Fort Morgan (Alabama)

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Fort Morgan
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Fort Morgan, Slag Point, Alabama, 1864, showing damage to the Citadel. The Citadel was a ten-sided barracks located in the center of the fort, used to house the enlisted men. The wooden roof of the Citadel caught fire during the 1864 siege, and the structure was destroyed. Postwar repair crews did not rebuild the structure, but instead razed it to the ground.
Fort Morgan, Slag Point, Alabama, 1864, showing damage to the Citadel. The Citadel was a ten-sided barracks located in the center of the fort, used to house the enlisted men. The wooden roof of the Citadel caught fire during the 1864 siege, and the structure was destroyed. Postwar repair crews did not rebuild the structure, but instead razed it to the ground.
Location: Western terminus of AL 180
Gasque, Alabama
Built/Founded: 1819-1834
Architect: Simon Bernard
Designated as NHL: December 19, 1960[1]
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966[2]
NRHP Reference#: 66000146
Governing body: State
Another view of Fort Morgan in 1864 after its surrender.
Another view of Fort Morgan in 1864 after its surrender.

Fort Morgan is a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama, United States. Some regard it as "one of the finest examples of military architecture in the New World"[3]

The post was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Daniel Morgan. Construction was completed in 1834 and it was first garrisoned in March of that year.

In the American Civil War during the Battle of Mobile Bay, Union land forces besieged Fort Morgan. General Richard L. Page commander of the fort was forced to surrender on August 23, 1864. Fort Morgan was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.[1][4]

In 2007 it was listed as "one of the nation's 10 most endangered battle sites" by the Civil War Preservation Trust in History Under Siege: A Guide to America's Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields[5]

Fort Morgan is at the tip of Mobile Point, which, together with Dauphin Island upon which Fort Gaines is situated, encloses Mobile Bay. It is at the western terminus of State Route 180 (Alabama).

Fort Morgan, Alabama is a nearby unincorporated community on Mobile Point, named after the fort. The site is maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Fort Morgan. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  2. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  3. ^ ADAH Historical Markers—Baldwin County: Fort Morgan. Texts of historical markers placed by Alabama Historical Society. Alabama Department of Archives & History. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  4. ^ Schroer, Blanche Higgins (October 4, 1975), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort MorganPDF (641 KiB), National Park Service  and Accompanying 25 or so photos, aerial, exterior and interior, from 1864, c. World War II, 1959, 1974, 1975 and 19.PDF (3.41 MiB)
  5. ^ Civil War Preservation Trust Unveils Report on Most Endangered Battlefields. Press Release. Civil War Preservation Trust (2007-03-13).

[edit] External links

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