Fort Glass (Clarke County, Alabama)

Clarke County · Alabama · Creek War

Quick BriefFort Glass was a stockade fort built in July 1813 in Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War. Built by and named for Zachariah Glass, the fort served as a settler refuge and received military reinforcements in August 1813 when Colonel Joseph Carson's soldiers arrived at Fort Glass on August 10, 1813. Nothing remains at the site today; in 1858, the Fort Madison Church was built on the site of Fort Glass.

History & Significance

Fort Glass emerged as a critical settler refuge during the Creek War of 1813–1814, a civil conflict between the Creek national government and the Red Stick faction, which escalated when Americans intervened to prevent Red Stick alliance with Britain during the War of 1812. Constructed of hewn pine logs in rectangular shape measuring sixty yards by forty yards, the fort occupied land belonging to a local settler.

After the Battle of Burnt Corn, General Ferdinand Claiborne sent reinforcements under Colonel Joseph Carson to protect settlers in the area, arriving August 10, 1813. Immediately after their arrival, soldiers began construction of nearby Fort Madison, located two hundred twenty-five yards northwest and designated as headquarters for the military district between the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers.

When Red Sticks attacked Fort Sinquefield nearby, its settlers fled to Fort Glass and Fort Madison for protection. Samuel Dale, the famous backwoodsman, briefly commanded Fort Glass en route to Georgia. The fort left no archaeological remains; a church replaced the site in 1858, and despite surveys, no defining features have been identified.