The Siege of Fort Gaines occurred between August 3 and 8, 1864, during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It took place in the Mobile Bay area of Alabama as part of the larger battle of Mobile Bay

Battle of Mobile Bay

The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Adm...

, and resulted in the surrender of the fort and its defenders.

Siege

Union forces under the command of Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Gordon Granger

Gordon Granger

Gordon Granger was a career U.S. army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga.-Early life & Mexico:...

 landed on Dauphin Island on August 3, 1864, and moved against Fort Gaines guarding the western edge of Mobile Bay

Mobile Bay

Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...

. Granger's force numbered about 3,300 men, while 818 troops under the command of Confederate Col. Charles D. Anderson

Charles DeWitt Anderson

Charles DeWitt Anderson was an American soldier, railway builder, civil engineer, and lighthouse keeper. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army, and later as a Confederate officer during the American Civil War...

 garrisoned the fort. Brig. Gen. Richard L. Page instructed Col. Anderson not to surrender the fort. However, on August 5 the Union fleet ran past Forts Gaines and Morgan, and defeated the Confederate fleet in the bay. Anderson, believing he could not hold out against a combined attack by the Union army and navy, chose to surrender the fort on August 8.

Aftermath

With the fall of Fort Gaines, Granger left a garrison at the fort and immediately moved against Fort Morgan to the east. After a two week siege - the Siege of Fort Morgan

Siege of Fort Morgan

The Siege of Fort Morgan occurred during the American Civil War as part of the battle for Mobile Bay in 1864. Union ground forces led by General Gordon Granger conducted a short siege of the Confederate garrison at the mouth of Mobile Bay under the command of General Richard L. Page...

- General Page surrendered his fort too.