GULF SHORES, Ala. — Named one of the “Top 10 Events” by the Alabama Tourism Department, the Battle of Mobile Bay celebration slated for this weekend at Fort Morgan State Historic Site is expected to draw a large crowd.

Activities are scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday, including artillery fire, infantry sharp shooting and presentations on the battle.

This will be a major Civil War re-enactment, so onlookers can expect lots of noise, but everyone is encouraged to talk with the many re-enactors who will represent both sides of the engagement.

“This year, we are commemorating the 145th anniversary of Union Adm. David Farragut’s fleet run by the guns of Fort Morgan and subsequently onto victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay,” said Blanton Blankenship, director of Fort Morgan State Historic Site, in a news release. “Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island surrendered on Aug. 8, 1864, and our fort held out until Aug. 23.”

In addition to the events at Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines will welcome guests on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. After opening the day with a cannon salute, guests will hear oral accounts of the battle and historic fort music in addition to blacksmith demonstrations.

On Saturday morning at Fort Morgan, the gates of the fort will open to the public at 8 a.m. so visitors can tour the fort, the Federal siege trenches and witness the prelude to the re-enactment of the Civil War battle for the control of Mobile Bay that began on Aug. 5, 1864 and the siege of Confederate Fort Morgan that lasted until the fall.

A confederate color guard will raise the flag at the Fort Morgan Water battery shortly after the park opens. The siege of Fort Morgan begins at 9 a.m. when the Federal artillery and other manned positions open fire. There will be artillery drills for public enjoyment at 10 a.m. and the “survivors” of the USS Tecumseh, a Union ironclad monitor sunk as the battle started and still lays at the bottom of the bay as a Federal gravesite, will swim ashore at 11 a.m.

On Saturday there will be a re-enactment of a navy battle between the ironclad CSS Tennessee and the ironclad monitor USS Manhattan. This event will begin at 4 p.m. on the bay.

These two ships were involved in one of the most famous naval battles of the Civil War and are portrayed by scaled-down replicas provided by Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum of Columbus, Ga.

The USS Manhattan ironclad monitor is 32 feet long and features two cannons, and the CSS Tennessee is 22 feet long with four cannons.

Very realistic in appearance, these ships will demonstrate Civil War naval combat, appearing for the first time in Mobile Bay.

On Sunday, gates open at 9 a.m. with the siege guns firing again at 10 a.m. There will be a Garrison Church service at 11 a.m. followed by a one-hour truce at noon for surrender negotiations. At 1:30 p.m., Union ironclad duels with the Fort Morgan Water battery, and firing ends at 2 p.m.

“These Top 10 events not only celebrate Alabama’s history, but also the history of our nation,” said Alabama Tourism Director, Lee Sentell, in a news release. “When we select the Top 10 events for the year, we focus on those things unique to our state and that would be of interest to national and international media.”

According to a news release, Gov. Bob Riley and the state tourism department kicked off the Year of Alabama History on Dec. 12, 2008, at the State Department of Archives and History in Montgomery to coincide with the 189th birthday celebration of Alabama’s statehood. Locally, Baldwin County is celebrating its bicentennial anniversary throughout the year.

Daily admission tickets at Fort Morgan are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children 18 and under and free to those under six. A family pass for two adults and two children is $12.

At Fort Gaines, adult admission is $5 and children ages five to 12 is $3.