{"id":3814,"date":"2015-03-24T10:41:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T16:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/?p=3232"},"modified":"2015-03-24T10:41:21","modified_gmt":"2015-03-24T16:41:21","slug":"guardians-of-mobile-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/2015\/03\/24\/guardians-of-mobile-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians of Mobile Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_3235\" style=\"width: 226px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/u0004_0000003_0000003_0002_2048.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3235\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3235\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/u0004_0000003_0000003_0002_2048-216x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sheet music, Sounds from Mobile Bay\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">First page of music, Sounds from Mobile Bay, 1860<\/p><\/div>\n<p>During the Civil War, Mobile Bay was protected by not one but two fortifications:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to the west &#8212;\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/dauphinisland.org\/fort-gaines\/\">Fort Gaines<\/a>, on Dauphin Island<\/li>\n<li>to the east &#8212;\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fort-morgan.org\/history\/\">Fort Morgan<\/a>, down the beach from Gulf Shores<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From these strategic points, Confederate soldiers could prevent enemy ships from coming into the bay by firing upon them. At the very least, they could keep an eye on traffic coming into the harbor.<\/p>\n<p>Though the forts\u00a0are no longer being used, they are still standing. I&#8217;ve been to Fort Gaines before, and on a recent trip to the gulf coast, I visited Fort Morgan, its slightly more impressive brother. Below, I&#8217;ll share some images from that trip (and others from the present day) as well as photographs and documents from our archive that\u00a0give you a sense of each fort and why it was important to the cause.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/mobile-bay-forts.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3237\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/mobile-bay-forts.png\" alt=\"Map of Mobile Bay\" width=\"551\" height=\"539\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Fort Gaines<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_3270\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortGaines2002_byEdibobb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3270\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3270\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortGaines2002_byEdibobb-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of Fort Gaines, 2002, by Edibobb\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3270\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aerial view of Fort Gaines, 2002, by Edibobb<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Fort Gaines was built in the wake of the war of 1812 and went through Confederate hands before returning to possession by the U.S. military. (Learn more about its history <a href=\"http:\/\/dauphinisland.org\/fort-gaines\/\">here<\/a>, where you can find a video and an interactive map.)<\/p>\n<p>Fort Gaines is now a museum, although the fortifications are not as well preserved as Fort Morgan&#8217;s. The island, however, is a thriving little beach community. Here are a couple of\u00a0images from the island\u00a0in 1940:<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-3814 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/u0004_0000002_5830000_0001_2048_part\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"246\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/12\/u0004_0000002_5830000_0001_2048_part-300x246.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/12\/u0004_0000002_5830000_0001_2048_part-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/12\/u0004_0000002_5830000_0001_2048_part-768x629.jpg 768w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/12\/u0004_0000002_5830000_0001_2048_part.jpg 825w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/u0001_2007001_0003040\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/01\/u0001_2007001_0003040-300x219.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/01\/u0001_2007001_0003040-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/01\/u0001_2007001_0003040-768x560.jpg 768w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/01\/u0001_2007001_0003040-1024x747.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/01\/u0001_2007001_0003040.jpg 1872w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a view from the island in the present day:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3258\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/DauphinIsland2010_byJeffreyReed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3258\" class=\"wp-image-3258 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/DauphinIsland2010_byJeffreyReed-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"View from Dauphin Island, looking east toward Fort Morgan, 2010, by Jeffrey Reed\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">View from Dauphin Island, looking east toward Fort Morgan, 2010, by Jeffrey Reed<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Fort Morgan<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_3260\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortMorgan2002_byEdibobb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3260\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3260\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortMorgan2002_byEdibobb-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of Fort Morgan, 2002, by Edibobb\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3260\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aerial view of Fort Morgan, 2002, by Edibobb<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Like its brother across the bay, Fort Morgan was constructed after the war of 1812, taken over by the Confederate Army in at the outset of the Civil War, and\u00a0retaken\u00a0by the Yankees near the end. After the war, it was used for various purposes by the U.S. Army and Navy. (You can read more about its history\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fort-morgan.org\/history\/\">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-3814 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/chesterfield3\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/Chesterfield3-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-3248\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-3248'>\n\t\t\t\tChesterfield Cigarettes, February 1943\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/cameron\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/07\/Cameron-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/redcross\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/redcross-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-3249\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-3249'>\n\t\t\t\tRed Cross ad featuring Bob Hope, March 1945\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Fort Morgan guards the east side of Mobile Bay. Here are some images from our collections showing this area\u00a0in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-3814 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/chesterfield2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"213\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/chesterfield2-213x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-3-3246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/chesterfield2-213x300.jpg 213w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/chesterfield2-768x1081.jpg 768w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/chesterfield2-727x1024.jpg 727w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/chesterfield2.jpg 1356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-3-3246'>\n\t\t\t\tChesterfield Cigarettes, September 1942\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/uso-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/USO1-216x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-3-3244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/USO1-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/USO1-768x1066.jpg 768w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/USO1-738x1024.jpg 738w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/USO1.jpg 1391w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-3-3244'>\n\t\t\t\tUnited Service Organization, October 1941\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Today, Fort Morgan is a state park. You can visit the museum to\u00a0learn more about how the fort operated, as well as explore the ruins\u00a0and\u00a0take in the nature around them, including a beach on the bay and a fishing pier.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-4' class='gallery galleryid-3814 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/landgrant\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LandGrant-300x189.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LandGrant-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LandGrant-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LandGrant-1024x647.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LandGrant.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/1-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"287\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/1-287x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/1-287x300.png 287w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/1.png 438w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>War<\/h2>\n<p>In 1861, early in the Civil War, Mobile author\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/purl.lib.ua.edu\/19724\">Augusta Evans Wilson wrote to her friend, Rachel<\/a>, about the Confederate possession of the fort and what it meant to her family and community:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You have doubtless heard from the papers of our taking our Forts &amp; Arsenal. By far the most important of these is Fort Morgan, situated 30 (thirty) miles below Mobile, and commanding the entrance to our harbor. The fortifications are very strong, and with the addition of a few <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbiad\">Columbiads <\/a>which are daily expected, will be almost impregnable. &#8230; It is an anxious, terrible time &#8211; ! My Father and both my Brothers belong to the garrison of Fort Morgan and you can readily imagine, how restless their constant exposure to attack renders me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Augusta and her friends helped out the fort in a very real way:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Immediately after its occupation by Alabama troops, the commander informed us that a number of Sand Bags, for the ramparts were needed; and also flannel charges for the cannon. We, ladies went to work at once, and have finished over 9000 Bags. this has kept me so busily engaged, that I have had no time for anything else; not even to write to you my dear friend.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_3243\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortMorganCanon2015.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3243\" class=\"wp-image-3243 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortMorganCanon2015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Cannon at Fort Morgan, 2015\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3243\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cannon at Fort Morgan, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n<p>At some point in the fort&#8217;s\u00a0life, soldiers used\u00a0this\u00a0small oven to heat cannon balls, which when fired into passing ships would set them ablaze!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3251\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortMorganOven2015.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3251\" class=\"wp-image-3251 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/FortMorganOven2015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Oven for heating cannon balls, Fort Morgan, 2015\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3251\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oven for heating cannon balls, Fort Morgan, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Early on in the war, things were probably\u00a0going smoothly for the troops stationed on Mobile bay. Isaac Shelby, a commissary officer for the Military Department of the Gulf, wrote this about <a href=\"http:\/\/purl.lib.ua.edu\/20774\">the state of supplies at both forts<\/a> in the first half of 1862:<\/p>\n<p><span title=\"I found the Commissariat of the Dept save and except  that of the Garrisons at Forts Morgan &amp; Gaines entirely empty of meat &amp; nearly exhausted of breadstuff.\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/u0003_0001662_0000001_0001_2048.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3247 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/u0003_0001662_0000001_0001_2048-1024x192.jpg\" alt=\"Excerpt from letter by Confederate commissary officer, 1862\" width=\"640\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Despite a promising\u00a0start, the forts, as part of the Confederate holdings, fared just as poorly as the rest of the Confederacy as the war went on. Both\u00a0were retaken in the Battle of Mobile Bay, in August 1864. Our sister blog, Cool@Hoole, has an excellent <a href=\"\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/2014\/08\/04\/battle-of-mobile-bay-part-i\/\">series of posts<\/a> on this battle, featuring items one can only find in the physical collections at Hoole Library.<\/p>\n<p>Among digitized items about the battle, we have\u00a0this letter of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/purl.lib.ua.edu\/32181\">August 14, 1864<\/a>.\u00a0Valentine Bruner, a Union soldier from Maryland, tells his parents of the recent surrender of Gaines and impending surrender of Morgan:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>First we have been dismounted and are acting as infantry\u00a0we started from New orleans for Mobile the 1st of Aug. our land forces\u00a0entirely surrounding the Forts and on the fifth Fort Powell was evacuated and on the 7th Fort Gaines surrendered with 700 hundred prisoners. oh you cannot imagine how proud you feel to see 700 men march out in front of you and stack their arms to you. &#8230;\u00a0the same plan we tried at Forts Powell and gaines we are now trying on Fort Morgan the [?] are now as I write belching out their 15teen inch shell all over them It mus fall but I cannot say how long it will take&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In 1865, some months after both forts had fallen, Mobile finally surrendered. George S. Smith, part of a Union regiment from Ohio, marked the occasion (and the end of the war)\u00a0in his diary:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3253\" style=\"width: 628px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/u0003_0001607_0000001_0013_2048.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3253\" class=\"wp-image-3253 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/digitalservices\/files\/2015\/03\/u0003_0001607_0000001_0013_2048-618x1024.jpg\" alt=\"George S. Smith Civil War diary, page 13\" width=\"618\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3253\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Entries for April 11-16, 1865<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Thankfully, Mobile survived its 19th century hardships, including the tumult of war, a terrible explosion (May 1865), Reconstruction (through 1874), and economic depression. Now, it&#8217;s the third largest city in the state, and its bay still\u00a0invites ships and beachgoers alike.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-5' class='gallery galleryid-3814 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/offset_rotation_45_degrees\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/02\/offset_rotation_45_degrees-300x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/02\/offset_rotation_45_degrees-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/02\/offset_rotation_45_degrees-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2013\/02\/offset_rotation_45_degrees.png 647w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/lifesavers\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LifeSavers-212x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-5-3234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LifeSavers-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/files\/2012\/06\/LifeSavers.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-5-3234'>\n\t\t\t\tLife Savers, 1940\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the Civil War, Mobile Bay was protected by not one but two fortifications: to the west &#8212;\u00a0Fort Gaines, on Dauphin Island to the east &#8212;\u00a0Fort Morgan, down the beach from Gulf Shores From these strategic points, Confederate soldiers could &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.ua.edu\/blogs\/coolathoole\/2015\/03\/24\/guardians-of-mobile-bay\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3750,3700,3718,5461,5117],"tags":[5468,5464,5463,5111,3717,3686],"class_list":["post-3814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-civil-war","category-cool-collections","category-photographs","category-sheet-music-format","category-southern-history","tag-1860s","tag-1900-1909","tag-1910s","tag-1940s","tag-deep-south","tag-military-service-rewards"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - 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