Fort Charlotte

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Fort Charlotte (Fort Conde)

Located on the west bank of the Mobile River, Mobile County, Alabama, in the city of Mobile,  Fort Conde was a classic 18th century brick and mortar square fort with large bastions on each corner, gunnery parapet, surrounding moat and outer earthworks. Built in the early 1700’s by Bienville, the French founder of Mobile. When the English captured the fort in 1763, the name was changed to Fort Charlotte in honor of George III’s Queen. Seventeen years later (1780) the Spanish took possession.

Fort Charlotte, called Fort Carlota by the Spanish, was the seat of Spanish government in Mobile. The fort, located on the site of the French Fort Conde, had been a British outpost prior to Spain’s seizure of the area during the American Revolution. In an effort to secure possession of the disputed region of West Florida, General James Wilkinson seized the fort without a fight on April 13, 1813.  

A reconstruction of Fort Conde today sits on the site of Fort Charlotte in downtown Mobile, Alabama. The fort features a museum focusing on the history of the site, and serves as a welcome center for the city of Mobile.