Spanish Fort: Two Women Soldiers Experience One of the Last Engagements of the War

In the spring of 1865, the Confederacy was in its final death throes.  Lee was being run into the ground by Grant in the east.  And then in the west, the Federals had turned their attention to capturing Mobile, which was one of the best fortified cities in the Confederacy.  Admiral David Farragut damned the torpedoes and, on August 5th, 1864, made a run past Forts Gaines and Morgan which guarded the the entrance to Mobile Bay.   This is ironic because Farragut spent his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, about 30 miles from Mobile.  He was born in Tennessee but moved with his family to the Gautier area.  You can pronounce it as either GO-shay or GO-chay.  Both will work.  But some sources say it wasn't Gautier anyway but Pascagoula.  My research points towards Gautier.  There is a Farragut Lake north of Gautier, and there are still descendants of the admiral's in the area.  Matter of fact, I have played tennis with/against one.

At any rate, the capture of the two forts provided the Federals with a base from which to operate inland.  The task of conducting the campaign fell to Major General E.R.S. Canby who led over 30,000 men - and at least one woman - northward on the eastern side of Mobile Bay towards Spanish Fort, which is located directly across the bay from Mobile and was named after a fort constructed there during the American Revolution by Spanish troops under General Bernardo de Galvez.  It was also the site of a battle fought there in 1781 between British troops stationed at Pensacola, Florida who clashed with the Spaniards in an attempt to drive them away.  During the Civil War, the Confederates heavily fortified the area and were well entrenched when the Federals approached them in the spring of 1865.  Confederate Brigadier General Randall Gibson led his small band of less than 2,000 against them.

Spanish Fort
Library of Congress

In the skirmishing leading up to the impending clash, the Federals captured some Confederate soldiers on March 26th, 1865.  A member of the 122nd Illinois Infantry reported that a woman was among them. 

The following day, the two forces engaged each other at Spanish Fort.  And then on April 8th - the day before Lee surrendered at Appomattox - Canby initiated a siege in which he opened with a massive bombardment with 90 guns.  The Confederates responded with half that number.  In the face of withering fire, the 8th Iowa under Colonel James Geddes finally broke through the Confederate left and forced the defenders to evacuate the area during the night.

Battle map of Spanish Fort
The 95th Illinois was part of Moore's brigade

Marker detailing the assault of the 8th Iowa

Marker denoting general location of the origin of
the 8th Iowa's assault.  It's in a subdivision.

Jennie Hodgers
alias "Albert Cashier"

One regiment that was ordered to briefly support the Iowans was the 95th Illinois Infantry, led by Colonel Leander Blanden, who mentioned this order in his official report.  They remained in this position until late in the evening of April 8th when Blanden was ordered back to his own rifle pits.  The 95th then advanced and carried the rifle pits of the Confederates.  Among the soldiers who charged towards Bay Minette with that regiment was Irishwoman Jennie Hodgers, alias "Albert Cashier," who had been serving with the regiment from the beginning.  With the 95th, she had seen action in over 40 battles and skirmishes, and she had lived to see the end of the conflict in Alabama.

After dislodging the Confederates, a weary woman soldier and her comrades returned to camp at 4 a.m. on April 9th.  According to Blanden's report, they had  captured "...two commissioned officers and thirty privates, prisoners of war, and a large amount of artillery." The colonel commended the hard work of the men....and woman....by stating "....they have labored almost unceasingly, by day and night, with pick and spade, as well as with arms, all intent on accomplishing the common object."  The soldiers were rewarded with "...flour, bacon, tobacco, etc. found in a rebel commissary building that had been hastily evacuated." (History of the Ninety-Fifth Regimnet, p. 173-174)

Looking toward the area where the 95th Illinois and
Jennie Hodgers advanced in support of the 8th Iowa

Another view of the area of approach by the 95th Illinois
in support of the 8th Iowa.  There is a Bass Pro Shop back there. 

 The investment of Spanish Fort was complete.  Though the Southerners fled, the small band outnumbered more than ten to one had delayed Canby's advance.

The same day the 95th arrived back in camp, the haggard troops, including Hodgers, were ordered north to Fort Blakeley, approximately five miles away.  Click [HERE] to read an article I previously wrote about that action.

Unsurprisingly, Spanish Fort's location on the water has led to commercial and residential development, which has claimed the battlefield.  Subdivisions and businesses now sit on the land over which soldiers struggled 150 years ago.  There are earthworks still visible, and historical societies have been diligent in placing markers in some areas.  The following are a couple of pictures from a quick one-day trip Mark and I recently took over there the weekend after Thanksgiving.   All photos are his.

Subdivision has claimed the battlefield.  Sign above
can be seen to the right of the picture.

Until next formation...rest.