Fort Morgan is a Third System Coastal Defense Fort. It,
like all the forts of the Third System, was built after the War of 1812 when
Congress realized the need for stronger fortifications along the eastern and
southern coastlines.
Designed to control the main ship channel into Mobile Bay, the star shape
of the fort allowed its defenders to bring a heavy concentration of artillery
fire on an enemy fleet as it approached the fort and to maintain this volume of
fire as the enemy force moved into the bay. Because of its isolated position,
the fort was also designed with extensive land-size defenses to enable it to
withstand a siege.
During the Civil War, Fort Morgan and all
her sister forts were proven to be out of date. Rifled cannon
and steam-powered warships repeatedly defeated the old brick forts. This was
dramatically demonstrated at Fort Morgan on August 5, 1 864, when Union Admiral
D. G. Farragut led his fleet past the guns of the fort and into the bay with the
loss of only one ship.
Following the Civil War, the Army moved slowly to improve the
nation's coastal defenses. It was not until the 1890s that major improvements
were undertaken. This building program, known as the Endicott program, upgraded
the nation's defenses. All the concrete gun positions at Fort Morgan are a part
of this program.
While the weapons and gun positions
changed, the fort's goal remained the same--to
prevent any enemy forces from entering Mobile Bay. The
concrete batteries were built between 1896 and 1905 and were manned during the
Spanish-American War and World War 1. Fort Morgan was also occupied during World
War 11, but by that time the concrete batteries, like the brick fort before
them, were no longer the primary defensive positions.
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.
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.
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