Fort Gaines (1)

Fort Gaines (1) (1821-1946) - Construction on this Third System masonry fort began in 1821 but construction and funding problems prevented completion and a redesigned fort was started in the 1850's. Designed by Joseph G. Totten and named after Gen. Edmund P. Gaines in 1853. The fort was still incomplete in 1861 when the U.S. Civil War began. The fort was occupied by Confederate forces in 1861 and they finished the fort in 1862. Abandoned after World War I and reactivated during World War II it was abandoned after the end of World War II.

Fort Gaines Flooded after Hurricane Katrina

Fort Gaines (1) History

Part of the Harbor Defense of Mobile, Alabama. Established to defend the narrow entrance to Mobile Bay, Alabama along with Fort Morgan. Fort Gaines was designed as a regular pentagon with bastions at each corner and ten guns mounted on each of the five walls. Each bastion was to have four flank howitzers. A thirty-five foot wide dry moat surrounded the twenty-two foot high walls with a drawbridge for access.

U.S. Civil War

One of the two rifled parrot guns that flank the entrance to Fort Gaines

At the beginning of the U.S. Civil War in 1861 the Alabama State Militia seized both Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan from Federal troops. Fort Gaines remained in Confederate hands until 8 Aug 1864 when it was surrendered after the Battle of Mobile Bay to a Union fleet commanded by Adm. David Farragut. The Battle of Mobile Bay was the occasion for Adm. Farragut's famous order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!", referring to torpedoes (mines) strung across the channel into Mobile Bay.

Endicott Period

In March of 1898 the fort was reactivated and garrisoned in anticipation of the Spanish American War and as a result of the explosion that sunk the Battleship Maine in Havana Harbor 15 Feb 1898. Construction began on the first Endicott Period battery in 1898. Three Endicott Period batteries were built between 1898 and 1901. The Spanish American War was quickly over but the strengthening of coastal defenses continued.

**Fort Gaines Endicott Period Battery** (edit list)
Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Unnamed	2	8"	Rodman	1898-1899	$ ?	Covered by Battery Stanton
Battery Stanton	3	6"	Disappearing	1899-1900-1901-1932	$ 67,250	1 gun removed 1917
Battery Terrett	3	3"	Masked Parapet	1900-1901-1901-1917	$ 6,965
Source: CDSG

World War I

A Coastal Artillery unit manned the disappearing guns during World War I. An anti-aircraft gunnery school operated from Fort Gains during and following the war.

World War II

The fort was used by the Alabama National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

Current Status

The United States sold Fort Gaines to the City of Mobile in 1926. The city in turn gave the property to the Alabama Department of Conservation, which deeded it to the Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board.

{"selectable":false,"width":"500"}

Location: Eastern tip of Dauphin Island, Alabama

Maps & Images

Lat: 30.248465 Long: -88.075569

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google
Elevation: '

Sources:

Weaver, John R. II, A Legacy in Brick and Stone: America Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, Redoubt Press, McLean, 2001, First Printing, ISBN 1-57510-069-X, page 175-177
Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 5

Links:

Visited: 10 Dec 2009

Fort Gaines (1) Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!

Fort Gaines
View of parade grounds in Fort Gaines Alabama from the southwest side of Battery Staton
View of the parade grounds at Fort Gaines Alabama from the southeast side of Battery Staton
View of the Exterior of Fort Gaines Alabama from the northwest
View of Parade grounds taken at Fort Gaines Al 5 Sep 2009
The 10 seat latrine at Fort Gaines, looking north. The doorway is access to the Chemin de Ronde
Looking up toward the Chemin de Ronde from the covered access to the gallerie
The covered access from the gallerie to the northwest bastion, taken from the Chemin de Ronde
Inside the Northwest bastion, looking back thru the gallerie to the parade gounds
A view of the CRF from outside Fort Gaines Alabama, the northwest bastion.
The quartermasters Offices from the parade grounds with Battery Stanton in the background.
Looking across north end of the parade grounds from beside Officer quarters, to the left is the old Commandants quarters and the Guardhouse. on the far side is the old bakery and blacksmith shops