The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-15
OF HISTORIC INTEREST
INFORMATION REGARDING FORT
 MORGAN RESERVATION.
Secretary of War Sheds Light Upon Title of tSle Land Involved, in ReHpOnAe to a Senate
 Resolution.
Advertiser Bureau.
 Colorado Building.

| Advertiser Bureau.
 Colorado Building.
 1 Washington. Feb. 14. | Secretary of War Taft has tThns- mitted to the Senate in response to a Senate resolution information in re. gard to the military reservation at Fort Morgan. Ala-s which sheds intar- esting light upon the title of the land involved and Is of historic interest | The Secretary of War was directed to send to the Senate a statement showing the title of the United States to the land on Mobile Point on which Fort Morgan Is situated. and the lands adjacent claimed as property of the United States and a copy of any deed or grants or other title papers show ing the claim of title to the United States for lands; also, along with map. a statement of any proceedings in any court to condemn any other lands ut Mobile Point for the use of the United States
 1 The Judge Advocate General of the Army furnishes this information. The papers on file in that oface show that the title of the government to the res- ervation rests on the cession by Spain. under treaty of February 22, 1S19. l (the year Alabama was admitted into the uniou). of territory including the reservation. and tho withdrawal of the lands comprised in the reservation for military purposes by executive OP- ders February 13, 1S44,
 l Prior to this order it was claimed that the entire reservation was in. cluded in the grant of April 5, 1900. to Francis Suare,z from the Spanish au- thorities. protected by treaty of Feb ruary 22. 1919. and confirmed by act q vey was made of that claim in 1893 by John James deputy surveyor, which l Included the reservation. The matter of the location of the clalIA so as to move 1t eastward and exclude the res- ervation was under consideration from | lS42 to 1S4A and a new survey of the claim was made by Cunningham and James for the representatives of | Francis Suare2" under instructions from the land ofilce at St. Stephens. Ala. By this survey. which was ap- proved by James H. Weakley. sur veyor-gencral. March 22. 1S44, the res- ervation was excluded and declared embraced all of the land of Mobile Point between the point and a north and south line drawn from the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile Bay and 1900 yards east of the glacis of the fort, containing about 322.42 acres.
 | In determining the eastern boundary the surveyors of the land office com menced on the breast height of the covered way of Fort Morgan. at the salient angle between fronts four and five. and ran thence in direction due east a distance of 25O feet. which brought them to point through which a north and south line might be run that would pass to the eastward of the fort and of its Glacis, when finished. Then from this latter point they run in the same direction (due easO a distance of 1.2O0 yards. which brought them to the eastern limits of the re- serve. Through this point they ran the eastern boundary line which Is a north and south line run by the true meridian entirely across Mobile Point. from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to Mobile Bay on the north side
 Three stone monuments were placed in position on this boundary line under
 the direction of the surveyors-One
 near the south beach, one near the
 north beach. and the third about mid
 way between the two shores. It i'
 understood that the intention was tC survey the claim so as to move 1t east'
 ward and give the claimant the iant
 to which he was entitled: that it wal , lnlaimed that the James survey o
 1SSs erroneously included the miaitar!