Fort Bowyer facts for kids

Fort Bowyer was an important fort built by the United States Army in 1813. It was made of earth and wood and stood near the entrance of Mobile Bay in what is now Baldwin County, Alabama. At the time, this area was part of the Mississippi Territory. During the War of 1812, the British attacked Fort Bowyer two times.

The first attack happened in September 1814. The British failed to capture the fort, which made them change their plans and attack New Orleans instead. The second attack on Fort Bowyer took place in February 1815. This time, the British won. However, this battle happened after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, ending the war. The news just hadn't reached America yet. Later, between 1819 and 1834, a new stone fort called Fort Morgan was built on the same spot.

Building Fort Bowyer

Fort Bowyer, mistakenly showing HMS Anaconda instead of HMS Childers

Before the War of 1812, Mobile was controlled by Spain. But after the war began, the U.S. government said it was American land. When Spanish forces left Mobile in April 1813, the Americans built a small fort on Mobile Point.

In June 1813, Colonel John Bowyer finished building the fort. It had 14 cannons and was made from sand and logs. The fort was shaped like a fan, with its curved side facing the ship channel into Mobile Bay. On the land side, it had a strong point with two smaller strong points on its sides. The main goal of Fort Bowyer was to stop any British invasion at this important spot on the Gulf Coast. The fort controlled the narrow entrance to Mobile Bay. About a year after it was built, the Americans left the fort. But in August 1814, Major William Lawrence and 160 soldiers from the 2nd U.S. Infantry returned to defend it.

First Battle of Fort Bowyer

First Battle of Fort Bowyer
Part of War of 1812
Date September 14–16, 1814 Location Fort Bowyer, Mississippi Territory Result American victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	United States
Commanders and leaders
William Percy	William Lawrence
Strength
British: 60 Royal Marines, 1 artillery piece, 2 sixth-rates, 2 brig-sloops Native Americans: ~60 warriors Total: ~120 troops	160 infantry, 6–14 artillery pieces (disputed), Fort Bowyer
Casualties and losses
34 killed, 35 wounded 1 sixth-rate scuttled, 1 brig-sloop severely damaged	4 killed, 5+ wounded

The First Battle of Fort Bowyer happened in mid-September 1814. Captain William Percy of the British Navy decided to attack the fort. He wanted to capture it before a bigger attack on Mobile. He thought Fort Bowyer was just a small, weak fort with a few cannons.

Why the British Attacked

Capturing Fort Bowyer would allow the British to move on to Mobile. This would help them block trade in Louisiana. From Mobile, the British could also travel overland to Natchez. This would cut off New Orleans from the northern parts of the country.

Captain Percy brought four British warships: HMS Hermes (22 guns), HMS Sophie (18 guns), HMS Carron (20 guns), and HMS Childers (18 guns). Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls volunteered to lead a land force as a distraction.

On the morning of September 12, Nicolls landed with 60 Royal Marines and about 60 Native American warriors. They also had a large cannon called a howitzer. They landed about 9 miles east of the fort. This British land force then marched towards the fort, defended by Major Lawrence and his 160 men.

Another 60 Native American warriors were sent to secure a pass 27 miles east of the fort. However, they did not take part in the actual battle.

The American forces inside Fort Bowyer were led by Major William Lawrence. They had 160 soldiers and between 6 and 14 cannons.

The Battle Begins

The battle started on September 14 with the Americans fighting off the British land attack. Nicolls, who was sick, watched from the ship Hermes. On September 15, after the winds calmed down, Percy sailed his four ships across the sandbar. The fort started firing its cannons at 3:20 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., Hermes began firing back. The fort and Hermes were very close, within musket-shot range. At 3:40 p.m., Sophie also started firing. The other two British ships could not get into a good firing position. During the battle, a piece of wood injured Nicolls in the eye.

The British naval attack was not successful. After two hours of firing without much effect, Hermes got stuck on the seabed. It was helpless under the fort's cannons. Boats from Sophie rescued the crew of Hermes, and Percy set his ship on fire. Hermes later exploded when the fire reached its gunpowder storage. The remaining British ships anchored for the night about a mile and a half from the fort.

What Happened Next

The next morning, the British ships sailed away. Hermes lost 17 men killed and 24 wounded. Sophie had 10 men killed and 12 wounded. Carron had 1 man killed and 5 wounded. In total, including a marine killed on land, the British lost 34 men killed and 35 wounded in both the land and sea attacks. The Americans, however, lost only four men killed and five or more wounded. Captain Percy was later judged by a military court for losing Hermes, but the court decided his attack was justified.

Because they lost at Fort Bowyer, the British decided to attack New Orleans instead. But after their defeat at the Battle of New Orleans, the British decided to try again to capture Mobile.

Second Battle of Fort Bowyer

Second Battle of Fort Bowyer
Part of War of 1812
Date February 7–12, 1815 Location Fort Bowyer, Mississippi Territory Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	United States
Commanders and leaders
John Lambert	William T. Lawrence  (POW)
Strength
1,400 infantry, 11 artillery pieces, 3 (estimated) Rocket frames	375 infantry, 22 artillery pieces, Fort Bowyer
Casualties and losses
13 killed, 18 wounded	1 killed, 10 wounded, 374 captured.

The Second Battle of Fort Bowyer was the first step in a new British plan to attack Mobile. It turned out to be the very last land battle between British and American forces in the War of 1812.

Preparing for the Attack

After the British failed to capture Fort Bowyer in September 1814, American General Andrew Jackson knew the fort was very important. He ordered it to be made stronger. Now, the fort had 370 officers and men from the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Jackson famously said, "ten thousand men cannot take it." But Major Lawrence, who commanded the fort, felt his position was risky. This was because the land side of the fort was not well protected.

After their defeat at New Orleans, Admiral Cochrane and General John Lambert (who replaced General Pakenham) received many more soldiers. They then went back to their original plan, which was to capture Mobile first.

The British soldiers came from regiments that had fought at New Orleans. The naval forces were led by Captain T.R. Ricketts. Captain Spencer, who had been on the Carron in the first battle, was also there. British bomb ships, HMS Aetna and HMS Meteor, were present during the siege in February 1815.

When the British finally captured the fort, they found it had many cannons: three large 32-pounders, eight 24-pounders, six 12-pounders, five 9-pounders, a mortar, and a howitzer. However, Fort Bowyer's biggest weakness was that it could be easily attacked from the land side.

The Final Battle

The British attack began with them surrounding Fort Bowyer. On February 8, General Lambert landed about 1,000 men seven miles east of the fort. The Royal Engineer Colonel Burgoyne studied the fort and decided how to attack it. That night, British soldiers dug a trench 100 yards long. They lost 10-12 men while digging. In the morning, soldiers occupied the trench and fired their muskets at the fort, making it hard for the Americans to shoot back effectively.

The next night, the trench was made longer. The night after that, four cannon batteries were finished. The British brought four 18-pounder cannons, two 8-inch howitzers, and five mortars. They also had a group of Royal Marines with several Congreve rocket launchers and many rockets. While building their siege works, the British faced constant American fire and suffered some casualties, but they kept going. Once their cannons were in place, the British were ready to launch a powerful artillery attack on the fort.

On February 12, after a heavy cannon attack, Lambert sent a message asking the fort to surrender. He told Major Lawrence to accept the British terms to avoid unnecessary deaths. Lawrence understood that the fort was very weak. It had no protected rooms for the gunpowder or the wounded soldiers. It also lacked strong walls facing the land, which would cost many lives to defend. Lawrence sadly surrendered to the British after resisting for five days. Some British accounts say that Lambert asked the fort to surrender on February 11, before they even started firing. After talks, it was agreed that the Americans would leave as prisoners of war the next morning. The fort's gate was given to British control on February 11, according to a British historian.

After the Battle

With Mobile Bay now controlled by British warships and Fort Bowyer in British hands, the remaining American forces in the area quickly went to Mobile. They prepared for the expected attack there. With Fort Bowyer captured, Admiral Cochrane and General Lambert's next step was to take Mobile.

However, all British plans were canceled when HMS Brazen arrived on February 13. This ship brought the news that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed on Christmas Eve, ending the war. When news of the treaty's official approval arrived, the British left.

The final transfer of Mobile from the Spanish Empire to the United States was the only permanent change of land during the War of 1812.

Fort Bowyer later returned to U.S. control. The War Department eventually replaced it with the much stronger Fort Morgan.

Today, two active battalions of the U.S. Army (1-1 Inf and 2-1 Inf) continue the history of parts of the old 2nd Infantry. These were the soldiers who were at Fort Bowyer in both 1814 and 1815.

See also

• List of conflicts in the United States