Incorporated in 1814 by the legislature of the Mississippi Territory before Alabama statehood, Blakeley was envisioned by founder Josiah Blakeley as a premier trading center and a rival to Mobile as a port because of its deep harbor on the Tensaw River. In its first decade, the town grew explosively and became an important link in regional commerce and travel. In 1820, it became the seat of government for Baldwin County and an official United States port of entry. During its heyday, Blakeley had a newspaper, several stores, hotels, and other businesses, and some of Alabama's earliest steamboats were built there. A combination of inflated real estate prices, improvements to Mobile's harbor, and recurring yellow fever epidemics contributed to the town's decline by the 1830's. On April 9, 1865, the Battle of Fort Blakeley, the largest Civil War battle fought in Alabama and one of the war's last, took place there. Along with Spanish Fort, Blakeley was one of two major Confederate defensive positions guarding the eastern approaches to Mobile. Its defenses formed a line of earthen fortifications about three miles long, manned by approximately 3500 men under Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell. Union forces under the overall command of Gen. E.R.S. Canby, including several regiments of United States Colored Troops, began besieging Blakeley on April 1, 1865. At 5:30pm on April 9, about 16,000 Federal troops launched a general assault and captured the fort after a brief but fierce fight, and Mobile surrendered shortly afterward.