Fort Mackinaw. See [Mackinaw].
Fort Macon. Situated on the eastern extremity of Bogue Banks, near Beaufort harbor, N. C. It was surrendered to Gen. Burnside after a siege of about two weeks, in which he was aided by the blockading gunboats, April 25, 1862.
Fort-Major. A commandant of a fort in the absence of the governor. Officers employed as fort-majors, if under the rank of captains, take rank and precedence as the junior captains in the garrisons in which they are serving. He is a staff-officer.
Fort Marion. At St. Augustine, Fla.; was erected by the Spaniards more than 100 years ago, and formerly called the Castle of St. Mark.
Fort Mifflin. Is one of the old Revolutionary fortresses, situated near the junction of the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. It is one of the defenses of the city of Philadelphia.
Fort Monroe. A massive work of granite surrounded by a moat, situated at Old Point Comfort, Elizabeth City Co., Va. It was established in 1818, in which year a reservation of about 250 acres for defensive purposes was here ceded to the United States by the State of Virginia. It is the largest military work in the United States, and during the civil war was an important naval rendezvous. The artillery school of the army is established at this post.
Fort Morgan. Situated at the entrance to anchorage in Mobile Bay, on the site of the old Fort Bowyer, which bore such an important part in the war of 1812-15, the Americans under Maj. Lawrence having here repulsed with great loss a combined land and sea attack of the British and their Indian allies, September 15, 1814.
Fort Moultrie. One of the defenses of Charleston harbor, S. C., on the west shore of Sullivan’s Island, about 5 miles east-southeast of Charleston. It received its name in honor of Col. Moultrie, an officer of the Revolution, who here successfully resisted an attack from 9 British vessels in 1776. It was abandoned by the Federal troops in December, 1860, and was seized by the Confederates, who fired from it some of the first shots of the civil war. It has been garrisoned by U. S. troops since the close of the war.
Fort Niagara. On the right bank of the Niagara River, in the county of the same name, in the State of New York. It was established by La Salle in 1678; captured by the British under Sir William Johnson in 1759; surrendered to and occupied by the United States in 1796. In the war of 1812-15 it was but feebly garrisoned, and on December 19, 1813, a force of 1200 British crossed the river, and took it by surprise, killing 65 of the garrison.
Fort Ninety-Six. A stockaded fort which was situated in Abbeville District, 6 miles from the Saluda River. It received its name from being 96 miles from the frontier fort Prince George, on the Keowee River. This fort was the scene of many exciting events during the Revolutionary war. With a garrison of about 350 Tories under Lieut.-Col. John Cruger, it was besieged by the Americans under Gen. Greene for twenty-seven days, May-June, 1781; but just as his efforts were about to be crowned with success, Gen. Greene was obliged to retreat, to avoid falling into the hands of a vastly superior British force, which was coming to relieve the beleaguered garrison.