battle of Fort Blakeley
{{Short description|1865 siege during the American Civil War}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Fort Blakeley
| image = BattleofFortBlakely1.png
| image_size = 300
| caption = Storming of Fort Blakeley
| partof = the American Civil War
| date = April 2–9, 1865
| place = Baldwin County, Alabama
| coordinates = {{coord|30|44|32.67|N|87|55|37.34|W|region:AL-US_type:event|display=title,inline}}
| result = Union victory
- Fort Blakeley surrendered to the U.S.
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|USA|1865}} United States (Union)
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|CSA|1865}} CSA (Confederacy)
| commander1 = Edward Canby
Frederick Steele[https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/operational-art-and-the-campaigns-for-mobile-bay-1864-to-1865-staff-ride-handbook.pdf In tactical command of all troops in front of Fort Blakeley]
| commander2 = St. John R. Liddell
| units1 = Army of West Mississippi,
Union ships
| units2 = Fort Blakeley Garrison,
Confederate ships
| casualties1 = 629 on April 9 (150 killed, 650 wounded total)
| casualties2 = 2,900 (75 killed)
}}
{{Campaignbox Mobile Campaign}}
The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, about {{convert|6|mi}} north of Spanish Fort, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War. At the time, Blakeley, Alabama, had been the county seat of Baldwin County.
The Battle of Blakeley was the final major battle of the Civil War, with surrender just hours after Grant had accepted the surrender of Lee at Appomattox in the afternoon of April 9, 1865. Mobile, Alabama, was the last major Confederate port to be captured by Union forces, on April 12, 1865. After the assassination of President Lincoln on April 15, 1865, other Confederate surrenders continued into June 1865.
Background
File:Battle_of_Fort_Blakely_map.png
Maj. Gen. Edward Canby's Union forces, the XVI and XIII Corps,{{cite web |title= Battle of Blakeley |url= http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=87292 |website= Historical Marker Database |access-date= 24 September 2015}}{{cite encyclopedia |title= Battle of Fort Blakeley |author= Mike Bunn, Historic Blakeley State Park |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia of Alabama |url= http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3718 |date= May 2017 |access-date= 2017-11-07 }} moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort, Alabama, 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 {{convert|1,000|yd|m}} from the Fort Blakeley 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. This allowed Canby to concentrate 16,000 men for the attack on Fort Blakeley.
Battle
The final assault began on April 9, led by Brig. Gen. John P. Hawkins. 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.{{cite web |title= Battle of Fort Blakeley |at= p. 1, paragraph 7 |website= EncyclopediaOfAlabama.org |url= http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3718 |date=2017 |access-date= 2017-11-07 }}
Aftermath
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) 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{{cite web |title= Re-enactors to fire up Civil War battlefield Saturday, marking 150th anniversary of Battle of Fort Blakeley |url= http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2015/03/re-enactors_to_fire_up_civil_w.html#incart_river |last= Anderson |first=Marc D. |date=March 26, 2015 |access-date= March 26, 2015 |work= AL.com}} 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. brought through Pensacola, FL.
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, on April 12, 1865.
Legacy
The site of the battle is now a historical park, Historic Blakeley State Park. The American Battlefield Trust and its partners, including the Historic Blakeley Foundation, have saved 126 acres of Fort Blakeley Battlefield through mid-2023.
{{Cite web|url= https://www.battlefields.org/visit/battlefields/fort-blakely-battlefield|title=Fort Blakeley Battlefield|website=American Battlefield Trust|access-date=June 19, 2023}}
Opposing forces
=Union=
{{further|Fort Blakeley Union order of battle}}
=Confederate=
{{further|Fort Blakeley Confederate order of battle}}
Notes
References
- {{cite book |title=Militär-historisches kreigs-lexikon, (1618–1905)|last = Bodart | first = Gaston | year = 1908 | publisher = Stern | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eo4DAAAAYAAJ |language=de |ref=bodart1908}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080516174113/http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/al006.htm National Park Service CWSAC Battle Summary]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121108182931/http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/CWSII/CWSACReportAlabamaUpdate.pdf 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. {{ISBN|978-1-4696-4972-6}}.
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Battle of Fort Blakely}}
- {{cite book|last=Jordan |first=Daniel W. III |title=Operational Art and the Campaign for Mobile, 1864–1865: A Staff Ride Handbook |publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press, US Army Combined Arms Center |location=Fort Leavenworth, Kan. |year=2019 |isbn=9781940804545 |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/operational-art-and-the-campaigns-for-mobile-bay-1864-to-1865-staff-ride-handbook.pdf |access-date=June 12, 2020}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170420025735/http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/fort-blakely.html The Battle of Fort Blakley: Battle Maps, History Articles, Photos, and Preservation News (CWPT)]
{{Alabama in the Civil War}}
{{American Civil War}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Blakeley}}
Category:Mobile campaign (1865)
Category:Battles of the Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach of the American Civil War
Category:Union victories of the American Civil War
Category:Sieges of the American Civil War
Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Alabama
Category:Baldwin County, Alabama
Category:1865 in the American Civil War
Category:African Americans in the American Civil War
Category:Attacks on military installations in the United States