Gertrude J" Stephens for C/O Mr, John M. SNOOK, President Foley
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THE BALDWIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC, QUARTERLY ,-. " ' . cy~ ';:,- nc.:m,c ir::flitl PUBLISHED BY: Gertrude J" Stephens for THE BALDWIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC,. c/o Mr, John M. SNOOK, President Foley, Alabama VOLUME III,No. 2 JANUARY 1976 • THE BALDWIN COUN!Y HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. VOLUME III NUMBER 2· January 1976 The Baldwin County Historical Society was founded in Fairhope, Alabama on September 12, 1923, as a nonprofit organization. Contributions are deductible from Federal Income Tax because of the tax exempt status granted the Society by t_he U, S. Treasury Department. Membership in the Society is $5,00 per year single and $7.00 per year family. Single copies of the Quarterly can be purchased for $1"25 each - special rate of 50¢ each to members. Remit payments to Membership Chairman, Mrs. Lynn H. Jones, P. 0. Box 69, Stockton, Alabama 36579. Articles. and queries to be considered for publication in the Quarterly should be addressed to,the Editor, Mrs. Gertrude J. Stephens, 2 Lee Circle, Spanish Fort, Alabama 365270 Correspondence relating to information, projects, and other matters of the Society should be addressed to the President, Mr. John M. Snook, Foley, Alabama 36535, or to such project chairman. Neither the Editor nor The Baldwin County Historical Society assumes responsi bility for errors of fact or opinion expressed by contributors. All meetings wiU be .on 3rd Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at respective places noted in yearbook, unless otherwise notified - October through May. We owe it to our ancestors to preserve entire those rights, which they have delivered to our care, We owe it to our posterity, not to suffer their dearest inheritance to be destroyed" -Author unknown. 32 THE BALDWIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. c/o Mr, John M, Snook Foley, Alabama 36535 1975-1976 OFFICERS President 0 . ' . Mr. John M. Snook, Foley, Ala. 36535 Vice President. .. Mrs. Frank Smyth, Foley, Ala. 36535 Secretary . Mrs. Eunice Ness, Fairhope, Ala. 36532 Treasurer ,. 0 . ' . Mrs. Fred Wilson, Fairhope, Ala. 36532 BOARD OF ADVISORS Mrs. Davida Hastie Mr. Frank Laraway Miss Bernice McMillan Mrs. Frank Smyth Mr. & Mrs. Richard Scott Miss Kay Nuzum Mr, & Hrs, Mike Blake Mrs. W. H. Simmons COMMI T'rIES Program: Membership: Hiss Bernice Mc.Millan Mrs" Lynn H. Jones P.O. Box 69 Publicity: Stockton, Alabama 36579 Miss Eunice Ness Research: Cemeteries; Mrs. Pierce Holmes Mr. George Brown Miss Bernice McMillan Mrs. Flo Simmons Mr. W. C. Mills Mr. Converse HarvH.'!11 Mrs. Harry Toulmin Mrs, Fred Wilson Mrs. Murrell Wheeler Mrs. Murrell Wheeler Mrs, W.. F. Mandrell Miss Luella Ferguson Mrs, June Slaughter Sites & Markers: Mrs. Frank Earle Mrs. Claire Bryant Miss Melana Whitley Mr. John Gottler Mrs. June Coleman Quarterly: Mrs. Gertrude Jo Stephens, Editor Fort Mims: Mrs. Davida Hastie Mr. L. D.- Owens, Jr. Mr. Frank Laraway Miss Bernice McMillan Mr. Charles Earle, Jr. Museum Study: Mrs. Davida R. Hastie Mr. Richard Scott Mr. George Brown Blakeley: Mr. Frank Laraway Mr. Frank Laraway Mrs,. A" G. Allegri, Jr. Mrs. Flo Simmons Mr. Mike Blake Mr. George Brown Mr. Converse Hanvell Mrs. Doris Allegri Red Eagleis Grave Site: Bottle Creek Mound: Mrs. Lynn H. Jones Mr. John M. Hastie, Jr. Mrs, Pierce Holmes Mr, Ernest Cleverdon Mrs. Paul Crigler Dr. M. Wilson Gaillard Dr. Clinton Whitten 33 THE BALDWIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. VOLUME III NUMBER 2 CONTENTS OFFICERS, BOARD OF ADVISORS, COMMITTEES •. I:< • ol' t • • • '"' II ~ • 33 MOVEMENT TO DANLEYS ON FISH RIVER: (Civil War) Introduction. _, • ,C, 1J O Ii ,fl ~ 35 Chapter V ••••••. 36 Chapter VI - Three Days at Fish River 38 Chapter XXV - Reduction of Forts Huger and Tracy. 41 Chapter XX.VII - Further Operations of LUCAS' Cavalry - Combat of Mount Pleasant, , • . • 44 EARLY OPERATIONS - FORT MORGAN. C •• 45 L.I\ND GRANT - U.S. to Baron de Feriet (1822), 48 JACKSON OAKS , 52 JURY OAK 53 FAIRHOPE REVISITED. 53 LIBERTY CEMETERY. 56 STOCKTON, ALABAMA .• 58 DATES, Old - New. g .. '#' ..:, <;J ;] • C 59 DO YOU NEED? 61 IN APPRECIATION. 61 QUERIES, • • . 61 BALDWIN COUNTY Five Governments Spain 1519 - 1670 France 1670 - 1763 England 1763 - 1780 Spain 1780 - 1813 United States 1813 - Confederacy 1861 - 1865 UNITED STATES 34 ..,, ':. --~--- ·- FISH RIVER ENCAMPMENT (Major-General C. C. Andrews, A History of The Campaign of Mobile (New York: D, Van Norstand, 1867) Submitted by: W. Frank Laraway ' . ~ IIJ.troduction ~ecause of relative importance, the account of The Fish River Encampment of General Canby's army is out of sequence with other accounts of the Civil War battle for Mobile as previously reproduced in the Quarterly. It is of course, of minor importance compared to other events of this era and locale such as the battles that took place at Fort Morgan, Spanish Fort and Blakeley. However, for those who have lived, hiked and camped in this area, it sometimes comes as a surprise that a continuous fortified line miles long guarding some 32,000 Union troops and supplies ever even existed. Some old timers remember the earthworks well but the sandy soil conditions and the plows of farmers have all but destroyed the last reminders of them. The raised works extended from South River Park up to what is now close to. the Clay City Road and closed again on the high ground just north of Clay City. Portions of these works survive in the Clay City area as well as on the road that runs up from the present day rn--ina, and on the Marlow Road. i,__ exact location of where the pontoon bridge was placed is not known but may have been the same site where the old ferry used to run. One of Danley's mills was located at the south end of the present marina basin; and was known as Farragut's Pond (a boat turn-around) although no written verification has been found by this writer that Farragut ever En;en visited the site. The late "Captain Pierce" of Marlow relates how the Federals "stole the laying hens right off the nests" of his grandmother's chicken house as they crossed Barner Branch south of Marlow (Marlow did not yet exist). Whatever significance the site has probably lies in th_e size of fhe army which was amassed there and the great amount of material that .was concentrated to equip the men. At that time in history, there were more men on the island of Baldwin County than have occured lihtil very recent times. MOVEMENT TO DANLEY I S ON FISH RIVER (Baldwin C. ,Ala.)-March 1865 (History of ~ Campaign _2! Mobile, Brev:et Maj or-General C, C. ANDREWS; D, Van Nostrand, 1867) Contributed by: W. Frank I.Ai.AWAY CliAP'f'ER V Thirteenth and Sixteenth Corps Move to Danley' s on ll'ish River, (Baldwin County, Alabama)--The movement was commenced by the Thirteen·t.h t',orps, March 17th, BEN TONr s division, numbering six thousand, preceded by BER'l'RAM's brigade of the Second divi.sion--which during the campaign conti.nued d.et.ached from its division- marched at half-past five from Fort Morgan, along the peninsula nine miles, and went into camp i.n an open pine fc,rest.. On the 18th, they marched thirteen miles on a good road over a natural shell bank, and camped a·t three p.m. on Bayou portage. On the 19th, the unreliable and swampy character of the ground dis closed itself, the firm appearing surface proving, when wet, to be mere. crust, under which was a bottomless quicksand. Thro1,1gh this crust the wagons sank to the hubs. Tht'! head of the column passing rouud '.Bon Seccur 1 s bay, moved only a few miles, and the :i:e.ar-g1.1.:1rd gel.: only a mile and a ha:tf. Large details were set at work cordur<)ying the worst places, On the 20·th, starting at nine a.m., they moved slowly, the. rain falling in torren.ts, and t.he corduroy afloat, and made four miles by night. VEATCH.' s division, having ctcssed from Fort· .Gaines to Navy Cove, the 17th, had now closed up on thEl Third division, and halted two days to let the latter division get in advance, hut wu obliged, ~eantime, to keep heavy details at work on the roads. At six, the morning of the 21st, the rain still pouring, :SENTON's division moved on; but the train could not even. gt?t out of pa:r.k. :&:very ·1:eam seeking an untried path soon got mired~ and wagons were seen hi a:Ll dirCJetions sunk down to the hubs. The poor animals, in their. st't't1ggles to hmu:L the teams, half buried themselves., In thi.s dilemma, long ropes wera made fut t:o the teams, and the soldiers, with cheerfulness and alac:ri.ty~ hauled bol:.h animals and wagons out of the mire with a rush; and it was cmly their speed that saved each team from a gain sinking at every rod., The s.sme h1bo1·.ious efforts WC:lre applied to the field artillery. The corps and di.vision commtmdors wer1 preaent, wading about in the mud to their knees, and the latter himself lending Iii hand at the ropes. In hauling the Twenty-sixth New York baue:r.y through 11 bmd place, where the newly made corduroy had bee·n washed away, the men moved some distance in mud and water waist deep. These labors were being watched by C~nf1de~1te scouts, Only about two miles were made that dcq, The dividon wtm.t into crnmp at thxee p,m, and made some fortifications on t:hei.r right, Thl'IJ blily wH only three m.:Lles distant on the left.