Downtown Mobile: Civil War Era – A Walking Tour with Paul Brueske

Journey back to the 1860s and experience Mobile, Alabama, as it stood during the Civil War—one of the last major Confederate strongholds. Led by historian and author Paul Brueske, this immersive walking tour brings to life the city’s strategic importance, daily hardships, and the dramatic events that shaped its fate in the final days of the Confederacy.

Tour Highlights:

• The Mobile Riverfront & Fort Conde: Learn about Mobile’s crucial role as a Confederate port city, supplying the war effort with goods, weapons, and blockade runners that defied Union forces.
• Battle of Mobile Bay & Admiral Farragut’s Victory: Stand at the historic waterfront and hear the gripping account of the famous 1864 battle, where Union Admiral David Farragut shouted, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” as his fleet broke through Confederate defenses.
• The Streets of Wartime Mobile: Walk through the city’s historic core and envision the bustling wartime industry, with munitions factories, supply depots, and the ever-present fear of Union attack.
• Christ Church Cathedral & Civil War Medicine: Visit this historic church, where Mobile’s citizens gathered for solace during the war, and hear about the medical challenges faced by wounded soldiers in makeshift hospitals throughout the city.
• The Fall of Mobile: Discover the story of Mobile’s surrender in April 1865, one of the last major Confederate cities to fall, and the devastating explosion that followed just days later, leaving much of the city in ruins.
• Restoration & Reconstruction: Learn how Mobile’s resilient citizens rebuilt their city in the years following the war, transforming it into a thriving center of commerce once more.

Throughout the tour, Paul Brueske will share firsthand accounts, letters, and military reports, offering a vivid and detailed perspective on Mobile’s Civil War experience. Walk the same streets where soldiers marched, citizens endured, and history was made in one of the South’s last major Confederate cities.

Join us for Downtown Mobile: Civil War Era and relive the drama, tragedy, and resilience of a city caught in the storm of war.