US Naval Battery at Battle of Spanish Fort

While looking for information of Fort Huger, I came across mention of a Naval Battery that participated in the Union attack on Spanish Fort, Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Of interest, it was commanded by Lt.-Cmdr. James H. Gillis and his sailors from the monitor USS Milwaukee which had sunk a few days earlier after it struck a mine in the Blakely River.

Today, the site of the battery is located between two private homes on a deadend street of a Spanish Fort subdivision. The land rises at this point which makes it an ideal location for a battery. There is a Spanish Fort Battle marker at the site.

I have written about the USS Milwaukee before. Of interest to me since I'm also a roadie, is that after the war, the ship was raised and its iron used for the construction of St. Louis' Eads Bridge across the Mississippi.

From the Civil War Album.com. The marker reads:

"Manned work by sailors and commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Gillis of the USS Milwaukee, sunk by a Confederate torpedo in the Blakely River. Armed with two 4.2-inch Parrott rifled cannons firing projectiles weighing 30 lbs., these guns fired on Confederate Batteries Red Fort and Slocomb during the Battle of Spanish Fort March 26-April 8, 1865."

The USS Milwaukee sank March 28, 1865.

Lt.-Cmdr. Gillis also commanded the USS Commodore Morris when it was commissioned Nov. 19, 1862.

Finding Something Else for a Crew to Do After Their Ship Was Sunk. --Old B-R'er

USS Milwaukee

Still continuing with what started out as a look at the Napoleon cannon at Galena, Illinois, in Grant Park. This led to Cincinnati which eventually led to monitors built along the inland areas.

The monitor USS Milwaukee was launched by James Eads in February, 1864 and commissioned in August. It was sunk March 28, 1865. It was 1300 tons, 229 feet long, 58.8 feet beam, and six foot draft. It had double turrets mounting 4 X 11-inch Dahlgreen smoothbore cannons.

It was launched by James B. Eads at his Carondolet, Missouri, ironworks and commanded by Lt. James M. Magune. It was sent to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and in November, Lt. Cmdy. James H. Gillis.

On August 5, 1965, the Union Navy won the Battle of Mobile Bay, but the city remained in Confederate hands. It was decided to capture the town from the east. The key to that was Confederate fortifications along the Blakely River called Spanish Fort.

On March 27th, the Milwaukee and five other vessels crossed the Dog River Bar. The next day, the Milwaukee and the USS Winnebago steamed up the Blakely River to attack a ship resupplying Spanish Fort. After it withdrew, the Milwaukee dropped downriver, hit a torpedo and sank almost immediately. The entire crew was saved by the USS Kickapoo, which also came to the aid of the USS Osage when it met a similar fate the next day.

In 1868, the Milwaukee was raised and towed to St. Louis, where it was melted down and part reportedly used in the construction of the Eads Bridge.

From Monitor to Bridge. --Old B-R'er

Here's Your Monitor in a Bridge

While doing my research on US Navy monitors, I came across the mention that it is believed that part of the USS Milwaukee double-turreted monitor was melted into iron for the famous Eads Bridge spanning the Mississippi River between East St. Louis and St. Louis.

Further research revealed that James Eads designed and built the USS Milwaukee in St. Louis, and that it was sunk near the end of the war near Fort Blakely in Mobile Bay after striking a mine.

Two years after the war, it was raised and towed to St. Louis where it was salvaged and parts melted down, just about the time James Eads was building that bridge.

I should mention that I am trying to connect the Civil War to our current trip on Route 66. And... Route 66 goes through St. Louis.

Makes Sense to Me That he World Have Used Some of His Creation to Make Another creation. --Old B-Runner