Archaeological Survey of the Old Federal Road in Alabama

Figure 10-16. The Old Federal Road through Russell County, map 4.Historic Sites in Russell CountyFort Bainbridge and Lewis’s Tavern. Fort Bainbridge was the last of the Federal Road fortsconstructed in the Creek Nation during the Redstick War of 1813-1814. The fort was erected in March1814 by North Carolina militia serving under General Joseph Graham, who drew an excellent detailedsketch of Fort Bainbridge, including a profile of the earthworks construction (Figure 10-17). The fort wassituated on a ridge top between the watersheds of the Chattahoochee and Tallapoosa rivers. Streams onthe east side of the fort drain to the Chattahoochee and the ones on the west to the Tallapoosa. The fortconsisted of an earthworks and palisade, forming a star redoubt. Fort Bainbridge, which was large enoughto contain 300 men, was, according to Graham, the “most regular work and the best finished of any of theforts in the Creek Nation Fort Jackson excepting.” 2 The fort was used to hold and move supplies duringthe war, after which it was abandoned as a military post.222