 From 1861 the Union blockade shut Mobile Bay, and in August 1864 the outer defenses of Mobile were taken by a Federal fleet during the Battle of Mobile Bay.On April 12, 1865, three days after the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, the city of Mobile surrendered to the Union army to avoid destruction following the Union victories at the Battle of Spanish Fort and the Battle of Fort Blakeley.The Magee Farm, north of Mobile, was the site of preliminary arrangements for the surrender of the last Confederate States Army east of the Mississippi River.