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Coordinates: 32°19′08″N 85°26′06″W / 32.31889°N 85.43500°W / 32.31889; -85.43500
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{{Short description|United States historic site in Alabama}}
{{Infobox military installation
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Fort Bainbridge
| name = Fort Bainbridge
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| nearest_town = <!-- used in military test site infobox -->
| nearest_town = <!-- used in military test site infobox -->
| country = United States
| country = United States
| image =
| image = Fort_Bainbridge.jpg
| caption =
| caption =
| type = Earthen fort
| type = Earthen fort
| coordinates = {{coord|32|19|08|N|85|26|06|W|}}
| coordinates = {{coord|32|19|08|N|85|26|06|W|display=inline,title}}
| gridref =
| gridref =
| image_map =
| image_map =
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| pushpin_mark =
| pushpin_mark =
| pushpin_marksize =
| pushpin_marksize =
| built = 1813-1814
| built = March 1814
| used = 1813-1814
| used = 1814
| builder = Georgia militia
| builder = North Carolina militia
|demolished=
|demolished=
|condition=
|condition=
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|events=
|events=
}}
}}
'''Fort Bainbridge''' was an earthen fort located along the [[Federal Road (Creek lands)|Federal Road]] on what is today the county line between [[Macon County, Alabama|Macon]] and [[Russell County, Alabama|Russell]] counties in [[Alabama]].<ref name=Harris>{{cite book |title=Dead Towns of Alabama |last=Harris |first=W. Stuart |year=1977 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |page=36 |isbn=0-8173-1125-4 }}</ref>
'''Fort Bainbridge''' was an earthen fort located along the [[Federal Road (Creek lands)|Federal Road]] on what is today the county line between [[Macon County, Alabama|Macon]] and [[Russell County, Alabama|Russell]] counties in [[Alabama]].{{sfn|Harris|1977|pp=36}} Fort Bainbridge was located twenty-five miles west of [[Fort Mitchell Historic Site|Fort Mitchell]].{{sfn|Jackson|1927|pp=23}}


==History==
==History==
===Creek War===
===Creek War===
Fort Bainbridge was named in honor of naval captain [[William Bainbridge]].{{sfn|Bunn|Williams|2008|pp=42}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Brannon |first=Peter A. |date=April 17, 1932 |title=Fort Bainbridge, In Russell |url=https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/voices/id/6796/rec/1 |work=The Montgomery Advertiser |location=Montgomery, Alabama |access-date=September 4, 2021}}</ref> Fort Bainbridge was built in the style of a [[bastion fort]] with eight outcroppings. The bastions were surrounded by a ditch that was filled with pickets and the fort was entered by a [[drawbridge]].{{sfn|Waselkov|Christopher|2012|pp=42}} It was constructed in March 1814 by North Carolina militia under the command of General [[Joseph Graham (North Carolina soldier)|Joseph Graham]] in an effort to protect the supply route from [[Fort Hull]] to Fort Mitchell.{{sfn|Waselkov|Christopher|2012|pp=222}} Captain [[Jett Thomas]] directed the fort's construction.<ref name=Brannon>{{cite news |last=Brannon |first=Peter A. |date=April 17, 1932 |title=Fort Bainbridge, In Russell |url=https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/voices/id/6796/rec/1 |work=The Montgomery Advertiser |location=Montgomery, Alabama |access-date=September 4, 2021}}</ref> Fort Bainbridge allowed supply wagons to travel between Fort Mitchell and Hull in one-day intervals and was garrisoned by 100 to 300 troops.{{sfn|Owsley|2008|pp=60}} Fort Bainbridge was garrisoned by Tennessee militia until July 31, 1814.{{sfn|Jackson|1927|pp=23}}
Fort Bainbridge is believed to be named in honor of naval captain [[William Bainbridge]].<ref name="SF">{{cite book |last=Bunn |first=Mike |date=1 July 2008 |title=Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dF2CQAAQBAJ&q=fort+bainbridge+alabama&pg=PT59 |location=Mount Pleasant, SC |publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781625843814 }}</ref> It was either constructed in late 1813 or early 1814 by Georgia troops under the command of Colonel [[Homer V. Milton]] or General [[John Floyd (Georgia politician)|John Floyd]] in an effort to protect the supply route from [[Fort Hull]] to [[Fort Mitchell, Alabama|Fort Mitchell]].<ref name="SF" /><ref name="BTC" /> Fort Bainbridge allowed supply wagons to travel between Fort Mitchell and Hull in one-day intervals and was garrisoned by 100 to 300 troops.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Frank Lawrence Owsley Jr.|title=Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00061390/00001|date=1 July 2008|publisher=Library Press@UF|isbn=978-1-947372-34-4|pages=60}}</ref> Floyd left his supplies at the fort when he marched westward to fight the [[Battle of Calebee Creek]].<ref name=Harris/> Fort Bainbridge was built in the style of a [[bastion fort]] with eight outcroppings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digtheridge.com/notable-people--places-and-events-page-2.html |title=More Notable People, Places and Events about The Ridge Project Area, The Ridge Neighborhood and Surrounding South Macon Communities |location= Macon Co., AL |publisher=The Ridge |accessdate=5 March 2017}}</ref>


===Postwar===
===Postwar===
Captain Kendall Lewis, along with his [[Muscogee|Creek]] chief father-in law, Big Warrior, operated a tavern as a stagecoach stop about 400 yards west of Fort Bainbridge, which stayed open under the care of Lewis' widow until at least 1836.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genealogytrails.com/ala/taverns.html#Lewis |title=Stage Stops and Taverns of Early Alabama Prior to 1840 |publisher=Genealogy Trails |accessdate=5 March 2017}}</ref> During his return tour, the [[Marquis de Lafayette]] stayed at the Lewis Tavern for his first night in Alabama.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alabamapioneers.com/alabama-threw-many-parties-gen-lafayette/ |title=Alabama threw parties for Lafayette [photographs] and Selma played a prank on the citizens of their town |publisher=Alabama Pioneers |date=3 May 2016 |accessdate=5 March 2017}}</ref> The site of the fort also lies along naturalist [[William Bartram]]'s [[Bartram's Travels|four-year journey]] through the [[Southern United States]], during which he documented the flora, fauna and Native Americans of the area.<ref name="BTC">{{cite book |last=Bartram Trail Conference |date=1979 |title=A Study of the Life of William Bartram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgYrifxa5_oC&q=fort+bainbridge+alabama&pg=PA134 |location=Montgomery, AL |publisher=The Bartram Trail Conference |page=134}}</ref> The fort site was later used as a [[plantation]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braund |first1=Kathryn |last2=Waselkov |first2=Gregory |last3=Christopher |first3=Raven |title=The Old Federal Road in Alabama |date=2019 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |isbn=978-0-8173-5930-0 |page=100}}</ref>
In 1820 on his North American tour, [[Adam Hodgson]] described Fort Bainbridge as being a "small stockaded mound".<ref name=Brannon/> Captain Kendall Lewis (who commanded [[Benjamin Hawkins]]' scouts), along with his [[Muscogee|Creek]] chief father-in law, Big Warrior, operated a tavern as a stagecoach stop about 400 yards west of Fort Bainbridge, which stayed open under the care of Lewis' widow until at least 1836.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genealogytrails.com/ala/taverns.html#Lewis |title=Stage Stops and Taverns of Early Alabama Prior to 1840 |publisher=Genealogy Trails |accessdate=5 March 2017}}</ref> During his return tour, the [[Marquis de Lafayette]] stayed at the Lewis Tavern for his first night in Alabama.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alabamapioneers.com/alabama-threw-many-parties-gen-lafayette/ |title=Alabama threw parties for Lafayette [photographs] and Selma played a prank on the citizens of their town |publisher=Alabama Pioneers |date=3 May 2016 |accessdate=5 March 2017}}</ref> [[Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1792–1862)|Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]] stayed at the Lewis Tavern on his 1826 travels through North America.{{sfn|Waselkov|Christopher|2012|pp=204}} The site of the fort also lies along naturalist [[William Bartram]]'s [[Bartram's Travels|four-year journey]] through the [[Southern United States]], during which he documented the flora, fauna and Native Americans of the area.{{sfn|Bartram Trail Conference|1979|pp=134}} The fort site was later used as a [[plantation]].{{sfn|Braund|Waselkov|Christopher|2019|pp=100}}
[[File:Fort Bainbridge and Decatur.jpg|thumb|Fort Bainbridge (located in the center) as portrayed in [[Henry Schenck Tanner]]'s 1830 ''The Traveler's Pocket Map of Alabama''.]]


===Present===
===Present===
Today, it remains unmarked and its legacy lies in a small unincorporated community, [[Boromville, Alabama|Boromville]], that developed from it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digtheridge.com/location.html |title=The Ridge Facts and Tidbits |location=Macon Co., AL |publisher=The Ridge |accessdate=5 March 2017}}</ref> Though unmarked, the location is known and the area has been damaged by relic hunters.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tohopeka: Rethinking the Creek War & the War of 1812 |last=Braund |first=Kathryn E. Holland |year=2012 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |page=249 |isbn=978-0-8173-5711-5 }}</ref>
Today, it remains unmarked and its legacy lies in a small unincorporated community, [[Boromville, Alabama|Boromville]], that developed from it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digtheridge.com/ |title=Highlights |location= |publisher=The Ridge Macon County Archaeology Project |accessdate=2 May 2021}}</ref> Though unmarked, the location is known and the area has been damaged by relic hunters.{{sfn|Braund|2012|pp=249}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Bartram Trail Conference |date=1979 |title=A Study of the Life of William Bartram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgYrifxa5_oC&q=fort+bainbridge+alabama&pg=PA134 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |publisher=The Bartram Trail Conference |page=}}
* {{cite book |last1=Braund |first1=Kathryn |last2=Waselkov |first2=Gregory |last3=Christopher |first3=Raven |title=The Old Federal Road in Alabama |date=2019 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |isbn=978-0-8173-5930-0 |page=}}
* {{cite book |title=Tohopeka: Rethinking the Creek War & the War of 1812 |last=Braund |first=Kathryn E. Holland |year=2012 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |page= |isbn=978-0-8173-5711-5 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Bunn |first1=Mike |last2=Williams |first2=Clay |title=Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dF2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT40|date=2008|publisher=The History Press |location=Charleston, South Caroline |isbn=978-1-62584-381-4|pages=}}
* {{cite book |title=Dead Towns of Alabama |last=Harris |first=W. Stuart |year=1977 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |page= |isbn=0-8173-1125-4 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Andrew |editor-last=Bassett |editor-first=John Spencer |editor-link=John Spencer Bassett |title=Correspondence of Andrew Jackson |year=1927 |orig-date=Composed 31 July 1814|publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington |location=Washington, D.C. |volume=2 |page=}}
* {{cite book|last=Owsley |first=Frank Lawrence |title=Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00061390/00001|date=2008|publisher=Library Press@UF |location=Gainesville, Florida |isbn=978-1-947372-34-4|pages=}}
* {{cite tech report |last1=Waselkov |first1=Gregory |last2=Christopher |first2=Raven |title=Archaeological Survey of the Old Federal Road in Alabama |number= |institution=Alabama Department of Transportation |date=April 2012 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259398790_Archaeological_Survey_of_the_Old_Federal_Road_in_Alabama_Public_Version_-_Site_Locations_Redacted |quote=Submitted by the Center for Archaeological Studies University of South Alabama. |year=}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/17-Sketch-of-Fort-Bainbridge-from-General-Joseph-Graham-papers-courtesy-of-the-North_fig154_259398790 Sketch of Fort Bainbridge from General Joseph Graham Papers]
*[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/17-Sketch-of-Fort-Bainbridge-from-General-Joseph-Graham-papers-courtesy-of-the-North_fig154_259398790 Detailed sketch of Fort Bainbridge from General Joseph Graham Papers]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Bainbridge}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Bainbridge}}

Latest revision as of 19:49, 16 September 2023

Fort Bainbridge
Boromville, Alabama in United States
Fort Bainbridge is located in Alabama
Fort Bainbridge
Fort Bainbridge
Fort Bainbridge is located in the United States
Fort Bainbridge
Fort Bainbridge
Coordinates32°19′08″N 85°26′06″W / 32.31889°N 85.43500°W / 32.31889; -85.43500
TypeEarthen fort
Site information
OwnerPrivate
Controlled byPrivate
Open to
the public		No
Site history
BuiltMarch 1814
Built byNorth Carolina militia
In use1814
Battles/warsCreek War

Fort Bainbridge was an earthen fort located along the Federal Road on what is today the county line between Macon and Russell counties in Alabama.[1] Fort Bainbridge was located twenty-five miles west of Fort Mitchell.[2]

History

[edit]

Creek War

[edit]

Fort Bainbridge was named in honor of naval captain William Bainbridge.[3][4] Fort Bainbridge was built in the style of a bastion fort with eight outcroppings. The bastions were surrounded by a ditch that was filled with pickets and the fort was entered by a drawbridge.[5] It was constructed in March 1814 by North Carolina militia under the command of General Joseph Graham in an effort to protect the supply route from Fort Hull to Fort Mitchell.[6] Captain Jett Thomas directed the fort's construction.[7] Fort Bainbridge allowed supply wagons to travel between Fort Mitchell and Hull in one-day intervals and was garrisoned by 100 to 300 troops.[8] Fort Bainbridge was garrisoned by Tennessee militia until July 31, 1814.[2]

Postwar

[edit]

In 1820 on his North American tour, Adam Hodgson described Fort Bainbridge as being a "small stockaded mound".[7] Captain Kendall Lewis (who commanded Benjamin Hawkins' scouts), along with his Creek chief father-in law, Big Warrior, operated a tavern as a stagecoach stop about 400 yards west of Fort Bainbridge, which stayed open under the care of Lewis' widow until at least 1836.[9] During his return tour, the Marquis de Lafayette stayed at the Lewis Tavern for his first night in Alabama.[10] Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach stayed at the Lewis Tavern on his 1826 travels through North America.[11] The site of the fort also lies along naturalist William Bartram's four-year journey through the Southern United States, during which he documented the flora, fauna and Native Americans of the area.[12] The fort site was later used as a plantation.[13]

Fort Bainbridge (located in the center) as portrayed in Henry Schenck Tanner's 1830 The Traveler's Pocket Map of Alabama.

Present

[edit]

Today, it remains unmarked and its legacy lies in a small unincorporated community, Boromville, that developed from it.[14] Though unmarked, the location is known and the area has been damaged by relic hunters.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Harris 1977, pp. 36.
  2. ^ a b Jackson 1927, pp. 23.
  3. ^ Bunn & Williams 2008, pp. 42.
  4. ^ Brannon, Peter A. (April 17, 1932). "Fort Bainbridge, In Russell". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Waselkov & Christopher 2012, pp. 42.
  6. ^ Waselkov & Christopher 2012, pp. 222.
  7. ^ a b Brannon, Peter A. (April 17, 1932). "Fort Bainbridge, In Russell". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  8. ^ Owsley 2008, pp. 60.
  9. ^ "Stage Stops and Taverns of Early Alabama Prior to 1840". Genealogy Trails. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Alabama threw parties for Lafayette [photographs] and Selma played a prank on the citizens of their town". Alabama Pioneers. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  11. ^ Waselkov & Christopher 2012, pp. 204.
  12. ^ Bartram Trail Conference 1979, pp. 134.
  13. ^ Braund, Waselkov & Christopher 2019, pp. 100.
  14. ^ "Highlights". The Ridge Macon County Archaeology Project. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  15. ^ Braund 2012, pp. 249.

Sources

[edit]
[edit]
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