A flier checked a bag carrying five pieces of Civil War artillery ammo. She didn't know they had been stolen by a grandchild from Fort Morgan on Mobile Bay, officials say

The artillery rounds were wrapped in paper towels (TSA-Gulf Shores photos)

Alabama’s Fort Morgan State Historic Site will not press charges after a juvenile took artillery ammunition from the coastal Civil War fort and the artifacts were detected by the Transportation Security Administration in the checked bag of the child's unwitting grandmother.

The TSA recently posted an article about the July 18 incident at Gulf Shores International Airport. It said screener Justin Dupree spotted the five iron balls, at first thinking they appeared to be a medicine ball wrapped in paper towels. 

The article called the items cannonballs, though observers said most are likely canister or grapeshot  The largest was described as being about the size of a grapefruit.

“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” said Dupree, a TSA officer for four years. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.” He was concerned they might have been live.

The TSA contacted local authorities, who determined the prohibited rounds were inert and did not contain explosive components.

TSA officer Justin Dupree in the checked baggage area of the airport (TSA)

Capt. Nathan Lusk of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office told the Picket in an email that the items were taken by the juvenile from a storage area at the fort.

“Fort Morgan personnel were able to confirm the items as their property due to paint markings they apply to artifacts. The grandmother stated that she did not know they were stolen. Fort Morgan’s director chose to not press charges, so there was no further action from us.”

The pieces were returned to the state park. Heather Tassin, the site manager, said, “Due to this being an active investigation we are unable to provide any comments.”

The airport is about 20 miles east of Fort Morgan, which sits at the mouth of Mobile Bay.

Fort Morgan is nestled in a popular vacation area (Picket photo)

The historic site played a prominent part in the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay.

Mobile was one of the last major Confederate ports still open at the time. Fort Morgan, with a garrison of about 600, and other fortifications meant to keep Union Adm. David Farragut out. The bay was heavily mined with what were then called torpedoes.

On Aug. 5, 1864, the monitor USS Tecumseh struck a mine within a few hundred yards of the fort. More than 90 hands died when the monitor rolled over and sank. The other 17 Union vessels began to move back, but Farragut, on board the USS Hartford, demanded the fleet move through, uttering “Damn the Torpedoes!”

Farragut triumphed over the opposition of heavy batteries in Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines. His fleet secured the surrender of the ironclad CSS Tennessee and defeated the squadron of Confederate Adm. Franklin Buchanan.

The USS Tecumseh buoy off Fort Morgan; Dauphin Island is in background (Picket photo)

Farragut’s brazen assault was one half of a Union operation. Troops landed on Dauphin Island and laid siege to Fort Gaines, which had few ships to help in its defense. Confederate Col. Charles D. Anderson had half his infantry foe’s number and surrendered

After the fall of Fort Gaines on Aug. 8, Yankee troops moved on Fort Morgan across the bay, forcing its surrender on Aug. 23.

Mobile itself was heavily fortified and the Union command moved on after securing the bay. The city surrendered in April 1865, three days after Appomattox.

'Thunder on the Bay': Reenactment, camp on sandy Alabama island recall siege of Fort Gaines, other clashes during the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay

(All photos by Civil War Picket)

The weather was near-perfect on Saturday as I donned a healthy dose of sunscreen and visited two Rebel forts that guarded Mobile, Ala., during the Civil War.

Our first stop was Fort Morgan State Historic Site, about 23 miles west of Gulf Shores. We then took a 35-minute car ferry across Mobile Bay to Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island for a reenactment.

Both forts saw action and surrendered in August 1864 during the Federal campaign for control of the port of Mobile and the waterway.

The battle was made famous by Union Rear Adm. David Farragut and his paraphrased command, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead” as his fleet maneuvered past Fort Morgan into the bay. (Click video above to see firing of gun)

On the way to Fort Gaines, our boat skirted natural gas platforms and large tankers, including one that steamed past, with dolphins leaping from the water at the bow.

The main event over the weekend was Fort Gaines’ “Thunder on the Bay” marking the 160^th anniversary of the Battle of Mobile Bay.

An encampment, living history, cannon fires and scores of reenactors in period uniforms greeted a sizeable crowd. A battle was held on Saturday, with a tactical exercise the next afternoon.

Pleasure boats a couple hundred yards from the fort  took in the fun and musket and artillery fire. Natural gas platforms also added a modern backdrop.

Among the participants were the Walton Guard, 6^th Alabama Cavalry and the Alabama Division of Reenactors. The 5^th Alabama Infantry Regiment Band, which maintains a busy schedule, provided music. 

It had been a while since I attended a re-enactment. This one was action-packed and there was plenty of flanking movement as Federal troops moved from the beach and to the fort. Saturday's battle ended with solemn music, including Taps.