Singleton tells of how Fort Claiborne was important military lookout point

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Historic lookout post at Claiborne was vital” was originally published in the Feb. 17, 1972 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

I looked to the south and I looked to the north and saw no canoes a coming. These were probably the words from the lookout post of the high bluff overlooking the Alabama River during the days of the Creek Indian War. This vantage point was an important post during those days when the river was a main source of travel. One could stand on the point and see for miles, covering three points of the compass.

With his back for Fort Claiborne, the lookout had an eagle’s view of the river and the flat land across it to the west. Up river to the north was the ferry that carried west-bound traffic to Gosport and all points toward the sunset. Coming up on the bank on the east side, one could pick the land trail that would carry him northwest toward the communities where connections could be made by stage for Pensacola and other points of interest.

Here atop these high banks was the parting of the ways for many a traveler. The busy town of Claiborne was a place to stop and rest and replenish supplies for the journey further on. The fort at Claiborne offered protection for awhile before the travelers either crossed the river on their journey westward or moved eastward through the cane brakes and danger on to Georgia and Tennessee.

Due to the garrison of troops stationed at Fort Claiborne, and due to the size of the town, there was not much Indian activity around the immediate area. But to the west, many skirmishes took place between the white man and red man. The Kimbrell-James massacre took place near the area that is now Whatley. To the south, was the largest massacre on the North American  continent when Fort Mims fell to the might of Red Eagle’s warriors. The settlement of Burnt Corn to the northeast felt the blows of the Indian’s fury. The trails to the south were not safe to travel.

But Fort Claiborne sat secure atop the high bluffs overlooking the river. The geographic location, probably more than anything else, helped to keep it that way. On three sides there were the steep bluffs and the river. On the other side was open country that the attackers would have to cross under the deadly fire of the fort’s cannons.

All is quiet around the lookout point now, high above the river. Only the rustling of the wind blowing through the thick moss and the occasional ripple of a whirlpool in the river’s current break the silence. The sound of bugles that once mustered the fort’s troops has long since faded. And the sound of horses’ hooves as the troopers returned from patrol around the countryside has passed into oblivion.

The trail to the lookout point, packed by the tread of a thousand boots, lies covered with a blanket of leaves and pine needles from many autumns. The tall pine trees stand as silent sentries where the old fort stood. And beneath their branches, a soldier of many generations later sat and listened.

[This column also included a photo by Singleton with a caption that read as follows: View from lookout point where Fort Claiborne once stood afforded this distant view.]

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)