In Memory of Clinton T. Cox, 1925-2009

Clinton T. Cox passed away in his sleep on September 27, 2009.

He was the best friend, the best example, the best adviser and the best father any man ever had or ever will.

He was a member of the "greatest generation" and a veteran of the United States Navy. Although he was a veteran of World War II, Korea and the Cuban Missile Crisis, his greatest battle was against cancer. In the end he was victorious, as we all know that Heaven sings tonight with the voice of a new saint.

May I someday be able to live up to the example that he set.

The Battle of Marianna, Florida - Anniversary This Weekend

This Sunday, September 27th, will mark the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Marianna, Florida.

A little known Civil War encounter, the small but fierce battle culminated the deepest Union penetration of Confederate Florida during the entire war. Leading troops from Pensacola Bay on September 18, 1864, Brigadier General Alexander Asboth covered a longer distance than Sherman's March to the Sea. His movement through Walton, Holmes, Jackson and Washington Counties inflicted more economic damage on those counties than was sustained by any other in Florida during the four year conflict.

On September 27th, Asboth attacked a Confederate force at Marianna made up of militia, reservists, Confederate regulars, home guards and volunteers. Led by Colonel Alexander Montgomery, they waged a fierce battle in defense of the town. By the time the fight was over, 25% of Marianna's male population had been killed, wounded or captured and among the Union forces, the 2nd Maine Cavalry had suffered its bloodiest day of the war.

To commemorate the 145th Anniversary of the event, numerous organizations are joining hands this weekend for Marianna Day observances, reenactments, a parade, bluegrass festival and more. To learn more, please visit www.battleofmarianna.com.

Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area - Ozark National Forest, Arkansas

Located deep in the mountain country of the Ozarks and just off famed Scenic Highway 7, some of the most beautiful and historic scenery in the South can be found at Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area.

Named for the magnificent pedestals of stone formed by natural erosion of a towering bluff, the park features hiking trails that least to the pedestals, natural arches, erosion caves and one of the tallest waterfalls in Arkansas. The bluff top provides spectacular views of the valley and mountains beyond and is stunning in October when fall colors reach south into the Ozarks.

Archaeologists have learned that Native Americans used the natural caves and rock shelters at Pedestal Rocks thousands of years ago. They used this natural shelter while hunting and gathering in the mountains. In later times, the territory surrounding the scenic area was the domain of the Civil War guerrilla bands that roamed the Ozarks.

The scenic area is now part of the Ozark National Forest and is open daily. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pedestalrocks.

Camp Milton Historic Preserve - Jacksonville, Florida

Once destined to become a sludge field for the booming city of Jacksonville, Florida's Camp Milton Historic Preserve now stands as a beautiful example of the value of local historic preservation.

Instead of being used to dispose of waste, the site now attracts visitors with interests in history, wildlife, bird watching, nature and more. It serves as a vital link on a popular local "rails to trails" project and provides paved trails and boardwalks at are popular for afternoon walks with residents from throughout the vicinity.

One of these boardwalks leads to what remains of a remarkable system of siege fortifications designed by famed Confederate general P.G.T. Beauregard in March of 1864. The Confederate army of General Joseph Finegan had just handed a major defeat to a Union invasion force at the Battle of Olustee, the largest Civil War engagement in Florida. As the Federal troops fell back rapidly to Jacksonville, the Confederate army moved slowly in pursuit.

General Beauregard arrived on the scene from Charleston to find that the Federal army had Jacksonville had been given time to reorganize and take up positions in fortifications around the city. Disappointed that the opportunity for an even greater victory had slipped away, he established siege lines along McGirt's Creek west of the city to block any further attempts by the Federals to advance into the interior of Florida.

The lines he designed ran for three miles along the west side of the creek and were among the most remarkable field fortifications built during the Civil War. Some of them were so well finished that they looked almost like masonry.

Time and modern development destroyed all but a few hundred yards of this magnificent line, but what remains today can be seen along an interpretive boardwalk at Camp Milton. Other interpretive panels explain the significance of the massive Confederate camp and the fighting around Jacksonville in 1864. There is also a preserved 19th century Florida house, reconstruction of a Civil War era bridge over McGirt's Greek and much more.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/campmilton.

Fort Caroline National Memorial - Jacksonville, Florida

It is a little known fact that America's first settlement for those seeking refuge from religious persecution in Europe stood on the St. Johns River in today's city of Jacksonville, Florida.

Established in 1564 by French Huguenots (Protestants), Fort Caroline was a triangular earth and timber fort built more than fifty years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock. The first wave of settlers consisted of 200 soldiers, craftsmen and even a few women. They expected to build homes, clear fields and prepare for the arrival of hundreds more Huguenots the following year.

Despite a promising start, hard times quickly befell the colony. Promising relations with the local Timucua Indians soured and the colonists suffered from hunger, disease and other hardships. Some went home to France, but a core of the most devoted clung to their North American foothold.

A relief flotilla brought supplies and 600 more soldiers and settlers the following year, but also attracted the attention of King Phillip II of Spain who claimed control of all of North America. He sent Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles to dispose of the French, a duty that Menendez performed with bloody efficiency. Fort Caroline was captured and 140 of the French found there were put to the sword as heretics.

A reconstruction of the fort can be seen today at Fort Caroline National Memorial in Jacksonville, a park that commemorates the early French settlement and the dramatic events that took place on the St. Johns. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortcaroline.

The Monument to Captain Henry Wirz

Often overlooked by visitors to Andersonville National Historic Site is the nearby monument to the prison's Confederate commandant, Henry Wirz.

Although he was only a captain, Wirz was the only man ever tried, convicted and executed for war crimes during the Civil War. The Union accused him of murdering prisoners of war, despite evidence that he pleaded with his superiors for help, and a military tribunal sentenced him to death.

A native of Switzerland, Captain Wirz was a trained doctor who came to the United States and settled in Kentucky following the great European revolutions of 1848. He had a successful medical practice in Louisville before traveling south to Louisiana to join the Confederate war effort at the beginning of the war.

Wounded at Seven Pines, he was assigned to the prison service and eventually promoted to command the new prison of Camp Sumter (Andersonville), Georgia. The stockade was designed for 10,000, but Wirz eventually found himself responsible for more than 30,000 prisoners. By the summer of 1864, more than 100 were dying each day from exposure, sickness, malnutrition and other causes. There was little that Wirz or his soldiers could do to help. Pleas for additional food went up to Richmond but the Confederate government had no assistance to send. The commandant even took thousands of prisoners by train and tried to turn them over to the Union army at Jacksonville, but the Federals themselves refused to accept them.

By the time the war ended, some 13,000 men had died at Andersonville and Captain Henry Wirz was branded a villain. Placed on trial before a military tribunal, he was convicted of war crimes and hanged.

In an effort to redeem his reputation, the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908 erected a monument to Captain Wirz in Andersonville. To learn more about it and his tragic story, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/andersonville.

Andersonville National Historic Site - Andersonville, Georgia

In February of 1864, the Confederate government began shipping Union prisoners of war to a new prison stockade deep in the farm country of South Georgia.

Designed to house 10,000 prisoners, the stockade at Camp Sumter - better known as Andersonville - was soon overflowing. Despite a 10 acre expansion, the situation continued to get worse until more than 100 men a day were dying in the prison due to malnutrition, exposure and disease. In just fourteen months, roughly 13,000 Union soldiers died at the camp, more than on any battlefield of the Civil War.

Although it was the best known prison of the war, Andersonville was not alone. Elmira prison in New York was just as bad and other camps - both North and South - were not far behind. Tens of thousands of men died not in battle, but in confinement as prisoners of war in both large and small prison pens that dotted the territory of both the Union and the Confederacy.

The site of Camp Sumter is now part of Andersonville National Historic Site. Located not far from President Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains, the park is also home to the National Prisoner of War Museum, a facility that examines the sacrifices made by America's p.o.w.'s from the American Revolution through today. Also adjoining the grounds is the Andersonville National Cemetery, where visitors can walk among the graves of the thousands of men who died in the prison stockade.

To learn more about Andersonville National Historic Site, please visit the new Andersonville pages at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/andersonvillenhs.

Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson - Wetumpa, Alabama

At the end of Fort Toulouse Road off U.S. 231 in Wetumpa, Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site preserves some of the most significant ground in the South.

Occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the park preserves a Mississippian mound that was occupied during the centuries leading up to the arrival of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540.

By 1717, when the French military arrived at the site, the area around the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers had become the heart of the Creek Nation. Fort Toulouse was established at the site that year. A log stockade that functioned both as a bulwark against English expansion into the region and as a trading center, the fort was the center of an important French community that grew deep in the heart of Alabama. The French evacuated the site at the end of the French and Indian War as the region encompassing what is now Alabama was handed over to the English.

Military forces returned to the site in 1814 when General Andrew Jackson arrived with his army after the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The troops built Fort Jackson at the site, a demonstration of American power in the center of the Creek Nation. It was here that the famed Red Stick Creek leader William Weatherford surrendered to Jackson and it was also here that the general exacted the Treaty of Fort Jackson on the Creeks. The treaty opened to settlement much of Alabama and Georgia and took land from both the Red Stick or war faction of the Creeks as well as the part of the nation that had sided with the United States.

The site of both forts is now preserved at Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site. Fort Toulouse has been reconstructed and officers visitors the rare chance to explore an 18th century French colonial fort. Fort Jackson has been partially reconstructed to help visitors visualize its original appearance. The park also features a picnic area, camping, nature trails, an arboretum, visitor center and more.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/forttoulouse.

Arlington House - Home of Gen. Robert E. Lee

Arlington National Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia, has become one of the most sacred sites in America, but long before the U.S. Army began burying its dead on this ground, Arlington was the home of Robert E. Lee. His beautiful columned home still crowns the height overlooking the rows of graves.

Arlington House, now preserved by the National Park Service as a memorial to General Lee, was originally built between 1802 and 1818 by George Washington Parke Custis to honor the memory of another famous American general, George Washington. Custis had been raised by George and Martha Washington after his natural father died the same year he was born.

Custis's daughter attracted the attention of a number of well-known suitors, among them future Texas President Sam Houston. The one who won her affections, however, was a young U.S. Army officer named Robert E. Lee. The two were married in the family parlor of Arlington House on June 30, 1831.

Arlington House then became the home of the Lee family and it was here that six of his seven children were born. It was also here that Lee came to consider his fate as the nation reached the verge of civil war. Lee penned his resignation from the army in a second floor bedroom.

When the war began, the Lee family was forced to flee Arlington never to return. Union soldiers occupied the house and soon began using a section of the grounds to bury their dead. The Union army's quartermaster general, Montgomery Meigs, became fixated with the idea of preventing Lee from ever again occupying the house overlooking the nation's capital. He ordered that war dead be buried in the very yards of the house. His plan worked and Arlington was never again occupied by General Lee. Instead, the grounds were turned into America's best known national cemetery.

To learn more about Arlington House, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/arlington.

The Alamo is NOT an "Over-Rated Tourist Attraction"

I signed onto Yahoo a bit ago to check my email and the first thing that greated my eyes was a photograph of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, beneath a banner headline that read, "U.S.'s Most Over-Rated Tourist Attractions."

Apparently the writer, Andew Harper, feels that the Alamo (along with seven other famous American points of interest) is not worth the time of day. He basically described it as a "few small stone buildings and some neatly trimmed lawns."

Andrew Harper, by the way, is not even his real name. Its the fake identity for a writer who describes himself as a "gentleman traveler."

I am not a Texan but I have a few words for Mr. Harper: Don't mess with Texas!

Insulting the memory of the men who fought and died at the Alamo is not the act of a real gentleman.

Tourists visit the Alamo, but it is not a "tourist attraction." The Alamo is a shrine, preserved to remind us all of the heroism that took place in and around those "few small stone buildings." It is a place where men gave their lives for what they believed. It is a place where Anglo, Tejano and African-American Texans fought side by side against what they considered a tyrannical government and where Mexican soldiers, many of them from the poorest villages in Mexico, fought bravely and died in the service of their country.

To call the Alamo an "over-rated tourist attraction" is an insult not just to the men of both sides who fought and died there, it is an insult to all people of any generation who fought for their countries. The places where men spilled their blood are sacred. It is a shame that too many Americans - Mr. Harper, for example - no longer appreciate that fact.

While it is often crowded and only a few of its blood-stained buildings remain, the Alamo is a place to pay tribute to those who came before us, those who gave their lives in the service of greater causes. We can never honor them enough. The words of critics like Andrew Harper will come and go, but the memory of the deeds performed by the men who fought at the Alamo will last forever.

You can learn more about what happened and why the Alamo is such a special place in Texas and American history by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alamo1.

Kolomoki Mounds State Park - Blakely, Georgia

One of the most remarkable sights in the South is the first view of the massive Temple Mound (or Mound A) at Kolomoki Mounds State Park near Blakely, Georgia.

The huge mound rises nearly 60 feet into the air and still retains the distinct pyramidal shape created by its builders. It was once the center of what some researchers believe was the largest Native American civilization north of the Aztec culture in Mexico.

Kolomoki Mounds was the centerpiece of a major culture that grew and thrived in Southwest Georgia from around 350 A.D. to around 600 A.D. It was a culture that achieved stunning advancements in art, architecture and astronomy, but also one that practiced human sacrifice.

The well-preserved mounds at Kolomoki form a giant prehistoric observatory and calender. On the longest day of the year, for example, the sun rises from directly behind the giant Temple Mound. Other mounds appear to be aligned with various constellations.

Archaeologists believe that the culture that was centered at this ancient capital spread out into both Alabama and North Florida. Smaller mound and village sites of the same era dot the region and it is believed that these supported the large capital city with food and other necessities of life.

The site today is the centerpiece of a beautiful state park that also features nature trails, two lakes, picnicking, camping and more. The park museum encloses part of one of the burial mounds and visitors can follow wooden walkways that lead into the heart of the mound for a chance to learn about an ancient burial ceremony. Stairs lead to the top of the main Temple Mound and the other mounds can be explored as well.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/kolomoki1.

Petit Jean State Park - Arkansas

While many Southern waterfalls dry to a trickle (if that) during late summer, one spectacular place to see one that runs year round is at beautiful Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton, Arkansas.

Located between Little Rock and Russellville, Petit Jean Mountain is home to a fascinating history and some of the most striking scenery in the Natural State. Taking its name from the story of a French girl who followed her love to America during colonial times and supposedly still haunted by her ghost, the mountain was once the property of the Fort Smith Lumber Company. In 1907, however, a group of executives from the company came on a business trip to explore the timber resources of the mountain. So stunned was the group by the natural beauty of Petit Jean Mountain that a decision was quickly reached that it should be preserved for future generations.

In fact, it was the timber company itself that launched a major lobbying effort to have the mountain and its spectacular scenery preserved as a park. They hoped it would become a national park, but the National Park Service felt at the time that the tract was too small. The director of the park service recommended, however, that the company consider donating the land to the state of Arkansas.

The wheels of government turned slowly, but in 1923 both houses of the Arkansas State Legislature voted unanimously to accept the first 80 acre tract (surrounding magnificent Cedar Falls) to become the state's first state park.

The Great Depression intervened for the good of the park and in 1933 the Civilian Conservation Corps began work at the site. Trails, overlooks, bridges, cabins, a lake, picnic areas and the magnificent stone Mather Lodge were built by the Depression era workers and Petit Jean today is recognized as an outstanding example of CCC work. In fact, the mountain preserves three National Historic Districts.

Petit Jean State Park now encompasses 2,568 acres including spectacular natural scenery, the ruins of an early resort, the alleged grave of Petit Jean, unique natural formations, ancient Native American cave paintings and a number of structures built during the Great Depression by the CCC.

Among the undeniable highlights of the park is Cedar Falls. One of the tallest waterfalls east of the Rockies, Cedar Falls can be viewed from platforms at the top of the canyon or by hiking a strenuous trail to the bottom for a view of the waterfall from the bottom up. It flows year round and is one of the most remarkable sights in the South.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/petitjean1.

Bynum Mounds - Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi

Located about 30 miles south of Tupelo, Mississippi, the Bynum Mounds are among the oldest Indian mounds to be found on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Built over a 200 year period between around 100 B.C. and 100 A.D., the Bynum site was in use by Native Americans of the Woodland period at the time of the Birth of Christ. They reflect a time period when the original cultures of the South demonstrated remarkable progress in the areas of agriculture, the making of pottery, ceremonial structure and more.

The Bynum Mounds were used for both burial and ceremonial purposes and were the focal points of a larger village complex that included houses and other structures.

The mounds are now part of a historic site maintained by the National Park Service. They can be seen from the parking area along the Natchez Trace Parkway and are easily accessed during daylight hours by paved walkways. The park also features interpretive signs.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natchezbynum.

Weedon Island Preserve - St. Petersburg, Florida

Some of the most significant archaeological sites in the South as well as a stretch of the most beautiful waterfront scenery in Florida is now preserved at the massive Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg.

Located in the heart of the metropolitan area, the beautiful park area and cultural center preserves over 3,000 acres of sensitive lands bordering Old Tampa Bay. It also protects the array of archaeological sites known as Weedon Island (also spelled Weeden Island), for which a Native American culture that once covered much of the Deep South was named.

While there is no evidence that the Weedon Island culture spread out from this site, it was archaeological work here decades ago that defined its pottery styles and other cultural aspects. A culture that grew during the Woodland time period, sites of the Weedon Island style have been found in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Centered around mound complexes, the Weedon Island towns of the South were occupied from around A.D. 300 to A.D. 900 before they were replaced by the better known Mississippian culture.

In addition to its ancient archaeological sites, the Weedon Island Preserve was also the site of a Prohibition era "speakeasy," a 1929 airport and a pre-World War II movie studio. It now features walking trails, canoe and kayak launches, boardwalks, picnic areas and a Cultural and Natural History Center.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/weedonisland.

Safety Harbor Mounds - Safety Harbor, Florida

The massive temple mound at Philippi Park in Safety Harbor is one of the most significant archaeological and historic sites in Florida.

Located just north of St. Petersburg and bordering Old Tampa Bay, Safety Harbor was once the site of a major Tocobaga Indian village that was thriving when the first Spanish explorers landing in the area. In fact, there are many indications that it was the capital of the primary cacique or chief of the Tocobaga.

Both Hernando de Soto and Panfilo de Narvaez encountered the Tocobaga as they stormed ashore in the Tampa Bay area, but it was Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the founder of St. Augustine, who first took more than a passing interest in them. Shortly after founding the oldest city in the U.S. on Florida's East Coast, Menendez implemented a systematic plan to conquer all of Florida and bring it under Spanish dominion.

He began by establishing forts on the east coast and by 1566 had made his way around the peninsula to Florida's Southwest Coast. He arrived at Tampa Bay that same year in an effort to make peace between the Tocobaga and their neighbors, the Calusa, who lived down the coast. The two warring nations agreed to a temporary peace and the Tocobaga even agreed to let Menendez build a fort at their primary town, believe to be the one that surrounded the Safety Harbor Temple Mound.

The first Spanish settlement on Old Tampa Bay did not last long. After about a year the Tocobaga rose up against the Europeans and slaughtered them to a man. The fort was destroyed and a priest of the time blamed the attack on cruelty committed against the Indians by the garrison.

The Tocobaga themselves did not long survive the arrival of the Spanish in Florida. Less than 100 years later, they had vanished, leaving only shell middens and mounds as reminders that they had ever walked the shores of the Gulf Coast.

The temple mound at Philippi Park is the best preserved of several mounds that once stood at the Safety Harbor site. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/safetyharbor.

Fort De Soto Park - Mullet Key, Florida

A trip to one of the best preserved artillery batteries of the Spanish-American War era can be combined with a visit to one of America's finest beaches!

Historic Fort De Soto stands on Mullet Key, easily accessible by car from nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. Now a park operated by Pinellas County, the key preserves the old fort which was begun in 1898 to defend Tampa Bay against the risk of a Spanish naval attack. Some of the artillery to be seen there is among the rarest in the world.

The 12-inch rifled mortars in the concrete and shell battery, for example, are the only examples of their type in the continental United States. Also on display are two 6-inch Armstrong rapid fire guns rescued from Fort Dade, a crumbling sister work on nearby Egmont Key. They are the last two guns of their type in the country.

The fort was a key U.S. Army base until 1923 when it was evacuated for good. Rescued from neglect in 1948 when Pinellas County purchased Mullet Key from the U.S. Government, Fort De Soto is now beautifully preserved and is the focal point of an outstanding park that also features magnificent beaches, camping, picnicking, boat launches and nature trails.

The beaches of Fort De Soto, in fact, were named the best in America in 2005 and are definitely quite spectacular.

To learn more about historic Fort De Soto, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortdesoto1.

Forts of Mobile Bay, Alabama - Fort Blakeley

One of the key approaches to the major port city of Mobile during the Civil War was via the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, which formed a number of channels, some of which looped around the channel and then entered it above the city, allowing boats to actually come up from the bay, loop through, and then arrive at Mobile from upstream.

To defend one such channel, Confederate forces fortified the site of the faded town of Blakeley, Alabama. Heavy artillery was emplaced there and the land side of the post was enclosed with breastworks, rifle pits and strong redoubts (earthwork forts). The installation became known as Fort Blakeley, although it was often mispelled as "Fort Blakely."

When Spanish Fort fell to Union troops in April of 1865, Fort Blakeley was the last defense of Mobile itself. Already under siege, the post became the focus of heavy fighting on the afternoon of April 9, 1865. Union troops stormed Redoubt #4 at 5:25 in the afternoon and overran the Confederate defenses in one of the last major battles of the Civil War.

The fall of Fort Blakeley opened the door to Mobile, which was evacuated by Confederate forces as the Union army continued its advance. The battlefield and its well-preserved earthworks are now part of Historic Blakeley State Park, a beautiful preserve and recreation area just north of Spanish Fort, Alabama. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/blakely1.

Forts of Mobile Bay, Alabama - Spanish Fort

The city of Spanish Fort, located on the high bluffs opposite Mobile, occupies one of the most historic sites in Alabama and the South.

The Spanish built a fort here after taking Fort Charlotte in Mobile during the American Revolution, giving the community its enduring name. An important battle was fought here when British troops from Pensacola launched an unsuccessful attack on the fort. It was one of two key fights of the American Revolution that took place in Alabama.

Because the commanding bluff overlooked one of the key water routes to Mobile, the Confederates built massive fortifications here during the Civil War. Placing heavy guns in multiple batteries along the bluffs and digging rifle pits and breastworks to protect the emplacements from land attack, they converted Spanish Fort into a major obstacle for Union troops attempting to capture Mobile.

A major battle was fought here in March and April of 1865 when Union General E.R.S. Canby encircled the Confederate defenses with an army of 32,000 men and 90 pieces of artillery. Although the Confederate commander, General Randall Gibson had only a few thousand men and 46 cannon, he defended Spanish Fort for 12 days against overwhelming odds of more than 15 to 1.

The 8th Iowa Infantry finally broke through the Southern lines late in the day on April 8, 1865. On the next day, as Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant in Virginia, the Union troops at Spanish Fort awakened to find their opponents gone. Knowing that with his lines breached he would be unable to withstand another attack, Gibson and evacuated his troops over previously prepared foot bridges, leaving behind an empty fort.

Virtually the entire site of the Confederate fortifications is now covered with modern housing developments. In some places, breastworks and trenches can even be seen running through the yards of homes. The earthworks of Battery McDermett are visible on Spanish Main Street and displays at the nearby Mobile Bay Overlook on U.S. 98 tell the story of the battle. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/spanishfort.

Forts of Mobile bay, Alabama - Fort Gaines

Built on the eastern tip of Dauphin Island, Fort Gaines (along with Fort Morgan) was one of two forts built by the U.S. Government to protect Alabama's Mobile Bay from foreign attack.

Begun in 1819, the fort was never really completed. A flaw in the original construction location caused the foundations of the brick citadel to overflow at high tide, sending designers back to the drawing board. It took 34 years for engineers to resolve the difficulties and come up with a better design for the fort.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Fort Gaines was considered a state of the art fortification and was quickly seized by Southern troops. Its heavy cannon cooperated with those of Fort Morgan across the channel to keep Mobile Bay open for Confederate blockade runners until August of 1864. That was when Admiral David G. Farragut's Union fleet stormed into the bay, running a gauntlet of artillery fire between the two forts.

The gunners in Fort Gaines watched helplessly as the courageous crew of the ironclad C.S.S. Tennessee was finally battered into submission about 1 mile north of their defenses. The fort itself then came under immediate attack and for three days was battered with artillery fire from both land and sea before its commander, Colonel Charles Anderson, finally raised the white flag. The 800 Confederates in Fort Gaines had desperately tried to defend their fort, but the Union ironclads could move to within point blank range to blast holes in the masonry fort, while their own shot bounced harmlessly off the iron of the Federal ships.

Modern batteries were added to the fort's defenses during the Spanish American War and it remained an important U.S. Army post through World War II.

Now a beautifully preserved historic site, Fort Gaines is open to the public daily. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortgainesal.

145th Anniversary of the Battle of Massard Prairie, Arkansas

Today marks the 145th anniversary of the Confederate victory at the Battle of Massard Prairie, Arkansas.

Fought on July 27, 1864, the battle took place in what is now the southeastern quadrant of the important city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Confederate forces led by Brigadier General Richard Gano and composed of both white and Native American soldiers swept down from nearby ridges and destroyed a full battalion of the 6th Kansas Cavalry in one of the great open field charges of the Civil War.

The battle, along with a second attack a few days later, was instrumental in driving Union troops into the primary fortifications at Fort Smith and eliminating their ability to effectively scout the movement of Confederate forces in the region. As a result, Southern troops were soon able to cross the Arkansas River and push north through the Cherokee Nation to achieve their dramatic victory at the Battle of Cabin Creek, which resulted in one of the greatest seizures of Union supplies by Confederate forces during the entire Civil War. The Battle of Massard Prairie opened the door for the major victory.

Although small when compared to many other battles of the war, Massard Prairie was significant for a number of reasons. In addition to creating the opportunity for the victory at Cabin Creek, it also marked one of the last great cavalry charges in American history. Confederate troops charged on horseback across miles of open prairie to achieve their victory. It was included one of the few documented instances of Union forces scalping Confederate dead after a battle. And finally, it deprived the Union troops at Fort Smith of desperately needed horses while providing Confederate forces with modern weaponry that would prove instrumental in coming actions.

The site is now marked by Massard Prairie Battlefield Park near the intersection of Red Pine and Morgan in Fort Smith. The park features a walking trail across the site of some of the key fighting, a memorial flag staff and a small monument. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/massardindex or consider purchasing my book, The Battle of Massard Prairie, available now at www.amazon.com or at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Northwest Arkansas.