CDSG  REPRESENTATIVE SITE REPORT

FORT MORGAN, MOBILE BAY

Overview: CDSG Site Representative MSGT G. Wayne Bradford visited Fort Morgan State Park on April 22, 2005, to inspect the site for the initial CDSG site report.  During the site visit MSGT Bradford interviewed Blanton Blankenship, Site Manager, who provided valuable background information for this report.  Mr. Blankenship also discussed the future plans for the park, as well as damage from Hurricane Ivan.

Hurricane damage report: Hurricane Ivan, a category three storm, hit the Gulf Coast in September 2004.  The park weathered the storm quite well, primarily due to the hurricane taking a last minute jog to the east, but the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach community suffered major damage.  The tidal surge at the fort was not as severe as it could have been, but it still bent the iron hinges on one of the fort’s counterscarp doors.  All five original wooden buildings (Endicott era 1900-1920) sustained only minor roof damage.  The only building destroyed by the hurricane was the 1903 privy – the entire structure was blown away, and the only remnant is the brick foundation.  The Fort Morgan/Dauphin Island ferry (loading ramp) was severely damaged, and the ferry will be out of commission for the foreseeable future.  Due to the ferry being out of commission, time constraints did not allow MSGT Bradford to travel to Fort Gaines for a site visit.

Park details: In 1946, the fort was deactivated and turned over to State of Alabama.  The entire site was made a state park, and is administered by the Alabama Historical Commission.  It is currently protected as a National and State Landmark.  The site is open to the public, with the following schedule: November 1^st to March 31^st (hours: 8 am–5 pm),  and April 1^st to October 31^st (hours: 8 am–7 pm).  The museum operating hours are a year-round 9 am–5 pm.  The park is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.  There is a small fee to enter the park, and the fee includes admission to a nice interpretive museum which is adjacent to Fort Morgan.  Points to note for a more pleasant visit in the summer:  (1) Make sure to bring sunglasses, a good hat, and some SPF30 sunscreen; (2) Due to the wetlands of the peninsula, bring some type of heavy-duty mosquito repellant; (3) Food is not available for miles, so pack a picnic lunch and bottled water (4) Pack a flashlight to explore interior rooms; and (5) Watch for reptiles on the site.

Park programs: The fort offers living history programs, including a reenactment of the Battle of Mobile Bay.  The author participated in the 125th Anniversary of the battle in August 1989, but the reenactment has since been moved to April due to the scorching August heat taking a toll on the reenactors.  The group sponsoring the living histories is the “Defenders of Fort Morgan”, and they have a battle demonstration the first weekend of August.  Fort Morgan tours are available, and are conducted by park rangers at the hours of 10:30 am. and 2:30 pm.  Special tours can be arranged by contacting the park rangers and arranging an appointment.

Overall condition: This site is unique in that it includes works from the Third System, the Endicott era, and the World War I /II eras.  The overall condition of the site is good, as the park is well maintained by the park service.  They mow the grass, keep the batteries free of vegetation, and replace any bricks in danger of coming loose.

Main batteries at the site: Below is a detailed listing of the major elements of the site.

(1) Fort Morgan: Fort Morgan is a brick Third System Fort, constructed from 1819-1834, and mounted muzzle-loading cannons on seacoast carriages.  The fort was extensively shelled during the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent siege, but was repaired after the war.  There are still some bricks and blockwork that are missing, primarily from the barbette area, but as a whole, the brickwork is in fine shape.  All of the casemates are intact, and can be inspected, but watch for dripping water and slippery lime deposits on the brick floors.  (Carry your flashlight with you into the fort!)  The primary problem for the fort is water damage from 150 plus years of rain seepage into the casemates, and the wet conditions in the “dry moat”, although it can be walked (with some care).  The parapet is intact, and can be walked, although the earthen covering of the terreplein has been removed to assist in drainage.

(2) Battery Duportail: Duportail was constructed in the center of Fort Morgan in 1898, and mounted two 12-inch rifles on disappearing carriages (DC).  It is in excellent condition, with the majority of the interior rooms open for exploration.  (Several rooms are used for park storage, and are locked.)  Most of the iron blast doors are intact, and much of the narrow gage rail line which delivered ammunition to the battery is still intact.  Noteworthy is the “turntable”, which was used to realign the ammunition railcars from the main rail line to the battery ammunition room rail line.  This is an excellent example of an Endicott disappearing rifle battery.

(3) Battery Thomas: Thomas was constructed in 1898 on the site of the original counterscarp wall, and mounted two 4.7-inch Armstrong (A) quick-fire guns.  The battery is in fine shape, and an excellent view of the entire site can be obtained from the top of the battery observation post.

(4) Battery Schenck: Schenck was constructed in 1900, and originally consisted of two gun pits, which mounted two 3-inch rapid fire (RF) guns on masking pedestal mounts (MP).  The third (the raised position) was begun in 1903 and finished in 1904, and mounted one 3-inch rapid-fire (RF) gun on a pedestal mount (P).  The concrete of the battery is in fine shape, and has been recently repainted its original black color.  The interior rooms are used for park storage, and are locked.

(5) Battery Bowyer: Bowyer was constructed in 1898, and mounted four 10-inch rifles on disappearing carriages (DC).  Battery Bowyer is suffering significant structural damage.  The iron I-beams of the battery have rusted, and the sections of the battery are settling at different rates, making the battery unstable.  It is currently roped off to prevent the public from entering the battery area.

(6) Battery Dearborn: Dearborn was constructed in 1901, and mounted eight 12-inch mortars (M).  The concrete is in excellent condition, but all of the ironwork has been removed, including the iron stairways and blast doors.  At present time, all of the interior rooms may be entered, but the explorer is cautioned to use a flashlight.  Also, watch for reptiles, as the author encountered a small pine snake in Pit B.

(7) Test Battery:  The Test Battery was built in 1916, and mounted only one 10-inch rifle on a disappearing carriage (DC).  The Test Battery remains intact, but the gun pit has been almost buried by shifting sand.  The battery exterior wall is still in excellent condition, and one storage room can still be entered, even though it has about three feet of sand in it.  The Test Battery lies just inside the park boundary, on the beach side of the park road; park on the shoulder and walk out to the battery.

(8) Unnamed battery: During World War II, the fort was reactivated, and manned by Battery F, 50^th Coast Artillery Corps.  The “Unnamed Battery” was built in 1942, and was designed to hold two 155-mm guns on Panama mounts.  (The Panama mount was a unique circular rail that allowed the 155mm gun to be traversed through a full 360 degrees.)  The mount on the southeast bastion is still intact, and in excellent condition; however, the second Panama mount was built on the dirt fill between Battery Duportail and the brick fort wall, and when the dirt fill was removed, the mount was removed as well.  The Panama mount is still on site, but is currently in storage.

Other elements at the site:

(1) Existing Armament: The Civil War era armament of the fort displayed on the site include: one 32-pounder Columbiad on a seacoast carriage; two 24-pounder flank howitzers on carriages; one 100-pounder Parrott on a concrete pedestal; one 7” Brooke rifle on a concrete pedestal; one fieldpiece in the ordnance casemate; and two 20-pounder Parrott rifles temporarily mounted on concrete blocks.  There are no Endicott-era weapons on display; the World War II armament is represented at the fort by a 1918M1 155mm gun on a Model 1918 carriage.

(2) Wooden structures:  No wooden structures from the Civil War era remain at Fort Morgan. The oldest building on site is the lighthouse keeper’s house, built in 1872.  The five remaining wooden buildings on the site date to the beginning of the 20th century.  The military base was greatly expanded between 1898 and 1910, and the surviving buildings are all that remain of a large support complex that at its peak numbered almost 100 structures.  The buildings still standing were originally designed to house a coast artillery officer’s quarters, a staff officer’s quarters, a hospital steward’s quarters, the post bakery, and the post administration building.  The wooden buildings are intact, and in very good condition.

(3) Torpedo casemate: This position was built in the 1870s and then modernized in the 1890s. During wartime, electrically detonated mines were placed across the entrance to the bay. The firing cables to the mines ran to this position, and the mines were detonated from here.  The casemate is buried under an earthen mound, and is currently used for equipment storage, and therefore locked.

(4) Endicott-era cisterns:  There are several concrete cisterns that are still in place on the site.  They are circular, approximately 15 feet in diameter, and are six feet in height.  The author first believed them to be WWII-era machine gun pillboxes, but the site supervisor pointed out that they existed in photos prior to 1918.  That, and the fact that there are large ductile iron pipes on the cisterns, leads credence to the fact that they are, indeed, cisterns.  They are in excellent condition, with some sand fill in the interior of the cisterns.

Restoration projects: The author has been visiting the site since the 1960s, and is happy to report that restoration projects are underway at Fort Morgan.

(1) 24-pounder flank howitzers: The fort has reacquired two of its original 24-pounder flank howitzers from a monument which was unfortunately dismantled due to highway construction.  The paperwork on the howitzers traced their lineage back to Fort Morgan, and the fort eagerly accepted the offer of repatriation.  These 24-pounder howitzers were originally positioned in the bastion flanks, and were designed to sweep the moat clear of enemy soldiers.  The park administration has remounted the howitzers in their original position on nice reproduction flank howitzer carriages.

(2) 32-pounder Columbiad: A 32-pounder Columbiad was recently mounted on the southwest bastion at the position where a 32-pounder smoothbore was mounted during the Battle of Mobile Bay.  The gun tube is an original 32-pounder smoothbore, but the carriage is a reproduction, obtained from the set of the Hollywood movie “Glory”.

(3) Casemate doors: Approximately six of the casemates have been enclosed by the addition of very authentic reproduction doors.  Several casemates have been refurbished to represent period shops, including an ordnance casemate complete with cannon shot.

(4) Old Lighthouse: The iron lighthouse was removed from the Lighthouse Battery area in 1967, and has undergone restoration; unfortunately, the steel added to brace the ironwork caused additional corrosion on the original ironwork.  The lighthouse is currently undergoing restoration at Montgomery, Alabama, and should be remounted soon.

CDSG/site interaction: The site is not a CDSG member, and there is no one at the site with a CDSG membership.  (The author would recommend granting Blanton Blankenship, Site Supervisor, an honorary membership.)  CDSG could provide the site with preservation information, particularly information (and funds) needed to stabilize Battery Bowyer.  If stabilization funding is not received, the battery could well be lost.  The author believes Blanton Blankenship would submit material for the CDSG Journal on ongoing projects at the site.  At present the site would like the Battle Demo in August (6^th and 7^th of 2005) to be listed under the “Events Calendar” in the CDSG journal.

Special situations: Battery Bowyer is suffering significant structural damage.  The iron I-beams of the battery have rusted, and the sections of the battery are settling at different rates, making the battery unstable.  It is currently roped off to prevent the public from entering the battery area.  The site supervisor has indicated that a preliminary survey has been done by John Garner of Texas.

Significance of site:

(1)  Battle of Mobile Bay: During the Civil War, the third system brick forts were proven to be obsolete.  The advent of rifled cannon spelled the doom of the forts, and this was demonstrated first in 1862 with the bombardment and capture of Confederate Fort Pulaski.  It was again demonstrated on August 5, 1864 during the Battle of Mobile Bay, as Admiral Farragut steamed into the bay with the loss of only one ship, the monitor Tecumseh.  When Admiral Farragut learned that the Tecumseh, first in the Union battle line, had been sunk by a Confederate torpedo, he shouted out the now famous phrase: “Damn the torpedoes…full speed ahead”.  A buoy marking the resting place of theTecumseh can be seen in the old main ship channel, which lies only 100 yards off the old Engineer’s Pier.

(2) Test Battery: In 1916, the Army decided to build a “test battery” on the Fort Morgan peninsula, and to “test” it against naval gunfire.  The Test Battery was representative of a typical Endicott battery, but had only one gun pit (instead of the usual two), and mounted a 10-inch rifle on a disappearing carriage (DC).  The battery was “tested” by repeated shelling over the course of several days by two U.S. Navy battleships, with inspections conducted during lulls in the bombardment.    The battery passed the “test”, as the battery remained operational during the entire course of the shelling.