ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES CAMP #11
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
MOBILE, ALABAMA
Fort mcdermott Reclamation Project
With the acquisition by the Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #11 of the final piece of the original fort, compatriots and volunteers have been busy clearing the land of underbrush and making the site accessible to the public.
Monuments committee chairman and Fort McDermott Reclamation Project Leader, compatriot Joe Dupree, gave a presentation on the pictorial history and progress at the site at the July monthly meeting.
Reproduced below are the images from that presentation for all to enjoy.
Monuments committee chairman and Fort McDermott Reclamation Project Leader, compatriot Joe Dupree, gave a presentation on the pictorial history and progress at the site at the July monthly meeting.
Reproduced below are the images from that presentation for all to enjoy.
This presentation was accompanied by a rousing rendition of Dixie. Enjoy the music below.
Progress as of September 2014
Progress as of November 2014
New Plaque on Site
"Reclamation project turning Civil War fort into memorial park in Spanish Fort"
Published to AL.com
By Marc D. Anderson on April 03, 2015
Like silent guardians of ancient ruins, pine trees tower over a high bluff in Spanish Fort where 150 years ago Confederate soldiers manned Fort McDermott during the Union's two-week siege of Spanish Fort.
Underbrush and a tangle of vines around the trees were cleared over the last year by members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Raphael Semmes Camp 11, revealing the well-preserved earthworks of the former Confederate battery, once studded with Brooke rifles.
The donors of the three acres, the Fuller family, had the foresight to preserve the land while developing the sprawling Spanish Fort Estates all around it.
Remaining virtually untouched, the tract's only recognition over the last 50 years had been a roadside plaque on Spanish Main, placed by the Spanish Fort Historical Society.
"Fort McDermott -- Highest point along 2 miles of Confederate battle lines extending east and north. Here 200 soldiers from Georgia, Louisiana and Arkansas held off a numerically superior Union force for thirteen day and nights in the last battle of the War Between the States, April 1865."
Beyond the sign, thick underbrush and trees concealed the remnants of history atop the knoll.
After much sweat and toil, spearheaded by Raphael Semmes Camp project leader Joe DuPree and volunteers, the acreage has become a path back through time. The top of the fort's earthworks can now be seen from the road, along with a bridge over the former moat area and stairs up the upper parapet, built as an Eagle Scout project by Greg Haase.
About 40 yards in, a rifle pit that once bristled with Confederate sharpshooters is still intact, and volunteers built a small section of abatis, an entanglement of sharpened tree branches that served to dishearten and deter attackers.
April 11 is the dedication day for the new Fort McDermott Confederate Memorial Park. It will feature a wood-chip trail with over a dozen informational signs about the siege, the old fort and key figures during that time such as Maj. Gen. Dabney Herndon Maury, the Confederate commander of the District of the Gulf.
"It will be a private park but it will be open for people to walk through," DuPree said.
He said, "In terms of historicity, the earthworks are essentially in pristine condition. You can see the embrasures and artillery positions. You can see where the magazine was and the parade ground and so forth. We cleared that; it was like a jungle."
The work has drawn plenty of attention from folks in the neighborhood. "Of course, they knew there was a rise in the land, in general, but they've come up since it's been cleared and a number of them have said, 'Gosh, I had no idea this was up here,'" DuPree said.
Mayor Mike McMillan described the old earthworks as "the best I've seen in the city."
"It's amazing. I didn't have a clue that was there," McMillan said. "I don't know of any earthworks that are that defined here. There are areas in the city where you can see the earthworks that were in place, but they're scattered around."
Siege of Spanish Fort
Fort McDermott was part of a network of Confederate strongpoints serving as the eastern defense line for Mobile: Spanish Fort and Red Fort and two forts on Blakeley River. The earthworks, redoubts, rifle pits and gun batteries stretched for about two miles.
After the Battle of Mobile Bay and the fall of Fort Morgan in August 1864, Union troops led by Union Major General E.R.S. Canby headed north along the bay's eastern shore, first crossing Fish River and then toward Spanish Fort.
Facing over 30,000 Union troops -- which is over four times greater than the city's current population -- 1,800 Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson repelled initial assaults. A siege began on March 27, 1865.
About 195 Confederates manning Fort McDermott, with land clear-cut all around it, had to endure bombardments from artillery entrenched with about 20,000 Union troops. The remaining Union soldiers headed north to nearby Fort Blakeley.
On April 8, 1865, most of the Confederates at the cluster of forts withdrew to Fort Blakeley and Mobile. Blakeley fell on April 9, just hours after General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. The Battle of Blakeley was the last major battle of the Civil War
Less than a month later, the Confederates abandoned their garrison in Mobile and the city fell without a fight.
Casualties of the siege were estimated at 1,401: 744 Confederate soldiers and 657 Union soldiers.
Dedication ceremony
The dedication ceremony for Fort McDermott Confederate Memorial Park will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 11.
Dupree said it will include three period readings, the first being from someone who had friends at Fort McDermott and wrote about the disposition of the forces. "Reading two will be by a man named Stephenson, who at the time was a private serving in Spanish Fort," Dupree said. "Number three will be the official report of General Gibson, the Confederate commander."
The ceremony will have at least four artillery pieces firing -- two Mountain Howitzers and two coehorn mortars. Similar artillery pieces were part of the fort's armory. Re-enactors will also conduct a few raids on the grounds.
Due to location of the park around a residential area, ceremony attendees are being asked to park behind Cheryl's Restaurant at 322 Spanish Fort Blvd/U.S. 31 in the Prodisee Center and shuttle to the site.
Underbrush and a tangle of vines around the trees were cleared over the last year by members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Raphael Semmes Camp 11, revealing the well-preserved earthworks of the former Confederate battery, once studded with Brooke rifles.
The donors of the three acres, the Fuller family, had the foresight to preserve the land while developing the sprawling Spanish Fort Estates all around it.
Remaining virtually untouched, the tract's only recognition over the last 50 years had been a roadside plaque on Spanish Main, placed by the Spanish Fort Historical Society.
"Fort McDermott -- Highest point along 2 miles of Confederate battle lines extending east and north. Here 200 soldiers from Georgia, Louisiana and Arkansas held off a numerically superior Union force for thirteen day and nights in the last battle of the War Between the States, April 1865."
Beyond the sign, thick underbrush and trees concealed the remnants of history atop the knoll.
After much sweat and toil, spearheaded by Raphael Semmes Camp project leader Joe DuPree and volunteers, the acreage has become a path back through time. The top of the fort's earthworks can now be seen from the road, along with a bridge over the former moat area and stairs up the upper parapet, built as an Eagle Scout project by Greg Haase.
About 40 yards in, a rifle pit that once bristled with Confederate sharpshooters is still intact, and volunteers built a small section of abatis, an entanglement of sharpened tree branches that served to dishearten and deter attackers.
April 11 is the dedication day for the new Fort McDermott Confederate Memorial Park. It will feature a wood-chip trail with over a dozen informational signs about the siege, the old fort and key figures during that time such as Maj. Gen. Dabney Herndon Maury, the Confederate commander of the District of the Gulf.
"It will be a private park but it will be open for people to walk through," DuPree said.
He said, "In terms of historicity, the earthworks are essentially in pristine condition. You can see the embrasures and artillery positions. You can see where the magazine was and the parade ground and so forth. We cleared that; it was like a jungle."
The work has drawn plenty of attention from folks in the neighborhood. "Of course, they knew there was a rise in the land, in general, but they've come up since it's been cleared and a number of them have said, 'Gosh, I had no idea this was up here,'" DuPree said.
Mayor Mike McMillan described the old earthworks as "the best I've seen in the city."
"It's amazing. I didn't have a clue that was there," McMillan said. "I don't know of any earthworks that are that defined here. There are areas in the city where you can see the earthworks that were in place, but they're scattered around."
Siege of Spanish Fort
Fort McDermott was part of a network of Confederate strongpoints serving as the eastern defense line for Mobile: Spanish Fort and Red Fort and two forts on Blakeley River. The earthworks, redoubts, rifle pits and gun batteries stretched for about two miles.
After the Battle of Mobile Bay and the fall of Fort Morgan in August 1864, Union troops led by Union Major General E.R.S. Canby headed north along the bay's eastern shore, first crossing Fish River and then toward Spanish Fort.
Facing over 30,000 Union troops -- which is over four times greater than the city's current population -- 1,800 Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson repelled initial assaults. A siege began on March 27, 1865.
About 195 Confederates manning Fort McDermott, with land clear-cut all around it, had to endure bombardments from artillery entrenched with about 20,000 Union troops. The remaining Union soldiers headed north to nearby Fort Blakeley.
On April 8, 1865, most of the Confederates at the cluster of forts withdrew to Fort Blakeley and Mobile. Blakeley fell on April 9, just hours after General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. The Battle of Blakeley was the last major battle of the Civil War
Less than a month later, the Confederates abandoned their garrison in Mobile and the city fell without a fight.
Casualties of the siege were estimated at 1,401: 744 Confederate soldiers and 657 Union soldiers.
Dedication ceremony
The dedication ceremony for Fort McDermott Confederate Memorial Park will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 11.
Dupree said it will include three period readings, the first being from someone who had friends at Fort McDermott and wrote about the disposition of the forces. "Reading two will be by a man named Stephenson, who at the time was a private serving in Spanish Fort," Dupree said. "Number three will be the official report of General Gibson, the Confederate commander."
The ceremony will have at least four artillery pieces firing -- two Mountain Howitzers and two coehorn mortars. Similar artillery pieces were part of the fort's armory. Re-enactors will also conduct a few raids on the grounds.
Due to location of the park around a residential area, ceremony attendees are being asked to park behind Cheryl's Restaurant at 322 Spanish Fort Blvd/U.S. 31 in the Prodisee Center and shuttle to the site.
Video from Shannon Fontaine
Posted on Facebook at
History of Spanish Fort ALabama
Flag Raising Ceremony at Fort Mcdermott. 4/11/15
Posted by History Of Spanish Fort Alabama on Saturday, April 11, 2015