During the Civil War there were many forts in the Southport/Oak Island area, guarding the entrances to the Cape Fear River.
In Brunswick County there were at least four key forts: Fort Anderson (originally named Fort St. Philips) at Brunswick Town, Fort Johnston in Smithville (now Southport), Fort Caswell at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and Fort Campbell on present-day Long Beach.
In nearby New Hanover County, Fort Fisher guarded the other entrance to the Cape Fear River, keeping Wilmington as the very last Confederate port open until the bitter end, falling on January 15th, 1865, after a tremendous bombardment by Union Naval troops and attack by more than 20,000 Union army troops.
August 11, 2012 – 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Blue & Gray Navies
Carolina Living History Guild members will set up displays that highlight the history of the USS North Carolina and the CSS North Carolina during the American Civil War. Displays will include steam engineering, ironclad ship construction, navigation, small arms of the US and CS navies, and the “arts of the sailor.” Visitors will be able to view reproductions of period small arms and working models of steam engines, as well as many other items. Guild members will discuss with visitors the vast differences between the 1824 ship-of-the-line and the newly constructed Confederate ironclad gunboat, and how these differences highlighted the change in naval and military technology in the 1860s.
Battleship NORTH CAROLINA Highways 17/74/76/421 Intersections Wilmington, NC
910/251-5797