Battle of Fort Bowyer
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Battle of Fort Bowyer
| American South |
|---|
| Creek War – Pensacola – New Orleans – Fort Bowyer |
Move to Engagement
Following their catastrophic defeat at the Battle of New Orleans, and unaware that the peace Treaty of Ghent had already been signed (though not yet ratified), British forces under Gen. John Lambert decided to launch a new assault, on Mobile, Alabama.The first target of the assault would be the wooden Fort Bowyer situated at the mouth of Mobile Bay. The American Colonel, Andrew Jackson, having recognised its strategic importance, had strengthened the Fort and garrisoned it with 370 officers and men proclaiming "ten thousand men cannot take it".
The battle
Lambert landed a force of around 1,000 men east of the fort to block any reinforcements by land. Judging that they would need to set up a line of artillery to successfully reduce the fort, the British moved to within 200 yards of the fort and began to set up their siege works.While setting up their artillery lines, the British forces endured constant American fire, and took several casualties, but, undeterred, continued their work. With the siege works completed, the British forces were now ready to launch a devastating assault on the vulnerable wooden fort.
On February 12 Lambert, under a flag of truce, called on the fort to surrender, and the American commander, Lawrence, in order to stop what would be nothing more than the needless slaughter of his men, accepted British terms and handed the fort over to British control.
Aftermath
With Mobile Bay secured with British warships and Fort Bowyer now under British control, remaining American forces in the region hurried to Mobile to prepare for the expected onslaught there. However, on February 13, a British dispatch ship arrived off Mobile Bay with notice of the signing of the peace treaty.Fort Bowyer was subsequently returned to U.S. control, and would later be replaced with the more heavily fortified Fort Morgan.
External links
- http://www.mywarof1812.com/battles/150211.htm
- http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/hsmith/autobiography/harry-23.html
- http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3880/is_199901/ai_n8851585/pg_3
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.