Fort Gaines defended the Confederate port of Mobile during the American Civil War. It fell to the Union Navy following Rear Admiral David Farragut’s defeat of the Confederate fleet defending the port, one of the three Confederate forts to be captured in the Battle of Mobile Bay. Federal troops accompanying Farragut’s fleet used their artillery to quickly force Fort Gaines to surrender. In this image, I’ve stressed the huge Christmas bow that graced the entrance to Fort Gaines during my visit. It’s bright red color contrasts to the rich green grass covered moat that once protected the fort. This bow could be also be interpreted as a potential memorial to the historic fort, because it is currently facing devastation by nature itself. It sits on the eastern end of Dauphin Island, at the very edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Ongoing erosion is destroying ten feet of sand dunes and beach each year, causing the fort to be currently listed as one of the ten most endangered Civil War battlefields in the United States.