Key Facts
- Start date
- March 27, 1865
- End date
- April 8, 1865
- Duration
- 13 days
- Location
- Baldwin County, Alabama
- Theater
- Western Theater, American Civil War
Strategic Narrative Overview
Union forces launched the Mobile Campaign in the spring of 1865, moving against the Confederate fortifications at Spanish Fort beginning on March 27. Over thirteen days, Union troops besieged the fortified position, conducting siege operations and gradually tightening their grip on the Confederate defenses. The extensive network of forts posed a formidable challenge, but Union pressure steadily eroded the Confederate ability to hold the line.
01 / The Origins
Following the Union naval victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, the city of Mobile remained in Confederate hands and continued to serve as a strategic port. To protect the city from land assault, Confederate forces heavily fortified Spanish Fort on the eastern approaches, constructing a network of defensive works including Fort Huger, Fort Tracey, Fort McDermott, Fort Alexis, Red Fort, and Old Spanish Fort.
03 / The Outcome
The siege concluded on April 8, 1865, when Confederate forces evacuated Spanish Fort, yielding the eastern defenses of Mobile to Union control. This breakthrough contributed directly to the fall of Mobile itself shortly thereafter. The campaign unfolded in the final weeks of the Civil War, and the capture of Mobile removed one of the last significant Confederate-held ports on the Gulf Coast.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.