Fort Stoddert, also known as Fort Stoddard, was a stockade fort in the U.S.

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...

, in what is today

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. It was located on a bluff of the Mobile River, near modern

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, close to the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers. This location was just north of what was then the international boundary line between the new United States and Spanish-held West Florida. As a border fort, Fort Stoddert served as the southwestern terminus of the Federal Road which ran through Creek lands to Fort Wilkinson in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The fort, built in 1799, was named for Benjamin Stoddert, the secretary to the Continental Board of War during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and

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during the Quasi War. Fort Stoddert was built by the

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to keep the peace by preventing its own settlers in the Tombigbee District from attacking the Spanish in the Mobile District. It also served as a

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

and was the site of a Court of Admiralty. While under the command of Captain Edmund P. Gaines, Aaron Burr was held as a prisoner at the fort after his arrest at McIntosh in 1807 for

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against the

. In July 1813, General Ferdinand Claiborne brought the Mississippi

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to Fort Stoddert as part of the Creek War. The 3rd Infantry Regiment was commanded by General Thomas Flournoy to Fort Stoddert following the Fort Mims massacre. The site declined rapidly in importance after the capture of Mobile by the United States in 1813 and the establishment of the Mount Vernon Arsenal in 1828. A post office operated under the name Fort Stoddart from 1804 to 1829. The first newspaper in Alabama, ''The Mobile Centinel'', was published weekly at Fort Stoddert from 1811 to 1813.

References

Stoddert Pre-statehood history of Alabama Creek War Buildings and structures in Mobile County, Alabama Stoddert Stoddert Stoddert {{MobileCountyAL-geo-stub