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.

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.

The Battle of Spanish Fort - Spanish Fort, Alabama

Located directly opposite Mobile Bay from the City of Mobile, Spanish Fort is today a busy city with rapidly growing commercial and residential sectors. In 1865, however, it was the location of a powerful Confederate fortress that Union forces would have to reduce if they hoped to take Mobile itself.

General E.R.S. Canby marched up the east side of Mobile Bay with 32,000 men and an impressive array of artillery after forcing a landing near the mouth of Fish River. Confederate forces fell back ahead of of Canby as he pushed up the east shore, skirmishing some, but not provoking a major confrontation. They withdrew into their fortifications at Spanish Fort as Canby closed in and the Battle of Spanish Fort began on March 27, 1865.

The Southern defenses at Spanish Fort were actually quite extensive. Covering hundreds of acres of land, they consisted of both powerful batteries overlooking the channel as well as additional fortifications that ringed the land side of the post. Defended by 47 pieces of artillery, the fortifications would prove a tough nut for Canby to crack, despite the fact that his army outnumbered the Confederate garrison by more than 15 to 1.

The battle raged for more than one week, with Canby's men digging siege works and placing artillery. By April 8, 1865, more than 90 cannon were arranged to bombard the Confederate works and both sides knew it was now just a matter of time.

On that day Canby opened a massive bombardment of the Confederate earthworks and late that afternoon the 8th Iowa Infantry stormed a section of the Spanish Fort defenses. The Southern commander, General Randall L. Gibson, waited until after nightfall and then withdrew his men across a footbridge to nearby Fort Huger. The Federals had no idea they had slipped away until the next morning.

To learn more about the Battle of Spanish Fort and see something of the battlefield as it appears today, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/spanishfort.

The Mobile Campaign - Mobile Bay, Alabama

Although Union forces had taken Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan at the mouth of Mobile Bay during the summer of 1864, by the following year the vital Confederate city of Mobile still held out.

The final Union move on the city began on March 16, 1865, when Major General E.R.S. Canby began moving 32,000 men from Forts Gaines and Morgan to a launching point at Fish River on the eastern side of Mobile Bay (just below Fairhope). Some of the men marched by land from Fort Morgan on Mobile Point, while the others moved by boat directly to Fish River.

A second column moved north from Pensacola three days later, planning to drive back Confederate forces in the region and break the railroad and telegraph lines connecting Mobile with Selma and Montgomery.

The main body under Canby pushed north along the east shore of Mobile Bay, skirmishing with small bodies of Confederate soldiers that fell back towards their powerful fortifications at Spanish Fort. Named for a Spanish outpost that had been constructed there during the American Revolution, the bluff overlooked one of the key water approaches to the city of Mobile and the fortifications there would have to be reduced before Canby could force the fall of the city itself.

I will continue this look at the Mobile Campaign with details on the Battle of Spanish Fort, Alabama, in the next post. Until then, you can read more by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/mobilecampaign.