Fort Morgan

Fort Morgan was built in the classic star-fort style of its era, with angled brick bastions projecting from a central citadel so that defenders could cover every approach with overlapping fire. Constructed over many years in the first half of the 1800s, it anchored the eastern side of the narrow entrance to Mobile Bay, while Fort Gaines guarded the western side from Dauphin Island.

The fort was named for Daniel Morgan, a Revolutionary War general. Its guns, together with those of Fort Gaines and a line of underwater mines strung across the channel, were meant to make the mouth of the bay impassable to any hostile fleet trying to reach the vital port of Mobile.

In August 1864, with Mobile one of the last major Confederate ports open on the Gulf, Admiral David Farragut led a Union fleet straight into the bay past both forts and through the minefield. When an ironclad struck a mine and sank, Farragut pressed the attack anyway, and his ships broke through, defeated the Confederate squadron inside the bay, and cut the forts off from support.

Fort Gaines surrendered within days, but Fort Morgan held out under a punishing land and sea bombardment for more than two weeks before its garrison finally gave up. The fall of the forts sealed off Mobile Bay to blockade runners and marked one of the significant Union successes of the war's final year.

Fort Morgan is remarkably intact, and visitors can walk its long brick ramparts, explore the bastions and inner citadel, and stand where cannon once commanded the channel. From the walls the strategic logic is obvious: the Gulf of Mexico stretches to the south, the wide bay opens to the north, and the narrow entrance runs right past the guns. Interpretive signs and a small museum tell the story of the fort's construction and battles.

The fort saw use beyond the Civil War, too, and was garrisoned again in later conflicts, so scattered around the grounds are concrete gun emplacements from the early 1900s alongside the older brickwork. The exposed setting means strong sun and wind, so a hat and water help, and the historic stairs reward sturdy shoes.

Getting to Fort Morgan means driving the length of the Fort Morgan peninsula, a long, slender ribbon of dune, beach, and scrub reaching west from the busy resort towns of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The farther you go, the quieter it gets, and the drive itself, with the Gulf on one side and the bay on the other, is a pleasure.

From the tip, a car ferry crosses the mouth of the bay to Dauphin Island, where its sister fort, Fort Gaines, stands guard on the far shore. Riding the ferry between the two forts lets you see the whole defensive system as it was meant to work, and it makes for a memorable day pairing the two.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.