Monday, August 23, 2010

August 23, 1864: Union Troops Occupy Fort Morgan

image On this day in 1864, the Confederate Garrison at Fort Morgan raised the white flag of surrender, and Union troops and Marines occupied the fort. But only after a three-week long siege, during which its formidable withstood near constant barrage from Union land and sea-based artillery. 

Construction of Fort Morgan was completed in 1834, and named after Revolutionary War hero, Daniel Morgan.

During the remainder of the Civil War, Union troops used the bastion as a staging ground for reconnaissance, raids and launching site for  attacks on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, the latter of which was the last major battle of the Civil War.

After the war, the fort fell into disrepair until receiving upgraded, concrete batteries between 1900 and 1904.  The Army eventually abandoned the fort in 1924.

In April 1942, the Army re-occupied the fort and constructed an adjacent airfield. Initially, the imageCoast Artillery brought five Model 1918 155mm gunsplacing two on top of Fort Morgan on mounts that permitted 360 degrees traverse. The remaining three guns stood on the Fort's parade ground.

The Coast Artillery disbanded in 1946, and the  Army again abandoned the Fort, turning it over to the State of Alabama in 1947.

 

 

In 1960, Fort Morgan was designated a National Historic Landmark.

image

The fort still stands today and serves as a popular tourist destination, but in 2007 it was designated 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

Fort Morgan is just one of many historic  and fascinating places along the northern Gulf Coast.  The area is steeped in more than 300 years of colonial and early American history. And on this day in 1864, Fort Morgan’s guns fell silent, never to be used again in anger.

1 comments :

Anonymous said...

Don't blame me :-) My family served with Gen. Stand Waite

Wesa (the Vince known as 'cat')

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