Fort Carney (Clarke County, Alabama)

Clarke County · Alabama · Creek War, American Civil War

Quick BriefA stockade fort built in 1813 in Clarke County, Alabama, during the Creek War (part of the larger War of 1812), Fort Carney served as a refuge for settlers against Red Stick attacks. During the Civil War, a Confederate fort named Fort Gullett was built on the site in 1862 to protect nearby salt wells and prevent Federal gunboats from traveling up the Tombigbee River.

Civil War

History & Significance

Josiah Carney, who moved to Clarke County in 1809 from North Carolina, began building a stockade in 1813 at Carney's Bluff. The fort site was located six miles south of Jackson on the road from Jackson to Mount Vernon.

Sources differ on the number of occupants—Albert J. Pickett reported 390 individuals occupied Fort Carney, while Timothy H. Ball stated it contained "a few occupants." Sixty members of the 8th Regiment Mississippi Militia occupied Fort Carney.

Prior to the Fort Mims massacre, it was reported that Red Stick warriors examined Fort Carney but decided to attack Fort Mims instead. After the Fort Mims massacre, settlers from Fort Powell moved to Fort Carney before moving to Mount Vernon.

Jeremiah Austill, who gained fame for his participation in the Canoe Fight, stopped at Fort Carney on his ride from Fort Madison to Fort Stoddert, volunteering for the seventy-five mile ride to request additional protection for the occupants of Fort Madison. Following the conclusion of the Creek War in 1814, Fort Carney was largely abandoned as a military post. The Civil War fortification was abandoned in the later years of the Civil War.