Battlefields And Forts
Battery Duportail located inside Fort Morgan Alabama

Battery Duportail

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Battery Duportail
Credits:

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike. http://fortwiki.com/Battery_Duportail

BALDWIN COUNTY MAIN PAGE

BATTLEFIELDS AND FORTS MAIN PAGE
ALABAMA CIVIL WAR MAIN PAGE

Battery Duportail (1901-1931) – Battery Duportail (1901-1931) – Battery Duportail was a reinforced concrete, Endicott Period 12 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Morgan , Baldwin County, Alabama. The battery was named in G.O. 78, 15 May 1903 after Maj. Gen. Louis L. Duportail, Chief of Engineers (1777-1783), Continental Army, who served with distinction during the Revolutionary War and who died at sea in 1802 while en route to France. Battery construction started in 1898, was completed in 1900 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 3 Jun 1900 at a cost of $ 172,646.05.

Alabama Maps
Baldwin-County-Alabama

Baldwin County Alabama Map

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Baldwin County Alabama
BALDWIN COUNTY MAIN PAGE

Baldwin County Alabama has a population of 182,000. The county seat of Baldwin County is Bay Minette Alabama. Baldwin County Alabama Cities:
Bay Minette, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Robertsdale, Spanish Fort

Baldwin County Alabama Towns:
Elberta, Loxley, Magnolia Springs, Perdido Beach, Silverhill, Summerdale

Baldwin County Alabama Communities:
Barnwell, Bayside, Belforest, Blackwater, Blakeley, Bon Secour, Bromly, Clay City, Crossroads, Elsanor, Fort Morgan, Houstonville, Josephine, Lillian, Little River, Magnolia Beach, Malbis, Marlow, Miflin, Montrose, Oak, Oyster Bay, Park City, Perdido, Perdido Key, Pine Grove, Pine Haven, Point Clear, Rabun, River Park, Romar Beach, Rosinton, Seacliff, Seminole, Spanish Cove, Stapleton, Stockton, Swift, Tensaw, Turkey Branch, Weeks Bay, Whitehouse Fork, Yupon
If you would like to become a sponsor, advertise a related location, service or vacation spot that would add to the usefulness of this site, please email us: staff@digitalalabama.com.

Alabama Civil War
Bon Secour Salt Factory Drawing by Hazel and Richard Brough from the book “Food, Fun, and Fable.”

Alabama Civil War Site: Bon Secour Salt Works

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Bon Secour Salt Works

BALDWIN COUNTY MAIN PAGE
Baldwin County Alabama contributed to the Confederate Civil War activities through production of salt from the Bon Secour Salt Works which went into production in early 1863. The salt production facility was was comprised of long open sheds with a brick firebox running down the center of the shed. Iron containers positioned along the fire box and were heated by a fire and as the hot air traveled through a fire box, it boiled the brine solution in the pots leaving the salt to be collected. The brine was taken from pits dug into the area’s salt marshlands. 
In September, 1864, Union troops proceeded to Bon Secour to destroy the salt works. Captain C.W. Stone of the 6th Michigan Volunteers recorded that forces under his command destroyed 990 of the iron vats and hauled away 30,000 feet of lumber. In his official report, Captain Stone mentioned that his forces burned all that was left behind at Bon Secour including

“a number of buildings having been constructed by the Confederate forces as quarters for soldiers, the place being known as Camp Anderson.”

 

On September 8, 1864, a combined army-navy raiding party led by Acting Volunteer Lieutenant George Wiggin, USN, left the Fort Morgan anchorage at 7:00 a.m. Wiggin commanded three naval gunboats, the USS Tritonia, the USS Rodolph, and the USS Stockdale and one army transport, the steamer Planter, which had two barges in tow.

Alabama Maps

Old Federal Road in Baldwin County, Alabama, near the Mobile River

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Old Federal Road in Baldwin County Alabama
This image is a worksheet map by Hale drawn from an aerial photo which shows the old federal highway system in Baldwin County, Alabama, near the Mobile River. The map shows the old stage road and Highway 59 that intersect with the Old Federal Road. The map has a detailed description of various physical features like Nanahuba Island, rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds, and swamps. The map shows the location of a saw mill. The map also shows the locations of Fort Montgomery and Fort Mimms. The map includes a number of numerical designations of unknown meaning.

Alabama Ghosts and Ghost Towns

Blakeley Alabama

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Blakeley Alabama
Blakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County, Alabama. During the height of its existence, Blakeley was a thriving town which flourished as a competitor to its western neighbor, Mobile, Alabama. It was the location of a major fort during the Civil War. One of the last battles of the civil war was fought here as Union soldiers overran Confederates. The town is now in an Alabama historic state park known as Historic Blakeley State Park near Spanish Fort, Alabama.

Baldwin County Alabama
Gulf Shores Museum | 244 W. 19th Ave | Gulf Shores AL 36542

Gulf Shores Museum

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The Gulf Shores Museum houses artifacts from the city’s history and it also tells the story of the entire region’s past as well. But the story of the Gulf Shores Museum does not stop with the contents of the building. Thanks to the Oyster Bay Baptist Church, there is plenty to see outside in the backyard of the Gulf Shores Museum as well.
Explore new and permanent exhibits as well as seasonal programs and events. Admission is free to the public.

Baldwin County Alabama
Fort Morgan, Mobile Point, Alabama, 1864, showing damage to the south side of the fort.

The Battle of Mobile Bay and Siege of Fort Morgan

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The Siege of Fort Morgan occurred during the American Civil War as part of the battle for Mobile Bay in 1864. Union ground forces led by General Gordon Granger conducted a short siege of the Confederate garrison at the mouth of Mobile Bay under the command of General Richard L. Page. The Confederate surrender helped shut down Mobile as an effective Confederate port city.  

Admiral David Farragut had defeated the Confederate navy in Mobile Bay on August 5 and Fort Gaines, guarding the western approach to the bay, had surrendered to the cooperating Union land forces under Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger.

Alabama Gulf Coast Region
Swift-Coles-Historic-Home

Swift-Coles Historic House

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Swift-Coles Historic House
 17424 Swift Coles Lane
Bon Secour AL 36511
(251) 949-9550
This 1882 Tidewater Mansion is located on the Bon Secour River and was the home of the Charles Swift Family.  It was purchased in 1976 by Nick Cole who restored the home to it original beauty.  The property is now owned and operated by the Baldwin County Historic Development Commission.  This beautiful 16 room mansion and grounds take you back in time to the twentieth century and life along the river. This 6000 sq ft home began in 1882 as a simple four-room structure in the bend of the  Bon Secour River.  In 1898, Charles & Susan Swift bought the house and brought their growing family here to begin a sawmill and lumber business that continues in south Alabama to this day.  They built a sawmill on the river east of the house, and although it burned in 1913, their business continued to expand.  Eleven of their children grew to adulthood here, and the house was enlarged in 1902 and in 1908. 

   In 1976, the home was purchased by Nicholas Coles.  An entrepreneur and antiques collector, he made this his home until his death in 2007. Open Tuesday and Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.  Last tour start at 3 pm.

Baldwin County Alabama

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo

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Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
1204 Gulf Shores Parkway
Gulf Shores AL 36542
251-968-5732

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo opened in June 1989 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, United States as Zooland Animal Park. It is operated by the Zoo Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and relies on admissions, memberships and contributions for its funding. It was the basis of the Animal Planet show The Little Zoo That Could. The zoo is several blocks north of the beach and is home to more than 290 animals including lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and macaws. It includes a petting zoo, reptile house, and aviary, as well as daily animal shows in the summer.