Named after Colonel John Bowyer, Fort Bowyer was a wooden fortification built at the end of Mobile Point to guard the entrance to Mobile Bay. The British attacked the fort on two occasions during the War of 1812. Major William Lawrence, in command of a group of regular soldiers, repulsed the first attack in September 1814. The second assault, launched after the battle of New Orleans in February of 1815, resulted in Lawrence’s surrender of the fort. Fort Bowyer was later replaced by Fort Morgan, made famous for its
role in the defense of Mobile Bay during the Civil War.

Fort Morgan Historic Site lies at the end of Highway 180, twenty-two miles west of Highway 59 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Visitors may take a self-guided tour of the fort and view a small museum, which contains a small exhibit interpreting Fort Bowyer’s role in the War of 1812. Four historical markers on the park's grounds interpret the fort as well.