When you think of a fort from the late 1800s, what does it look like to you? I see a 4-sided wooden structure made of vertical logs with a large door in the middle of one side and an open area inside surrounded by barracks, animal sheds, and officers’ quarters. Fort Blakeley looked nothing like this. It was a 3-mile dirt embankment that the Confederates dug out to keep the Union soldiers from getting to the northern entrance of Mobile Bay. The fight at Fort Blakeley in April 1865 was the last charge the Union soldiers made in the Civil War.
Mobile and Mobile Bay
The Union’s warships were able to win their battles to enter Mobile Bay from the Gulf in August 1864, but the Confederates kept control of Mobile. On April 12, 1865, three days after the battles we’re looking at and the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, the city of Mobile surrendered to the Union army to avoid destruction following the Union victories at the Battle of Spanish Fort and the Battle of Fort Blakeley.
However, on May 25, 1865, the city suffered loss when some 300 people died from an explosion at a federal ammunition depot in the city. The explosion left a 30-foot (9 m) deep hole at the depot’s location, sunk ships docked on the Mobile River, and the resulting fires destroyed the northern portion of the city. [info from Wikipedia]
back to Fort Blakeley
Let’s start our look at this final charge with the left flank of the blue Union line that’s circled. It was probably a couple of miles away from the Confederate line at this point.
At the final assault on the “fort” on April 9, the Union had only about 20 guns scattered along their lines that had been brought here from Spanish Fort just south of this location. The heaviest concentration of cannons were along the Federal’s left flank. The 3 earthen gun emplacements at this area are some of the best preserved Union artillery positions on the battlefield.
The men set up their guns just days before the final assault at the emplacement (the dirt mounds to hold the guns in place) just a short distance down the trail. On the day before the final battle, the battery’s gunners fired over 200 rounds at the Confederate lines.
The Parrott Rifle was named after its inventor, Robert Parker Parrott, and was used by both armies. It came in a variety of calibers designated by the weight of the projectile that was fired. Battery G’s riffles could fire a shell accurately over 1800 yards.
The 17th Ohio Light Artillery also fought at Spanish Fort and here at Fort Blakeley.
It was named after Emperor Napoleon III of France when it was used extensively during the Crimean War (1853-1856) when France fought with Russia. It could fire a 12-lb. projectile over 1250 yards.
From 2 different locations of where we are now, these cannons pounded the Confederate lines.
Confederate line
As we drove along the road in the park, we came to the area that showed how close the 2 sides were to each other in the last stage of the fighting.
redoubt 6
So what is a “redoubt”? According to Wikipedia, “A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a hastily constructed temporary fortification. The word means ‘a place of retreat’.”
The earthworks in front of us was 1 of 9 heavily fortified positions along the 3-mile long of Confederate defenses collectively known as Fort Blakeley. Men could travel between the redoubts using the trenches. Redoubt 6 occupied a key position along the Pensacola Road, one of two primary routes into the town of Blakeley from Pensacola, Florida. This position was the scene of intense fighting when the Federal 13th and 16th Corps directly assaulted it.
Both of these Confederate regiments had just been formed from reserves and conscripts, most of them teenagers with no previous military experience. Artillery support in this sector came from the Tennessee Battery with their Parrott rifles and other guns.
Making their way through multiple lines of obstructions while being fired at, the Union soldiers took on numerous casualties. Within 20 minutes, however, some attackers breached the Confederate defenses. Once inside, they swept down the line using the trenches and quickly overwhelmed the remaining defenders.
“last charge of this war”
Only one more battle happened in Texas the following month.
Confederate army
Brigadier General Liddle commanded the 3500 men at Blakeley. Under his leadership were veteran Missouri and Mississippi troops and 2 regiments of reserves who were mainly teenage conscripts.
Union army
When General Steele arrived from Pensacola on April 1, he immediately began to lay siege. Soon other battalions came from Spanish Fort, bringing the number of attackers to around 16,000.
The 2 armies skirmished day and night for more than a week as the attackers built earthworks progressively closer to the Confederate position. Liddell’s men tried to slow down the Federals by launching several small sorties during the cover of dark and enlisted the aid of Confederate warships, including the CSS Nashville and the Morgan, in shelling the Union lines from the Tensaw River. We’ll see more about these 2 warships and the part they played at the entrance to Mobile Bay when we go to Fort Morgan later on in this trip.
From Brigadier General Andrews’ account, “The assaulting lines could be seen for a mile or two. . .The regimental colors, though not in perfect line, were steadily advancing, and the troops were dashing on over and through the obstructions like a stormy wave.”
medal of honor
This medal was first given out during the Civil War to honor soldiers and sailors deserving special recognition for bravery in conflict. Over 1500 medals were awarded during this war; 14 were given for action in the Siege and Battle of Fort Blakeley. Many more were given for the larger campaign for Mobile later in the spring.
change of pace from war
Have you noticed the tall, straight pine trees in some of the pictures? They’re longleaf pines native to the Gulf Coast region. Long prized for its sturdy and durable lumber, its widespread use in construction and naval ships means we don’t have as many left.
Pine needles have high amounts of vitamin C and have been used in teas. The resin’s antibacterial qualities mean it’s used on topical wounds such as cuts and burns.
redoubt 4
The first part of this post centers on redoubt 6, which was the center of action for the left flank of both armies. The rest of this post looks at redoubt 4, which was the right flank that also saw the “last charge” of the Civil War.
The fort was actually an almost 3-mile long series of entrenchments anchored by 9 earthen redoubts (or reinforced, independent positions). Within this line of defenses were a series of trenches, artillery emplacements, and various other earthen defensive structures. A series of rifle pits for teams of skirmishers were laid a short distance in front of the main line.
Whether the town’s name was spelled Blakeley or Blakely (as it was in wartime records and on period maps), the battle took place around the town of Blakeley that we looked at in the previous post.
These men had cleared fields of fire for 800 yards in front of the main line, built 2 lines of obstructions using tangles of fallen trees, and strung telegraph wire between stumps as barriers when Union soldiers approached. To further slow down attackers, dozens of land mines (referred to as “torpedoes”) were buried underground. (We’ll learn more about these mines in the post about Fort Morgan (at the entrance to Mobile Bay) since they were used in the naval battles to secure control of Mobile Bay since that’s where supplies came through on their way to Mobile to service the Confederate troops scattered around the South during the war.)
Now back to the assault at redoubt 4. Brigadier General Liddell commanded around 3500 men at the garrison at Blakeley.
On nearby islands were 2 large batteries of men and cannon. Spanish Fort was almost directly east of Mobile on the other side of the bay.
Why Mobile? It was where Confederate boats could unload supplies for battles further north. What history here.
Federal troops began their siege over a week before the actual battle. The first few days the armies engaged in heavy skirmishing as the Union troops steadily advanced toward the Confederate line. By Sunday, April 9, the armies were less than 1000 yards apart.
Immediately they began taking causalities as they came under rifle and artillery fire and sometimes tripped on the scattered land mines. The Union soldiers quickly drove out the skirmishers that had bunkered down in the rifle pits in front of where we are. They also cut their way through a series of obstacles from fallen trees and swarmed the approximately 3500 Confederate defenders.
Fierce, close quarters combat raged. Numerous Union troops were shot down as they tried to plant their flags on the earthworks. Hand-to-hand fighting became desperate. In some places, the fort’s defenders surrendered quickly after being overwhelmed; in other places, the defenders fought until they were overwhelmed, and some even continued fighting after being surrounded.
The entire battle was over within 30 minutes. Most of the garrison was captured, although some defenders escaped. While exact causality numbers are unknown, about 75 Confederates were killed, while about 150 Union soldiers were killed and another 650 were wounded.
While based on original records and conforming to exact specifications and placements wherever possible, these reconstructions are just a representation of the defenses along the entire line at Fort Blakeley. Portions of the interior of the redoubt have also been repaired or reconstructed to resemble what the Confederate line would have looked like.
- A series of rifle pits were dug in the ground in front of the main Confederate lines for advanced skirmishers.
- Each redoubt was surrounded by sharpened stakes.
- Lines of tangles from felled trees were placed with their tops facing outwards; the larger branches were sharpened.
- Dozens of land mines (a new invention) were buried underground closer to the Union lines.
- Telegraph wire was strung between tree stumps to slow the the enemy’s approach.
- An structure made of spikes attached to a wooden frame, called a chevaux-de-frise, was another obstacle.
- Parapet is a mound of earth built to defend against incoming fire.
- Ditch is the excavation left after removing the soil for the parapet that provides an additional layer of defense.
- Traverse is a wall designed for extra protection from enfilade fire (enfilade means an interconnected group of rooms arranged usually in a row with each room opening into the next).
- Bombproof are framed bunkers covered with earth for protection from artillery fire.
- Embrasure is an opening for artillery fire from the parapet.
- Bastion is the outward-facing defensive position attached to the main fortification.
- Revetment is a sloped retaining wall formed by interfacing vines of saplings on the interior of the parapet.
These earthworks were built according to plans laid out in guides such as this one entitled Treatise on Field Fortifications.
We learned about this at Fort King George near Brunswick, Ga.
We really enjoyed and appreciated learning about this fort that isn’t a fort and the battle that was fought here in 1865. With the skirmishes, pinching techniques of the Union soldiers coming from different locations, and obstacles put in place ahead of time, it’s amazing how strategy rarely changes.
Now on to another part of southern Alabama. See Fort Morgan along the Gulf Coast on the bottom left of the picture? That’s the place we’ve talked about in this post concerning the battle for control of the entrance to Mobile Bay.
Let’s get going!
