Several years ago, I ran in a foot race called the Battle of
Mobile Bay 5K on Dauphin Island, a short drive from Mobile. The race began and
ended at Fort Gaines, which I happened to visit for the first time on that day
of the race. I took a brief tour of the fort then and have wanted to take my
kids to see it ever since, which is why I put it on my “bucket list.”
On Saturday, my family and I set out early and made a special
trip to Fort Gaines. We got there around 9:30 a.m. and spent almost two hours
exploring this old fort. We had a good time, and I hope that my kids will
remember this little family field trip for years to come.
For those of you unfamiliar with Fort Gaines, was
established nearly two centuries ago, in 1821, and played an important part in
the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War. Named after U.S. Army officer
Edmund P. Gaines, this masonry fort was added to the National Register of
Historic Places on Dec. 12, 1976. If you visit the fort today, you’ll find
numerous artillery pieces on display, a museum that details the fort’s long
history and remnants of old ships that have been recovered from in and around
the area.
Fort Gaines also has the reputation for being haunted. As
mentioned, Fort Gaines is located on Dauphin Island, which was first named
Massacre Island by the first French settlers, who found a huge pile of human
remains on the island when they arrived. In addition to that ominous fact, an
untold number of soldiers have died in the fort, including those who were
killed during the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Over the years, visitors and workers at the fort have
reported a wide variety of ghostly encounters. They’ve reportedly seen
Confederate and Union soldiers, including a soldier who follows visitors around
the fort until the leave through the front gate. Other apparitions have
reportedly included the spirits of Native Americans and slaves.
We didn’t see any ghosts on Saturday, but we checked out
just about everything else the old fort had to offer. We explored the entire
place, including all the dimly light passage ways, sand and water-filled
bastions and all along the ramparts. To help us along was the walking tour
pamphlet we picked up on our way in, an eight-page guide that told us just
about everything we’d ever want to know about the fort.
If you’d like to visit Fort Gaines for yourself, it’s
located at 51 Bienville Blvd. on Dauphin Island. It’s open seven days a week
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
For more information about the fort, visit http://dauphinisland.org/fort-gaines/.
In the end, how many of you have been to Fort Gaines? What
did you think about it? What other historic sites would you recommend visiting?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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