The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the pop ...
, about north of
Spanish Fort, Alabama
Spanish Fort is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2020 census lists the population of the city as 10,049. It is a suburb of Mobile and is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro ...
, as part of the
Mobile Campaign
A mobile campaign is a campaign, usually marketing, advertising, or public relations-related, through which organizations contact their audience through SMS (text messaging). This form of campaigning allows organizations to reach out and establish ...
of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. At the time,
Blakeley, Alabama
Blakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. During the height of its existence, Blakeley was a thriving town which flourished as a competitor to its western neighbor, Mobile. Blakeley was the county seat for Baldwin Coun ...
, had been the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Baldwin County.
[
The Battle of Blakeley was the final major battle of the Civil War, with surrender just hours after Grant had defeated Lee at Appomattox on the morning of April 9, 1865.][ ]Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, was the last major Confederate port to be captured by Union forces, on April 12, 1865.[ After the ]assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
on April 15, 1865, other Confederate surrenders continued into May 1865.
Course of the battle
Maj. Gen. Edward Canby
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War.
In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Department of New Mexico, defeating the Confederate Gene ...
's Union forces, the XVI and XIII Corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...
, forcing the Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
s back into their defenses. Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort, Alabama
Spanish Fort is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2020 census lists the population of the city as 10,049. It is a suburb of Mobile and is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro ...
, and nearby Fort Blakeley. By April 1, Union forces had enveloped Spanish Fort, thereby releasing more troops to focus on Fort Blakeley. Union forces built three rings of earthworks reaching ever closer until nearly from the Fort Blakely front.[ Confederate Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell, with about 4,000 men, held out against the much larger Union force until Spanish Fort fell on April 8 in the ]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.
After the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Mobile ...
. This allowed Canby to concentrate 16,000 men for the attack on April 9, led by Brig. Gen. John P. Hawkins
John Parker Hawkins (September 29, 1830 – February 7, 1914) was a career officer of the United States Army who served as brigadier general during the American Civil War, in which he served as a commissary officer and as a commander of colored tro ...
. Sheer numbers breached the Confederate earthworks, compelling the Confederates, including Liddell, to surrender within about 30 minutes in the final assault after 5:30 pm.
The casualty figures are approximate, but an estimated 75 Confederate soldiers were killed, with over 2,800 captured, and 150 Union troops were killed with 650 wounded during the siege and assault.[ The siege and capture of Fort Blakeley was basically the last combined-force battle of the war. Yet, it is criticized by some (such as ]Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
) as an ineffective contribution to Union war effort due to Canby's lateness in engaging his troops. The battle was actually fought hours after the Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox. The battle is considered the last major battle of the Civil War[ with the exception of the Battle of Columbus, Georgia, fought a few days later. African-American forces played a major role in the successful Union attack, with 5,000 colored troops of the Union ]U.S.C.T.
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...
brought through Pensacola, FL
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
.[
Two days later, the two nearby island batteries in the Blakeley River were abandoned.][
After this battle, Union forces were finally able to occupy the city of ]Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, on April 12, 1865.[
]
Legacy
The site of the battle is now a historical park, Historic Blakeley State Park
Historic Blakeley State Park is a park located on the site of the former town of Blakeley in Baldwin County, Alabama on the Tensaw River delta. The park encompasses an area once occupied by settlers in what was a thriving community on the river ...
. The American Battlefield Trust
The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...
and its partners, including the Historic Blakeley Foundation, have saved 126 acres of Fort Blakeley Battlefield through November 2021.
Land Saved by the American Battlefield Trust
The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...
, accessed November 30, 2021.
Opposing forces
Union
Confederate
Notes
References
*
National Park Service CWSAC Battle Summary
Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields - State of Alabama
* Silkenat, David. ''Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. .
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Blakeley
Mobile campaign (1865)
Battles of the Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach of the American Civil War
Union victories of the American Civil War
Sieges of the American Civil War
Battles of the American Civil War in Alabama
Baldwin County, Alabama
1865 in the American Civil War
1865 in Alabama
African Americans in the American Civil War
April 1865 events