Battle of Spanish Fort

The Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865 in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Battle of Spanish Fort
Part of the American Civil War
Date March 27 – April 8, 1865 Location Baldwin County, Alabama Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
E.R.S. Canby	Randall L. Gibson[1]
Units involved
Army of West Mississippi	Spanish Fort Garrison
Strength
30,000	2,500
Casualties and losses
657	744

After the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Mobile nevertheless remained in Confederate hands. Spanish Fort was heavily fortified as an eastern defense to the city of Mobile. Fort Huger, Fort (Battery) Tracey, Fort (Battery) McDermott, Fort Alexis, Red Fort, and Old Spanish Fort were all part of the Mobile defenses at Spanish Fort.

Battle

Map of Spanish Fort Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

Union forces embarked on a land campaign in early 1865 to take Mobile from the east. Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby's XIII and XVI corps crossed the Fish River at Marlow Ferry, and moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, five miles to the north. On March 27, 1865, Canby’s forces rendezvoused at Danley's Ferry and immediately undertook a siege of Spanish Fort. The Union had enveloped the fort by April 1, and on April 8 captured it. Most of the Confederate forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson, escaped and fled to Mobile, but Spanish Fort was no longer a threat.

Fort Blakely continued to fight after Spanish Fort's fall on April 8. However, as early as April 1, when Spanish Fort's fall became inevitable, Union forces had begun moving north in order to concentrate on Fort Blakely, which eventually succumbed late on April 9 in the Battle of Fort Blakely.

The fall of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely permitted Union troops to subsequently enter Mobile unopposed after the Army of Mobile evacuated the City, occupying it on April 12, 1865.

Defense Plans

Map displaying line of works ordered by Major General Gardner:[2]

• Map of Spanish fort and vicinity, drawn under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel V. Sheliha

See also

• Spanish Fort Union order of battle

References

1. National Park Service battle description
2. "Map of Spanish fort and vicinity". University of North Carolina. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

External links

• Jordan, Daniel W. III (2019). Operational Art and the Campaign for Mobile, 1864-1865: A Staff Ride Handbook (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, Kan.: Combat Studies Institute Press, US Army Combined Arms Center. ISBN 9781940804545. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
• National Park Service battle description
• Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields - State of Alabama
• Fort McDermott
• Conflicts around Mobile during the War Between the States