Mt. Vernon in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Fort Stoddert
— Mount Vernon History Trail —
Photographed By Mark Hilton, May 2, 2020
1. Fort Stoddert Marker
Inscription.
Fort Stoddert. . Early in 1799 a joint U.S.-Spanish survey commission had determined the international boundary to be a few miles south of this spot, at 31° N Longitude. (A marker known as the Ellicott Stone still stands on the old boundary line, just east of US Highway 43 near the Alabama Power Company generating plant in the community of Bucks.) Because the relocated line lay well south of the long-presumed boundary, Spanish colonial administrators withdrew their garrison from Fuerte San Esteban, which became St. Stephens. To assert American claims to this region, Congress created the Mississippi Territory and ordered the U.S. Army to establish posts along the new boundary for the protection of settlers and for collection of customs duties from commercial traffic on the rivers flowing to Mobile, in Spanish West Florida.
In July 1799, two companies of the 2nd Regiment U.S. Infantry, commanded by Captain Bartholomew Schaumburgh, marched from Natchez and established Fort Stoddert, named for first Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert, at Ward's Bluff on the Mobile River. The stockade fort had blockhouses in two of the four bastions, mounted with ordnance; soldiers' barracks and officers' quarters formed the curtain walls.
Although no battles were ever fought at Fort Stoddert, the post had an interesting and colorful history. Ephraim Kirby served here briefly here as federal judge in 1804. Upon Kirby’s death, Judge Harry Toulmin succeeded him on the bench and assumed the role of first postmaster in January 1805. In February 1807, Captain Edmund P. Gaines and a detachment of mounted riflemen arrested former Vice President Aaron Burr on the road north of the fort and escorted him to Washing, DC, for trial on charges of treason.
Early in 1811 John Hood and Samuel Miller carried a printing press overland from Chattanooga to the Alabama River, then downstream to Fort Stoddert, with the intention of publishing a newspaper in Mobile. The city, however, remained under Spanish rule, so they printed The Mobile Centinel, the first newspaper published in what would become the state of Alabama, at Fort Stoddert from May 23, 1811 to June 6, 1812.
In November 30, 1811, Captain Matthew Arbuckle of the 3rd Regiment.U.S. Infantry commanded a road construction party from Fort Stoddert that met a construction party working from the east to open the Federal Road to Georgia. Amid the War of 18 12, an expedition launched from Fort Stoddert seized Mobile from Spain on April 13, 1813. In early September, Fort Stoddert and Mount Vernon Cantonment sheltered thousands of refugees displaced from the Tombigbee and Tensaw settlements by the destruction of Fort Mims at the beginning of the Creek War.
During the war, Fort Stoddert served as military headquarters for General Ferdinand Claiborne's Mississippi Territorial Volunteers and for regular U.S. Army troops operating on the Gulf coast. By the end of 1814, Fort Stoddert no longer functioned as a military post, although the name continued to be applied to the civilian community (later called Florida, then Mount Vernon) that had grown up around the fort.
[Map on left] "Settlements on the Tombeckby and Tensaw Rivers," circa 1802 (Courtesy of the National Archives, Washington, DC)
Early in 1799 a joint U.S.-Spanish survey commission had
determined the international boundary to be a few miles south
of this spot, at 31° N Longitude. (A marker known as the
Ellicott Stone still stands on the old boundary line, just east of
US Highway 43 near the Alabama Power Company
generating plant in the community of Bucks.) Because the
relocated line lay well south of the long-presumed boundary,
Spanish colonial administrators withdrew their garrison from
Fuerte San Esteban, which became St. Stephens. To assert
American claims to this region, Congress created the
Mississippi Territory and ordered the U.S. Army to establish
posts along the new boundary for the protection of settlers
and for collection of customs duties from commercial traffic on
the rivers flowing to Mobile, in Spanish West Florida.
In July 1799, two companies of the 2nd Regiment U.S.
Infantry, commanded by Captain Bartholomew Schaumburgh,
marched from Natchez and established Fort Stoddert, named
for first Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert, at Ward's
Bluff on the Mobile River. The stockade fort had blockhouses
in two of the four bastions, mounted with ordnance; soldiers'
barracks and officers' quarters formed the curtain walls.
Although no battles were ever fought at Fort Stoddert, the post had an interesting and colorful history.
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Ephraim Kirby served here briefly here as federal judge in 1804. Upon Kirby’s death, Judge Harry Toulmin succeeded him on the bench and assumed the role of first postmaster in January 1805. In February 1807, Captain Edmund P. Gaines and a detachment of mounted riflemen arrested former Vice President Aaron Burr on the road north of the fort and escorted him to Washing, DC, for trial on charges of treason.
Early in 1811 John Hood and Samuel Miller carried a
printing press overland from Chattanooga to the Alabama
River, then downstream to Fort Stoddert, with the intention of
publishing a newspaper in Mobile. The city, however,
remained under Spanish rule, so they printed The Mobile
Centinel, the first newspaper published in what would become
the state of Alabama, at Fort Stoddert from May 23, 1811 to
June 6, 1812.
In November 30, 1811, Captain Matthew Arbuckle of the
3rd Regiment.U.S. Infantry commanded a road construction
party from Fort Stoddert that met a construction party working
from the east to open the Federal Road to Georgia. Amid the
War of 1812, an expedition launched from Fort Stoddert
seized Mobile from Spain on April 13, 1813. In early
September, Fort Stoddert and Mount Vernon Cantonment
sheltered thousands of refugees displaced from the
Tombigbee and Tensaw settlements by the destruction of Fort
Mims at the beginning of the Creek
Photographed By Mark Hilton, May 2, 2020
2. Fort Stoddert Marker on Old Military Rd East (farthest marker).
War.
During the war, Fort Stoddert served as military
headquarters for General Ferdinand Claiborne's Mississippi
Territorial Volunteers and for regular U.S. Army troops
operating on the Gulf coast. By the end of 1814, Fort
Stoddert no longer functioned as a military post, although the
name continued to be applied to the civilian community (later
called Florida, then Mount Vernon) that had grown up around
the fort.
[Map on left] "Settlements on the Tombeckby and Tensaw Rivers," circa 1802
(Courtesy of the National Archives, Washington, DC)
Erected by Town of Mount Vernon. (Marker Number 6.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Forts and Castles. A significant historical date for this entry is April 13, 1813.
Location. 31° 5.475′ N, 87° 58.888′ W. Marker is in Mt. Vernon, Alabama, in Mobile County. Marker is on Old Military Road East (Alabama Route 96) 0.1 miles Old Military Road South (Alabama Route 96), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mount Vernon AL 36560, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on May 3, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 776 times since then and 112 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on May 3, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
