Wilmington & North Carolina’s Cape Fear Coast Civil War History

Rich in history and folklore, Wilmington & North Carolina's Cape Fear Coast is known for its beauty, charm, Southern hospitality, and nautical legacy that spans centuries. Nestled on the southeastern coast of North Carolina between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River, the region encompasses Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach.

During the Civil War, a massive network of defenses at Fort Fisher protected the Cape Fear River, which was an important route for blockade-runners transporting military provisions to inland troops. Located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, Fort Fisher is approximately 19 miles south of Downtown Wilmington, NC.  Due to the strength of the protection at Fort Fisher, Wilmington was the last Atlantic Coast port of the Confederacy to remain open to trade. Fort Fisher fell to Federal troops during the largest naval bombardment of the 19th century on January 15, 1865 and the city soon filled with troops in occupation. Before its fall, Fort Fisher (the South’s largest earthen fort) protected blockade-runners en route to Wilmington.  The Second Battle was the largest land-sea battle of the Civil War.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site (a NC Civil War Trail site).. Approximately ten percent of Fort Fisher still stands, along with a restored palisade fence. A trail around the mounds includes cannons, rifles, and interpretive markers. Fort Fisher’s special events include artillery demonstrations, encampments and battle re-enactments throughout the year. Fort Fisher’s museum/visitor center includes an audiovisual program that presents the history of the fort and exhibits that interpret Fort Fisher’s story through photographs, artifacts, artillery, and a fiber optic battle map. A Civil War memorial is located on the grounds. www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher

Bellamy Mansion Museum of History & Design Arts (c.1859-1861). One of North Carolina’s most spectacular example s of antebellum architecture, Bellamy Mansion was built on the eve of the Civil War by free and enslaved black artisans, for John Dillard Bellamy (1817-1896) physician, planter and business leader. After the fall of Fort Fisher in 1865, Federal troops commandeered the house as their headquarters during the occupation of Wilmington. It now serves as a museum that focuses on history and the design arts and offers tours and special events. www.bellamymansion.org

Cape Fear Museum of History & Science, North Carolina's oldest history museum, was founded 1898 by a group of local women who wanted to preserve the objects and memories of the Civil War. Originally named “The Confederate Museum,” it began in a room in the Wilmington Light Infantry (WLI) Armory. Today the Cape Fear Museum is an accredited Blue Star Museum that is housed in a building not far from its original location. The Museum collects, preserves, and interprets objects relating to the history, science and cultures of the Lower Cape Fear. Artifacts, images, models, three-dimensional settings, and educational programs explore people's lives in the Lower Cape Fear from Native American times through the end of the 20th century. One of the Museum’s most popular displays is an interactive diorama that interprets the Battle of Fort Fisher. www.capefearmuseum.com

Wilmington Railroad Museum: For more than 125 years, railroading was Wilmington’s chief industry. In 1840 the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad was completed and was the longest continuous rail line in the world at 161 miles long. Wilmington emerged as one of the most important cities in the Confederacy. The railroad , which ran from Wilmington into Virginia, was an essential route for supplies moving by rail for General Lee's army. Near the turn of the 20th Century Wilmington & Weldon Railroad merged with other railroads along the Eastern seaboard to become the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Wilmington and the museum is housed in one of the railroad’s historic buildings. www.wrrm.org

Wilmington National Cemetery was established in 1867 and includes more than 2,000 Civil War graves, approximately 1300 of which are unknown. An estimated that 557 African American Union soldiers were laid to rest here, their stones identifying them as “U.S.C.T.” or “U.S. Col. Inf.” Most of the original interments were remains removed from the Wilmington City Cemetery, Fort Fisher, Fort Johnson and the surrounding area. www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/wilmington.asp

Oakdale Cemetery was chartered in 1852. This landscaped 165-acre Victorian-era burying ground contains graves of Confederate veterans, including Mrs. Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Confederate Secret Service Agent who drowned off Fort Fisher (September, 1864) while running the blockade. Approx. 400 unknown Confederate soldiers were reinterred to this cemetery. The Confederate Memorial Monument is located in Oakdale Cemetery. www.oakdalecemetery.org

Cameron Art Museum, southeastern North Carolina’s premier art museum, is an accredited Blue Star Museum. The museum's 9.3 acre campus includes a significant NC Civil War Trail site where one of the last battles of the Civil War—the Battle of Forks Road—was fought on February 20, 1865. After the fall of Fort Fisher following the largest naval bombardment to date in US history, Union troops marched up the Cape Fear peninsula to capture Wilmington and seal off the Confederate Army's last remaining port. Lining the edge of the Museum grounds are confederate revetments built during the Battle of Forks Road in the last days of the Civil War. Each year in February the Museum commemorates the cultural significance of this site and the role played by African-American troops with an annual “Civil War Living History Weekend” event, featuring Civil War reenactors, lectures, workshops, artillery demonstrations and children’s period games. www.cameronartmuseum.com

Nearby:

Fort Anderson, a large sand fortification, was constructed in 1861 atop the colonial village site of Brunswick Town. Originally called Fort St. Philip’s, Fort Anderson served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy. In February 1865, following the fall of Fort Fisher at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, Union forces attacked Fort Anderson from the land and river. Colonial foundations dot the present-day tour trail, which crosses the earthworks of the Confederate fort.  The site includes a visitor center, audiovisual program, historical displays. Annual events include re-enactments, demonstrations, and educational programs. www.nchistoricsites.org/brunswick

When your favorite pastime is “past times,” there's a world of history to explore along Wilmington & North Carolina's Cape Fear Coast! For an Official Visitors Guide call 1-877-406-2356 or visit www.capefearcoast.com.  For an up-to-date calendar of events, please visit: www.capefearcoast.com/events.