Fort Toulouse

Infobox_nrhp | name =Fort Toulouse Site-Fort Jackson
nrhp_type =nhl

---

caption = A portion of the modern Fort Toulouse reconstruction, taken in 2007.
locmapin = Alabama
lat_degrees = 32
lat_minutes = 30
lat_seconds = 23.83
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 86
long_minutes = 15
long_seconds = 5.65
long_direction = W
nearest_city= Wetumpka, Alabama
area =
built =1717
architect=
architecture=
designated= October 09, 1960cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=72&ResourceType=Site
title=Fort Toulouse Site-Fort Jackson |accessdate=2007-10-21|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 15, 1966cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=66000148

Fort Toulouse is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, United States, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The fort was first established in 1717 and was named for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse. In order to counter the growing influence of the British colonies of Georgia and Carolina, the government of French Louisiana erected a fort on the eastern border of the Louisiana Colony in what is now the state of Alabama.

History

The fort was also referred to as the Post of the Alabama, named after the Alabama Tribe of Upper Creek Indians that resided just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers on the upper reaches of the Alabama River. The amount of troops in garrison varied between 20 to 50 French Colonial Marines. Those Marines lived and worked in the fort, and they traded extensively with the local Creek Native Americans and cultivated friendly relations with them. The French would trade European goods such as Flintlock guns, ammunition, and gunpowder, iron tools, knives, glass beads, copper pots, and wool blankets in exchange for local food stuffs and locally acquired fur and deerskins. According to tradition, the French commander Captain Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand married the Creek Indian Princess Sehoy in about 1720. Their later descendants include Creek Indian Chiefs Alexander McGillivray, and William Weatherford. Due to the extremely poor living conditions as a result of poor supply and neglect from the French Royal Government, a mutiny took place in 1722. The rebellious soldiers killed Captain Marchand and captured the other officers and tied them up and left the fort. The imprisoned officers managed to escape, and with the help of nearby Native Americans they captured the mutineers and sent them to Fort Conde in Mobile for punishment.

By the early 1740s conditions had improved at the fort and many soldiers had married wives from Mobile or intermarried with the local inhabitants, and numerous farms sprung up about the fort. Due to the humid southern conditions of Alabama, the fort fell into general disrepair by the late 1740s and plans were made for a third fort to be built upon the site. under the direction of Captain Francois Saucier, Fort Toulouse's reconstruction was finished about 1751 at a cost of almost half of the military budget for the whole Louisiana colony. The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War in 1763. With the French loss of that conflict, the French garrison spiked their cannons and left for both New Orleans and a return to France. The British victors chose not to occupy the Fort, and it eventually collapsed into decay.

In 1776 naturalist William Bartram visited the area while studying local flora and fauna.

During the War of 1812 and the simultaneous Creek War, General Andrew Jackson encamped his troops on the site of the old French Fort Toulouse and initiated construction of a larger fort that was named Fort Jackson by General Joseph Graham in honor of the victorious General Jackson.

Modern era

The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000148.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Toulouse / Fort Jackson] |410 KB|date=June 29, 1989 |author=Cecil McKithan |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000148.pdf Accompanying 1 photo, undated.] |313 KB]

During the American Bicentennial an attempt was made to reconstruct Fort Toulouse. However, the replica was incorrectly built upon the outline of the much larger Fort Jackson. In the 1980s the park became a property of the Alabama Historical Commission and the incorrectly built fort was dismantled and recycled to partially construct an accurate replica of Fort Toulouse adjacent to the original site, allowing for a future reconstruction of Ft. Jackson on the actual site once occupied by both forts. The Fort Toulouse/Jackson Park has active living history programs depicting the original Creek Indian inhabitants, the French colonial military presence, and the War of 1812 era United States military presence. The fort is located southwest of Wetumpka, off of U.S. Highway 231.

ee also

*List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama

References

External links

* [http://forttoulouse.com Fort Toulouse website]
* [http://wetumpkaonline.com WetumpkaOnline.com]