[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4695 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4695

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and 
 feasibility of designating Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan in Alabama as 
       units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2002

 Mr. Callahan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and 
 feasibility of designating Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan in Alabama as 
       units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Fort Morgan was constructed from 1819 through 1834, by 
        French military engineer Simon Bernard as part of the eastern 
        defenses of Mobile Bay.
            (2) Fort Morgan figured prominently in the naval campaigns 
        of the Civil War. During one engagement, Union Admiral D. G. 
        Farragut, leading a fleet into Mobile Bay against Confederate 
        forces, uttered the now famous words ``Damn the torpedoes! Full 
        speed ahead!''.
            (3) On the morning of August 13, 1864, Confederate forces 
        surrendered Fort Morgan, giving control of the last remaining 
        southern port in the Gulf of Mexico to the Union.
            (4) Fort Morgan continued as a coastal artillery post until 
        after World War II.
            (5) Fort Gaines, which is located on Dauphin Island, 2 
        miles west of Fort Morgan, was constructed in 1850 and guarded 
        the western side of Mobile Bay with 26 guns.
            (6) In 1853, Congress named the fortification for General 
        Edmund Pendleton Gaines, who won lasting fame for his tenacious 
        defense of Fort Erie, as well as his capture of former Vice 
        President Aaron Burr.
            (7) On August 8, 1864, Union gunboats opened a bombardment 
        of Fort Gaines. The fort was surrendered the next day.

SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT REGARDING FORT GAINES AND FORT MORGAN, 
              ALABAMA.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of the Interior shall complete a study 
regarding the suitability and feasibility of designating Fort Gaines 
and Fort Morgan in Alabama as units of the National Park System.
    (b) Study Process and Completion.--Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-
383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and completion of 
the study required by this section.
    (c) Submission of Study Results.--Not later than 30 days after 
completion of the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate a report describing the results the study.
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