, one of the main Confederate forts.

Led by the 83rd Ohio Infantry, the brigade stormed through a ravine and overran Confederate pickets so fast that Southern troops became intermingled with the advancing Federals. This caused Southern gunners in Redoubt #4 to hold their fire to avoid hitting their own men. The Union attackers took advantage of the opportunity given them and overran Redoubt #4, breaking into the Blakeley defenses.

The battle degenerated from that point as Confederate defenders fell back toward the river and were forced to surrender.

The Battle of Blakeley was the last major battle of the Mobile Campaign and opened the door for the capture of the city itself. The site is now preserved at Historic Blakeley State Park, located on Highway 225 just north of Spanish Fort, Alabama.

Please click here to learn more about the Battle of Blakeley and Historic Blakeley State Park.

Spring Travel Part Four: Historic Blakeley State Park

One of the least known major battles of the Civil War took place in the sandy pine woods of South Alabama (or as they like to say around Mobile, "LA" or "Lower Alabama").

The Battle of Blakeley, sometimes called the Battle of Fort Blakely, was fought in April of 1865 and lasted for several days.

Blakeley had once been one of the most populous towns in Alabama and had vied with Mobile in importance during the state's early history, but yellow fever epidemics had virtually destroyed the town by the time of the Civil War. The site was of strategic importance, however, and the Confederates fortified it with artillery batteries, earthwork forts, rifle pits and miles of breastworks.

Although a siege had been underway for several days, the final assault began on the evening of April 8, 1865. The next day, Union troops stormed Redoubt #4 and broke through the Confederate lines in a bloody battle that left 216 men dead and 955 wounded.

The battlefield today is a fascinating and pristine state park that preserves an impressive network of breastworks, fortifications and battery sites, including the Union attack trenches and batteries. In addition, Historic Blakeley State Park protects the site of the original town of Blakeley, the old town cemetery, Native American sites and more. To learn more about this fascinating place that I consider one of the finest destinations of its type in the South, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/blakely1.

Historic Blakeley State Park Pages now online!

Our new section on Alabama's Historic Blakeley State Park is now online.

Located off State Highway 225 just north of Spanish Fort, Alabama (across Mobile Bay from Mobile), this park preserves the site of the historic ghost town of Blakeley and the 1865 Battle of Blakeley, Alabama.

Once a thriving river town that rivaled nearby Mobile, the town of Blakeley was once the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama. The beautiful Mobile-Tensaw Delta that gave the town its life, however, also brought about its end. Mosquito-carried diseases including yellow fever and malaria swept the town in epidemics, killing scores of residents and driving others from the lowlands.

By the time of the Civil War, the town was virtually abandoned. Due to its strategic location, however, the Confederates erected massive fortifications here to help protect Mobile from Union attack. These works were attacked and carried by Union troops on April 9, 1865, in one of the final battles of the war. The Battle of Blakeley was one of the largest Civil War battles fought in Alabama and helped assure the fall of the Confederate citadel of Mobile.

To learn more about this battle and the beautiful state park that preserves its site, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory and scroll down the page to the Index section. You will find the link under the "Alabama" heading.