1st Battalion, Alabama Artillery

1st Artillery Battalion, organized at Fort Morgan, Alabama, in February, 1861, entered Confederate service in March.

Containing six companies, members of the unit were recruited in the cities of Mobile, Selma, and Montgomery. It served in or near Mobile throughout the war and was placed under the command of Generals Shoup, Higgins, and Page.

During August, 1864, more than 400 men were captured when Fort Gaines and Morgan fell, but a detachment continued the fight at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely . In March, 1865, a small number moved to Choctaw Bluff and were included in the surrender of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. The field officers were Lieutenant Colonels Robert C. Forsyth and James T. Gee, and Major J. M. Cary.

Many were sent to New Orleans then placed onboard ships, sent to New York and placed on trains to Elmira "Helmira"  New York.

Description: A combined Union force initiated operations to close Mobile Bay to blockade running. Some Union forces landed on Dauphin Island and laid siege to Fort Gaines. On August 5, Farragut’s Union fleet of eighteen ships entered Mobile Bay and received a devastating fire from Forts Gaines and Morgan and other points.  After passing the forts, Farragut forced the Confederate naval forces, under Adm. Franklin Buchanan, to surrender, which effectively closed Mobile Bay. By August 23, Fort Morgan, the last big holdout, fell, shutting down the port. The city, however, remained uncaptured.