Georgia
Fort Gaines
Confederate Defenses
The Confederate army placed
heavy artillery at Fort Gaines to
defend Columbus from a naval
attack up the Chattahoochee.
A Silent Defender
One of the original Civil War
cannon still remains in place
behind entrenchments at Fort
Gaines.
A one-third size reproduction of
a blockhouse reminds visitors
that Fort Gaines was the site of
an important frontier outpost.
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Fort Gaines is one of the most historic cities
in Southwest Georgia. Founded as a frontier
fort in 1815, this charming community is a
great place to spend an afternoon or an
entire day.
The original fort was established by the 4th
U.S. Infantry to enforce the terms of the Treaty
of Fort Jackson. The treaty, which resulted
from the U.S. defeat of the Red Stick Creeks
at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Alabama,
forced the Creeks to turn over hundreds of
thousands of acres of land to white settlers.
Naturally, this led to tensions and Fort
Gaines was established.
A second fort was constructed here during
the Creek War of 1836 as the United States
was forcing the Creek people down the Trail
of Tears.
The community again took on military
significance during the Civil War when the
Confederates fortified the bluff top with
cannon and earthworks to defend the upriver
city of Columbus against a Union naval
attack up the Chattahoochee River. The
attack never came.
Fort Gaines is located in
Southwest Georgia. The city's
attractions include historic homes,
a frontier cemetery, military sites
and nearby Lake Walter F.
Georgia (Lake Eufaula).
