Fodor's Expert Review Fort Morgan

Star shaped and rumored to be haunted, this early-1800s fort on the picturesque western tip of Pleasure Island is where Union admiral David Farragut shouted, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" The fort was built to guard the entrance to Mobile Bay. Farragut yelled his famous lines in 1864, after Confederate torpedoes sank the ironclad USS Tecumseh in the Battle of Mobile Bay. The rest of Farragut's fleet pushed its way to the bay, forcing the Confederates' surrender. The on-site museum tells the story, and actors in period dress reenact events that occurred inside the fort.