Battery Bailey (2)
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HistoryThe construction of Battery Bailey was begun on 19 Aug 1864 at the northern end of the Union siege lines in front of Fort Morgan, Alabama. The battery was listed as armed with two 3" Ordnance Rifles, two 12-Pounder Napoleons, four 30-Pounder Parrots and two 10" Siege Mortars. The battery was completed on 20 Aug 1864 and the guns were transported across Mobile Bay from Fort Gaines. The guns were manned by 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery.  At sunrise, on 22 August the final bombardment began with the land-based siege guns and the naval guns bombarded the fort until 8 O'clock when the naval bombardment ceased. The siege mortars continued to fire at a rapid pace. That evening, exploding shells from the siege batteries ignited the wooden roof of the central citadel of the fort about 10 pm. The massive fire silhouetted the fort and the flames threatened the magazines. Confederate General Richard L. Page, the fort commander, ordered the final 60,000 pounds of powder dumped into the cisterns, some of the guns were spiked and he unconditionally surrendered the fort on the morning of 23 Aug 1864. In all, some 3,000 shells were thrown at the fort in the 12 hours preceding the surrender. The Union Army suffered only 1 man killed and 7 wounded. On 25 Aug 1864 Battery Bailey was packed up and removed to Cedar Point. Current Status
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Links: Visited: 5 Oct 2021
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