Fort Conde
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Fort Conde, located in Mobile, Alabama, at 150 South Royal Street, is a reconstruction, at 4/5 scale, of part of the original French Fort Condé at the site, also known as Fort Carlota (under Spanish rule) and Fort Charlotte (under British rule). [1]
Mobile was originally founded, by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in 1702 as Fort Louis de la Mobile at 27-Mile Bluff up river (27 miles [43 km] from the mouth). [1] [2] After the Mobile River flooded and damaged the fort, Mobile was relocated in 1711 to the current site. A temporary wooden stockade fort was constructed, also named Fort Louis after the old fort up river.[1] In 1723, construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began, renamed as Fort Condé in honor of King Louis XIV’s brother.[1]
Fort Condé guarded Mobile and its citizens for almost 100 years, from 1723-1820.[1] The fort had been built by the French to defend against British or Spanish attack on the strategic location of Mobile and its Bay as a port to the Gulf of Mexico, on the eastern most part of the French Louisiana colony. The strategic importance of Mobile and Fort Condé was significant: the fort protected access into the strategic region between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic colonies along the Alabama River and Tombigbee River.[1]
Fort Condé and its surrounding buildings covered about 11 acres of land. It was constructed of local brick and stone, with earthen dirt walls, plus cedar wood.[1] A crew of 20 black slaves and 5 white workmen performed original work on the fort. If the fort had been reconstructed full-size, it would cover large sections of Royal Street, Government Boulevard, Church, St. Emanuel, and Theatre Streets in downtown Mobile.[1]
During 1763 to 1780, England was in possession of the region, and Fort Condé was renamed Fort Charlotte in honor of King George III’s wife.[1] From 1780 to 1813, Spain ruled the region, and the fort was renamed Fort Carlota. In 1813, Mobile was occupied by United States troops, and the fort was renamed again as Fort Charlotte.[1]
In 1820, the U.S. Congress authorized sale and removal of the fort because it was no longer needed for defense.[1] Later, city funds paid for the demolition to allow new streets built eastward towards the river and southward. By late 1823, most of the above-ground traces of Mobile’s fort were gone, leaving only undergound structures.[1]
The current Fort Conde, spanning almost 1/3 of the original fort, was recreated at 4/5-scale on the site.[1] The new Fort Conde was opened on July 4, 1976, as part of Mobile’s celebration of the United States bicentennial.
Admission to Fort Conde is free.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Other Locations: Historic Fort Conde" (history), Museum of Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, 2006, webpage: MoM-Other.
- ^ "Mobile" (history), Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2007, webpage: EB-Mobile.
[edit] References
- Museum of Mobile, "Other Locations: Historic Fort Conde" (history), Mobile, Alabama, 2006, webpage: MoM-Other.
