Coastal and River Forts

This is a list of coastal and river forts that were of naval significance during the Civil War.

  • Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Beach, Florida. On Amelia Island, meant to protect the southern coast of Georgia. Construction began in 1847 and was not finished when the Civil War started. The fort was abandoned, and Union troops occupied it in March 1862. Because the fort had not been captured in a battle, it was seized undamaged. Hence, the fort today still looks quite well preserved.
  • My Fort Clinch YouTube Video
  • Fort Delaware State Park, Delaware City, DE. On the Delaware River. Used as a Union prisoner of war facility during the Civil War
  • Fort Donelson National Battlefield, National Park Service. On the Cumberland River near Dover, TN. Its capture by Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant made him famous as “unconditional surrender” Grant.
  • My Fort Donelson YouTube Video
  • Fort Fisher State Historic Site, North Carolina. Guarded the approach to Wilmington, NC, the last port still open to blockade runners. The capture of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865 closed the port of Wilmington.
  • The Significance of Fort Fisher.
  • Fort Gaines. On Dauphin Island, Alabama. Important fort during the Battle of Mobile Bay.
  • Fort Jackson. It is located 70 miles south of New Orleans and 40 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River on the western side of the river. David Farragut drove his ocean-going ships past this fort in April 1862 to capture New Orleans. Now part of a park with a nearby museum and welcome center. Interior of fort is not open to the public.
  • Fort Jefferson lies 68 miles due west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. Now part of Dry Tortugas National Park. It was used as a military prisoner during the Civil War. Dr. Samuel Mudd, who operated on John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Lincoln, was imprisoned at this fort.
  • Fort Massachusetts is located on Ship Island about ten miles off the coast of Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi. Initially seized by the Confederates at the beginning of the Civil War, it was reoccupied by Union forces in 1862 and used as ship supply and repair depot for the Union fleet. Now part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
  • Fort McAllister State Park. Richmond Hill, Georgia. On the Ogeechee River south of Savannah. Features the best-preserved Confederate earthwork fortifications of the Civil War. The fort could not be reduced by naval bombardment in 1863; any damage was repaired overnight with shovels. The fort was quickly captured in 1864 by an infantry assault.
  • Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.
  • The Seige of Fort Macon: March 23 – April 26, 1862.
  • Fort Monroe. Located on Old Point Comfort on the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Also referred to, at the time, as Fortress Monroe or simply Point Comfort. The fort stayed in Union hands throughout the Civil War. It had a crucial position on the important Hampton Roads, providing facilities for Union ships and a staging area for McClellan’s 1862 Peninsula Campaign.
  • Fort Morgan Historic Site. On Mobile Point and Mobile Bay. Important fort during the Battle of Mobile Bay.
  • Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island to protect Charleston Harbor. The Union garrison abandoned the fort in December 1860 and moved to Fort Sumter.
  • Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island off Pensacola, Florida. It was one of the few forts in the South that remained in Union hands throughout the Civil War.
  • Fort Pulaski National Monument, Savannah, Georgia. The fort surrendered to Union forces on April 11, 1862 after a relentless and accurate artillery bombardment. The battle proved brick forts were no longer a match for rifled cannons.
  • My Fort Pulaski YouTube Video
  • Fort St. Philip. Located across from Fort Jackson on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. Now privately owned and in bad condition and subject to flooding.
  • Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Site, Charleston, South Carolina. Where the Civil War began on April 12, 1861.
  • Fort Sumter is built on an artificial island in Charleston Harbor.
  • Fort Wagner, Charleston, South Carolina. On Morris Island. It covered the southern approaches to the city. The original site is now offshore. Two direct Union infantry assaults were conducted on July 11 and July 18, 1863. Both failed. But the second attack was led by the famous black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. This attack was featured in the 1989 movie Glory. The Confederates abandoned the fort on the night of September 6-7, 1863 because the defenders thought another expected attack would be successful.
  • Fort Wool. Built on an artificial island called the Rip Raps in the mouth of Hampton Roads. Originally called Fort Calhoun after the famous South Carolinian senator, it was renamed on March 18, 1862 Fort Wool after Major General John Wool, the commander of Fort Monroe at the time of the Virginia vs Monitor battle.