April 9, 2018
Day 47
Grand Bay, Al to Gulf Shores, Alabama
Miles: 54.4 Elevation: 375 ft. Winds: low flats: 0
A beautiful ride today. Yesterday morning we were freezing and could not wait to warm our hands and toes in the SAG vehicle, today was about 10 degrees warmer and so very pleasant. Quickly peeled off layers until end of day when we could ride in short sleeves. We had a nice combination of roads, a ferry, and off road bike trail today. We climbed bridges and road across a intercostal causeway, lots of variety. City streets and country roads lead us by the Bayou La Batre , the intercostal waterway with beautiful shrimp boats . Bayou La Batre is home of Bubba Shrimp.The intercostal causeway led us to Dauphin Island and home of Fort Gaines which we saw from the ferry as we crossed Mobile Bay. While on the ferry I was able to photograph a drilling platform and then Fort Morgan as we neared the mainland. Fort Morgan Rd. led us by beautiful ocean and bay front properties down to the town of Gulf Shores. The last six miles was on the Fort Morgan Bike trail which paralleled the main highway.
Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan were active naval sites during the Civil war.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Gaines
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Northern (entrance) facade of Fort Gaines in
LocationDauphin Island, Alabama, USA
Nearest cityMobile, Alabama
Coordinates30°14′54″N88°04′32″WCoordinates: 30°14′54″N 88°04′32″W
Built1821
ArchitectTotten, Joseph G.
NRHP reference #76000348
Added to NRHPDecember 12, 1976
Fort Gaines is an historic fort on Dauphin Island, Alabama, United States. It was named for Edmund Pendleton Gaines. Established in 1821, it is best known for its role in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the American Civil War.
Exhibits include the huge anchor from the USS Hartford, Admiral David Farragut's flagship on which he gave his world-famous command, "Damn the torpedoes – full speed ahead!" The fort also has the original cannons used in the battle, five pre-Civil War brick buildings in the interior courtyard, operational blacksmith shop and kitchens, tunnel systems to the fortified corner bastions, and similar features. A museum details the history of this period, as well as the French colonial presence beginning in the late 17th century. The fort was partially modernized for the Spanish–American War. It is a tourist destination with tours and historical reenactment events. The site is considered to be one of the nation's best-preserved Civil War era masonry forts and has been nominated for listing as a National Historic Landmark
Civil War[edit]
Eight days before Alabama seceded from the Union, Col. John B. Todd took four companies of Alabama volunteers and captured the fort before dawn on 3 January 1861. The Confederates then proceeded to strengthen the defenses of Mobile Bay. The key point was the Main Ship Channel opposite Fort Morgan as this was the only approach where the water was deep enough to permit major warships to pass. To defend this area, the Confederates placed 18 of the fort's heaviest guns (including two 7-inch Brooke rifles and two British-made 8-inch Blakely rifles), so that they could bear on the Channel. They also built redoubts and trenches east of the fort to impede further any attack via land. Lastly, they complemented the land defenses with a small flotilla consisting of the ram Tennessee, and three gunboats, Morgan, Gaines and Selma, all under the command of Admiral Franklin Buchanan.
During the war, Fort Morgan provided protective fire for blockade runners. All 17 vessels that ran out of the Bay eluded capture, as did 19 of the 21 that attempted to enter. Union soldiers were observed in the Sand Island Lighthouse, spying on Fort Morgan, and the fort fired on the position destroying the lighthouse.
During the Battle of Mobile Bay, Union naval forces under Admiral David G. Farragut were able to get past Fort Morgan and enter the Bay. They captured Tennessee and Selma, sank Gaines, and captured Fort Gaines. This freed the Union land forces under Gordon Granger to besiege Fort Morgan. During the siege, the wooden roof of the Citadel, a ten-sided barracks located in the center of the fort used to house the enlisted men, caught fire and the structure was badly damaged. Rather than restore it, post-War crews used the ruins as a brick source for repairing the fort. The remains of the Citadel were razed in the 1880s for use as a breakwater. After two weeks of bombardment from sea and land, Major Richard L. Page, commander of the fort, felt compelled to surrender. He did so on August 23, 1864, after first spiking the fort's guns.
While we were traveling by bike Jeff and George were taking care of the SAG wagon and took it for fuel, 250 gallons of diesel fuel later they checked us in at the Holiday Inn.
Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 2,211 miles (3,558 km)
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