French Colonial Mobile

Thanks to funding from SEA’s 2019 Elsaesser Fellowship, my Expedition continues...

Mobile was originally founded in 1702 as the capital of French colonial Louisiana.  In 1720,  the capital moved west to Fort Maurepas at Biloxi.

Following the American Revolutionary War, Mobile was occupied by Spain. Mobile initially became a part of the United States in 1813, when it was captured by Andrew Jackson's forces and was added to the Mississippi Territory, then later ceded to the Alabama Territory in 1819.

The settlement at Mobile was first founded in 1702 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville as Fort Louis de la Louisiane approximately 27 miles upriver from the mouth of Mobile Bay. Following flooding on the Mobile River and subsequent damages to the fort, Mobile was relocated into its current location. A temporary wooden stockade-style fortification was initially built at the new site but was quickly supplemented by a more modern brick and mortar fortification with substantial brick foundations (as seen in the images).  The new Fortification was named Fort Condé in honor of Louis Henri de Bourbon, duc de Bourbon, and prince de Condé.

The fortification provided security for Mobile and its citizens from 1723-1820. Strategically the port and fortification at Mobile protected western access to the Atlantic colonies from both the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers.











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