Fort Gaines guards the eastern tip of Dauphin Island at the mouth of Mobile Bay, and it is one of the best-preserved Civil War fortifications on the Gulf Coast. Construction began in 1821 and the fort was completed — in several phases — by the time the Civil War reached Alabama. Its pentagonal bastion design, original brick walls, and period cannon mounts give a vivid sense of mid-nineteenth-century coastal defense.
The fort is open to the public and contains several museum rooms with exhibits on its history, the Battle of Mobile Bay, and the naval campaign of 1864. You can walk the ramparts with views across the bay to Fort Morgan on the opposite shore, connected by a passenger ferry that runs in season. The combination of the ferry crossing and a visit to both forts makes a satisfying half-day on the water.