- Joined
- Oct 17, 2012
- Location
- Middle Tennessee
ALABAMA LEGENDS
Fort Gaines - Civil War Era Post
Located on the eastern tip of Dauphin Island, off the Gulf coast of Alabama, stand the well-preserved ramparts of Fort Gaines which have guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay for more than 150 years.
For centuries before, the island had been popular with Native Americans who went there to fish, hunt and gather oysters and other shellfish that grew in profusion in Mobile bay. Traces of their presence can still be seen today at Shell Mound Park on the Island’s north shore.
Italian explorer Amerieus Vespucius is said to have visited this little Island in 1497. Then the Spanish discovered the island which they named Isle de Labe (Island of the Ridge) from the large sand dunes that extend along its southern shores. In 1699 the French gained possession and called it the Isle de Massacre because they found so many skeletons scattered on the beach that they thought a massacre had taken place there. The French established a settlement on the island that was raided by pirates in 1711, but survived.
More: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/al-fortgaines.html
Fort Gaines - Civil War Era Post
For centuries before, the island had been popular with Native Americans who went there to fish, hunt and gather oysters and other shellfish that grew in profusion in Mobile bay. Traces of their presence can still be seen today at Shell Mound Park on the Island’s north shore.
Italian explorer Amerieus Vespucius is said to have visited this little Island in 1497. Then the Spanish discovered the island which they named Isle de Labe (Island of the Ridge) from the large sand dunes that extend along its southern shores. In 1699 the French gained possession and called it the Isle de Massacre because they found so many skeletons scattered on the beach that they thought a massacre had taken place there. The French established a settlement on the island that was raided by pirates in 1711, but survived.
More: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/al-fortgaines.html