Part one of a two-part examination of the events that took place in and around Marlow Ferry.

Sitting at the Marlow Ferry Park and Boat Launch in Summerdale, one can leave behind the hustle and bustle of the rest of his life, enjoy the sounds of the slow moving Fish River and behold the sights of the local birds attending to their daily rituals along the banks of the picturesque waterway.

The Marlow Ferry of the 21st century is one of peace and solitude, busy only when the locals sneak away to fish and use the launch to do so.

Most times, when we find ourselves taking a moment to enjoy one of Baldwin County’s many natural attractions, we tend to travel back in time to a simpler, quieter time. Not so at Marlow Ferry. What has now become a sanctuary in the busy lives of many area residents was once the center of commerce and of the effort to tame this country.

In the early 19th century, the Marlow Ferry region most likely played host to Spanish, British, American and Indian interests that vied for control of the West Florida territory.

As Donnie Barrett, local historian and curator of the Fairhope Museum has stated, the Marlow Ferry area was a crossroads for political intrigue and military strategy as nations maneuvered to control what essentially was a loosely controlled land desired by the British, essential for the Americans and claimed by Indians.

In the end, of course, the Americans held sway, but during the trying times brought on by the War of 1812, the outcome was not certain.

The winter of 1815 saw much activity in the region as Maj. Uriah Blue led an expedition ordered by Gen. Andrew Jackson into the heart of West Florida.

Blue was at the head of a contingent of around 1,000 men directed to secure the frontier in the absence of Jackson, who had moved on to New Orleans to engage the British in what would become his most memorable exploit. Jackson’s involvement in the area, and most especially his handling of the threat posed by the British and the Red Stick Creeks in the Gulf Coast region, helped propel him to the White House.

Blue’s mission began at Fort Montgomery in north Baldwin County Dec. 8, 1815 and ended approximately one month later with the capture of some 200 Creeks and the killing of another 50. With their supplies running dangerously low, Blue’s men withdrew from the field, and the operation to clean up the area came to a close.

On April 9, 1865, a Union Army under the command of Gen. Gordon Granger swept through Fort Blakeley, quickly ending the Battle of Blakeley and consolidating control over South Alabama into the hands of Union forces.

Sadly enough, the battle, bloody and hard fought, need never have happened, as earlier that same day, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Virginia forces to Gen. U.S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War.

The path from which Granger’s forces had made their way to Spanish Fort and subsequently Fort Blakeley had been made shorter because of the use of Marlow Ferry.

A 350-foot pontoon bridge was constructed by the Union Army on March 21 of that year and utilized the following day, sending thousands of Federals into the heart of Baldwin County and toward destiny.

Although harassed by Confederate sharp shooters and faced with a well-entrenched force at both Spanish Fort and Blakeley, Granger’s XIII Corp. pressed the issue and completed the work of containing the Port of Mobile.

Visit Marlow Ferry Park

The Marlow Ferry Park and Boat Launch is located at 16362 Honey Road in Summerdale. Admission/using the launch is free.