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Fort Bowyer was a short-lived earthen and stockade fortification that the United States Army erected in 1813 on Mobile Point, near the mouth of Mobile Bay in what is now Baldwin County, Alabama, but then was part of the Mississippi Territory. The British twice attacked the fort during the War of 1812.
The first attack took place in September 1814; unsuccessful, it led to the British changing their strategy and attacking New Orleans. The second attack, following the Battle of New Orleans, was successful. It took place in February 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed but before the news had reached that part of America.Heidler (2004), p.115. Between 1819 and 1834 the United States built a new masonry fortification, Fort Morgan, on the site of Fort Bowyer.
In June 1813, Colonel John Bowyer completed the fort. The fort, which initially had 14 guns, was made of sand and logs and fan-shaped, with the curved face facing the ship channel into Mobile Bay. On the landward side there was a bastion, flanked by two demi-bastions.England et al. (2000), p.10. The fort's purpose was to impede any British invasion at this point on the Gulf Coast, as the fort commanded the narrow entrance to Mobile Bay.Heidler (2004), p.59. About a year after the fort's construction, the Americans abandoned it, but in August 1814, Major William Lawrence and 160 men from the 2nd U.S. Infantry re-garrisoned it.
Percy took with him (22 guns), (18 guns), (20 guns; Captain Robert Cavendish Spencer), and a fourth vessel, (18 guns; Capt. Umfreville).Remini (2001), pp. 19–20. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls volunteered to proceed with diversionary forces on land.
On the morning of September 12, Percy landed Nicolls's force of 60 Royal Marines, and about 60 Indians, together with a -inch howitzer, about 9 miles to the eastward.James (2002 1827), Vol. 6, p.356. The British land force then marched against the fort and Lawrence's 160 men.Heidler (2004), p.296.
A further sixty Indians, under First Lieutenant James Cassell, had been detached to secure the pass of Bon Secour 27 miles to the east of the fort, but they played no active part in the attack itself.
The American forces in Fort Bowyer, commanded by William Lawrence, consisted of 160 infantry, and a disputed number of cannon (reports range between 6 and 14 guns).
The British naval attack was unsuccessful. After two hours of fruitless bombardment, Hermes ran aground and lay helpless under the fire from the fort. Sophie's boats took off Hermes crew and Percy set her on fire; she subsequently blew up after the fire reached her magazine.Marshall (1829), Supplement Part 3, p68, Percy records these events occurring one hour later. The remaining ships anchored for the night some one and half miles from the fort.
The defeat at Fort Bowyer led the British to decide to attack New Orleans instead. However, after their defeat at the Battle of New Orleans, the British decided to try again to take Mobile.Tucker (2012), p.249.
Following the defeat at New Orleans, Admiral Cochrane and General John Lambert (replacing Pakenham) received some considerable reinforcements, and then went back to the original plan, before New Orleans, which had been to take Mobile first.Owsley, F. L. (1972). The Role of the South in the British Grand Strategy in the War of 1812. Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 31(1), p 36
The British troops came from the 4th, 21st, and 44th Regiments of Foot, who had fought at New Orleans. The was commanded by Arthur BrookeJames (1818), p.570, Appendix, folio 109. Letter from General Lambert to Lord Bathurst dated 14 February 1815 "It was considered a brigade would be sufficient for this object, with a respectable force of artillery. I ordered the second brigade, composed of the 4th, 21st and 44th regiments, for this service." The commander of the naval forces was Captain T.R. Ricketts of the 74-gun third-rate, .Brenton (1823), p. 200. Captain Spencer of the Carron was among the sailors landed near Mobile, and was second in command of the naval party. The bomb vessels and were present during the siege of Fort Bowyer in February 1815.Fraser, p. 294
When the British captured the fort, they discovered that it mounted three long 32-pounders, eight 24s, six 12s, five 9s, a mortar, and a howitzer. However, Fort Bowyer's weakness was its vulnerability to an attack from the landward side.Heidler (2004), p.358.
The next night the parallel was extended and the following night four batteries were completed. The troops brought with them four 18-pounder cannons, two 8-inch howitzers, three -inch and two 4.4-inch mortars.The London Gazette does refer to 'eight small coehorn' rather than five mortars. In addition to these eleven conventional artillery pieces, landed Lieutenant John Lawrence's 25-man detachment of Royal Marine ArtilleryHeidler, (2004), pp24,56ADM 37/5167 HMS Tonnant ship muster 1814 Nov – 1815 Apr with several Congreve rocket launchers, two 6-pounder rockets, and a hundred 12-pounder rockets. While they were constructing their siege works, the British forces endured constant American fire and took light casualties, but continued undeterred. Once their guns were in place, the British were ready to launch a devastating artillery attack on the now vulnerable fort.
On February 12 after a barrage of artillery, Lambert, under a flag of truce, called on the fort to surrender. He demanded that Major Lawrence accept British terms to prevent the needless slaughter of his men. Lawrence realised the vulnerability of the fort. It had no casemates to protect the gunpowder magazine, or the wounded, and it lacked land facing ramparts, which would cost a lot of men to defend. Lawrence reluctantly surrendered to the British, after having resisted for five days. An alternative history from British sources explains that on 11 February, before opening fire, Lambert called upon the fort to surrender. After negotiations, it was agreed that the Americans would leave as prisoners of war the following morning. The Governor reportedly begged for the delay "as so many of his men had got drunk." That was agreed to, with the gate of the fort moving to British control on 11 February, according to a British regimental historian.
All British plans were cancelled when arrived on 13 February, carrying news that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed on the previous Christmas Eve.Tucker (2012), p250 When news of ratification of the treaty arrived, ending the war, the British withdrew.Fraser, p294, quote:'Lieutenant Lawrence and his RMA detachment remained camped on Dauphine Island off until the treaty had been ratified, after which the squadron and transports returned to Bermuda to prepare for the passage to England'
The final attachment of Mobile to the United States from the Spanish Empire was the only permanent exchange of territory during the War of 1812.
Fort Bowyer subsequently reverted to U.S. control. The War Department would later replace it with the more heavily fortified Fort Morgan.
Two active battalions of the Regular Army (1-1 Inf and 2-1 Inf) perpetuate the lineage of elements of the old 2nd Infantry that was present at Fort Bowyer in both 1814 and 1815.
Aftermath
With Mobile Bay secured by British warships and Fort Bowyer now under British control, the remaining American forces in the area hurried to Mobile to prepare for the expected onslaught there. With Fort Bowyer under control, Admiral Cochrane and General Lambert's next move was to take Mobile.
See also
Notes
Citations
(2025). 9781849085762, Osprey. ISBN 9781849085762
(2025). 9781943604364, Naval Historical Center (GPO). ISBN 9781943604364
External links
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