Fort Morgan was constructed from 1819-1834 as part of the defenses of Mobile Bay. Fort Morgan, like Fort Pickens at Pensacola, was designed by the French military engineer Simon Bernard, who had been hired by the United States as a consultant and appointed to the board of engineers. The early Third System fortifications show the influence of the French school of design, whose most notable member was Vauban. However, the primary mission of defending a harbor, rather than their own location, led to characteristics which make them a uniquely American type of fortification.

Fort Morgan became well known during the Civil War, when Union Admiral D.G. Farragut lead a fleet to close the bay. During the attack, the U.S.S. Tecumseh struck a mine, and in the confusion, the fleet hesitated under the guns of Fort Morgan, prompting Farragut to order "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!". The fort continued as a coast artillery post until after World War II.

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The fort is entered through the postern, which goes through the glacis. The glacis is a hill of soil which protects the walls of the fort from direct cannon fire.

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This view from the glacis shows the dry ditch surrounding Fort Morgan. The wall on the right, which supports the glacis, is called the counterscarp. Two bastions and the scarp wall can be seen on the left.

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