Fort Bainbridge was an earthen fort located along the Federal Road on what is today the county line between Macon and Russell counties in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Fort Bainbridge was located twenty-five miles west of Fort Mitchell.

History

Creek War

Fort Bainbridge was named in honor of naval captain

William Bainbridge William Bainbridge (May 7, 1774July 27, 1833) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. During his long career in the young American Navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. He ...

. Fort Bainbridge was built in the style of a

bastion fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

with eight outcroppings. The bastions were surrounded by a ditch that was filled with pickets and the fort was entered by a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

. It was constructed in March 1814 by North Carolina militia under the command of General Joseph Graham in an effort to protect the supply route from

Fort Hull Fort Hull was an earthen fort built in present-day Macon County, Alabama in 1814 during the Creek War. After the start of hostilities, the United States decided to mount an attack on Creek territory from three directions. The column advancing wes ...

to Fort Mitchell. Captain

Jett Thomas Jett Thomas (May 13, 1776 – January 6, 1817) was an American military officer, politician, and builder who served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and participated in the early construction of the University of Georgia. Ea ...

directed the fort's construction. Fort Bainbridge allowed supply wagons to travel between Fort Mitchell and Hull in one-day intervals and was garrisoned by 100 to 300 troops. Fort Bainbridge was garrisoned by Tennessee militia until July 31, 1814.

Postwar

In 1820 on his North American tour,

Adam Hodgson Adam Hodgson (1788–1862) was an English merchant in Liverpool, known also as a writer and abolitionist. Life He was the son of Thomas Hodgson, a Liverpool merchant, and his wife Elizabeth Lightbody (1758–1795). His father Thomas (1737–181 ...

described Fort Bainbridge as being a "small stockaded mound". Captain Kendall Lewis (who commanded

Benjamin Hawkins Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite ...

' scouts), along with his Creek chief father-in law, Big Warrior, operated a tavern as a stagecoach stop about 400 yards west of Fort Bainbridge, which stayed open under the care of Lewis' widow until at least 1836. During his return tour, the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

stayed at the Lewis Tavern for his first night in Alabama. Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach stayed at the Lewis Tavern on his 1826 travels through North America. The site of the fort also lies along naturalist

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title ''Bartram's Travels'', which chronicled ...

's four-year journey through the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, during which he documented the flora, fauna and Native Americans of the area. The fort site was later used as a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Present

Today, it remains unmarked and its legacy lies in a small unincorporated community, Boromville, that developed from it. Though unmarked, the location is known and the area has been damaged by relic hunters.

References

Sources

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External links

Detailed sketch of Fort Bainbridge from General Joseph Graham Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Bainbridge Bainbridge Bainbridge Creek War Pre-statehood history of Alabama Buildings and structures in Macon County, Alabama Bainbridge Bainbridge