Pirates, Blockades and Commerce: an EXPEDITION

Thanks to funding from SEA’s 2019 Elsaesser Fellowship, my Expedition continues... Visit:  www.CoastalWanderer.net  for the complete project collection. The original Pensacola Light was the lightship Aurora Borealis.  The "Aurora Borealis" was put in place at Pensacola in 1823 from its original posting at the mouth of the Mississippi River.  In 1825 a 40-foot light tower was built on top of an existing sand dune ridge at the south entrance to Pensacola Bay.  In 1858 a new light tower was built on the north side of the bay entrance,  The (new) current tower is 150 feet tall, and also sits on top of a 40-foot dune ridge located within the boundary of  Naval Air Station - Pensacola, The current light stands 190 feet above sea level.  In 1863 following a number of naval skirmishes which damaged the tower, the light was relit. A new lens was placed into the tower in 1869.  The lighthouse was connected to electricity in 1939, eliminating the need for kerose

Thanks to funding from SEA’s 2019 Elsaesser Fellowship, my Expedition continues... Visit:  www.CoastalWanderer.net  for the complete project collection. No information is readily available about this gun emplacement, except that it was experimental in nature.   It lies forgotten in the dunes approximately 2 miles east of Fort Morgan. Due to the restricted nature of the dune habitat and time of year for nesting birds in the area, access to this site was limited only to a single UAS overflight and telephoto lens.

Thanks to funding from SEA’s 2019 Elsaesser Fellowship, my Expedition continues... Visit:  www.CoastalWanderer.net  for the complete project collection. Fort Morgan is located at the western end of Mobile Point In Gulf Shores Alabama, at the eastern terminus of the Mobile Bay Ferry route. Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines (discussed in another section) protect entry into the mouth of Mobile Bay. Fort Morgan, a masonry "star" or bastion fort as discussed in my earlier works is located at the mouth of Mobile Bay in Alabama. Named for Revolutionary War hero Daniel Morgan, and built on the existing site of Fort Bowyer, which was involved in the final land battles of the War of 1812 as discussed under the headings of the "Battles of Bay Saint Louis and Lake Borgne. The fortification was completed, equipped and manned in 1834. Original Plan for Fort Morgan - Courtesy of the National Archives Following the departure of the Spanish from the area in 181

Thanks to funding from SEA’s 2019 Elsaesser Fellowship, my Expedition continues... Visit:  www.CoastalWanderer.net  for the complete project collection. Fort Gaines a masonry fort located on Dauphin Island, Alabama on the western point of Mobile Bay. The fort was named for General E.P. Gaines, Construction was approved and began in 1821 and was completed by the onset of the Civil War in 1861.   During the battle of Mobile Bay in August of 1864,  a U.S. Naval fleet under the command of David G. Farragut, with assistance provided by an infantry and artillery force, attacked the much smaller Confederate Navy fleet under the command of  Franklin Buchanan and the two forts guarding the mouth of Mobile Bay. It is here that he stated his famous quote, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".  Farragut's successful high speed run through a minefield (at the time referred to as "torpedoes")  claimed a single ironclad warship. This passage enabled hi