Download Principal Artifacts In The New Fort Fisher Exhibits

News Release
Contact: Gloria
Contact: Mary Cook 919-733-7862
Barbara Hoppe 910-458-5538
Release: May 20, 2002
FACT SHEET
NEW EXHIBITS AND MAJOR ARTIFACTS AT FT. FISHER
STATE HISTORIC SITE
INTERACTIVE MAP OF THE FINAL BATTLE OF FT. FISHER
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The 16-foot map features seven minutes of narration and 5,000 fiber optic lights highlighting various stages
of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.
It illustrates the entire offensive to take the fort, which began on Jan. 12, 1865, with the landing of Union
land troops north of the fort and ended Jan. 15, with the Confederates’ surrender to Union forces.
The narration includes battle reminiscences from both officers and enlisted soldiers who fought at Fort
Fisher. These include Confederate Col. William Lamb—the commanding officer at the fort during the final
battle—and Union Gen. Martin Curtis, whose troops had a key role in taking the fort.
Through both sight and sound, the exhibit conveys the ferocity of the battle, which included fierce hand-tohand fighting for possession of Fort Fisher.
The map includes the bombardment of the fort by a Union fleet of 58 ships and the fireworks shot off from
the fleet to celebrate its victory over the fort’s Confederate defenders. The South’s defeat at Fort Fisher
closed off its last effective port, Wilmington, which supported Confederate Gen. Lee’s army.
The area shown on the map stretches from New Inlet to an area north of the fort where the Union troops
came ashore for the land attack. Both the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean are depicted.
The landscape of the battlefield along with changes in elevation is featured along with various defensive
mounds and gun emplacements. However, the map does not include model soldiers or guns.
SOME NEW EXHIBITS AT FORT FISHER
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Blockade-runners-After the Civil War began in April 1861, the North blockaded all southern ports. The
South lacked factories to produce adequate wartime provisions or even basic necessities, so the
Confederacy began using ships called blockade-runners to slip into its ports. These vessels smuggled in
manufactured goods, such as shoes, blankets, rifles and meat, and smuggled out cotton—the South’s major
trading commodity—to the outside world. Profits made by successful blockade-runners were huge, rarely
below a 100 percent.
Often camouflaged with gray paint, blockade-runners were specially designed to meet the challenge of the
northern blockade. They featured a low profile, a shallow draft and great steam engines. Because the Cape
Fear River below Wilmington had several entrances to the Atlantic, the U.S. Navy found it difficult to seal.
The town soon became a vital entry point for goods smuggled into the South. The key to its access was
Fort Fisher, located on the lower Cape Fear and called “The Gibraltar of the South.”
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The Historic Sites Division is administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
Governor Michael F. Easley -- Secretary Lisbeth C. Evans -- Public Affairs Director Brenda Follmer
Public Affairs Office - 4604 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4604 (919) 733-5722 Fax (919)733-1620
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One of the most successful blockade-runners was the Advance, which was owned for part of the war by the
State of North Carolina. Like many of these ships, the Advance was eventually captured and used by the
Union. Artifacts from the blockade-runner Modern Greece are featured in this exhibit.
Fort construction-Before the Civil War, forts built were usually constructed of brick and/or masonry.
However, such materials could not stand up to exploding shells shot from the new rifled cannons, which
blew the old-style forts to smithereens. Fort Fisher—built almost entirely of sand by slaves, free blacks and
Confederate defenders—could absorb the blast and shock of huge shells. Plus, the fort’s defenders were
able to wait out the bombardments in the safety of “bombproofs,” shelters built under the sand mounds
from large timbers and then waterproofed.
The fort was named for Col. Charles Fisher—the first North Carolina field officer killed in the war—who
died at the Battle of First Manassas in 1861. Several Confederate commanders worked on building Fort
Fisher and its defenses. These officers were Capt. Charles P. Bolles, Capt. William L. DeRosset, Capt.
John J. Hendrick and finally, Col. William Lamb.
A man of great determination, Lamb took command of Fort Fisher in 1862. He reinforced the fort’s
defenses, which included eight defensive batteries and 22 guns facing the sea for a distance of 1,898 yards.
Weapons and Technology-Fort Fisher was armed with artillery ranging from antique smoothbore
cannons—many modified to make them more accurate—to modern rifled cannons. Its mainstays included
a 150-pound (refers to size of shells fired) rifled cannon, a smoothbore cannon—which fired a 120-pound
ball—and a 132-pound gun. The most modern piece was a large gun loaded from the rear rather than the
muzzle.
Besides elevated gun emplacements and several modern weapons, Fort Fisher had an extensive telegraph
system connecting it to the outside world. The fort’s defenders also used new technology to defend its
waters. Mines hidden in the waters around the fort made it dangerous for Union ships to try to get into
Wilmington plus the Confederates mined the land approach to Fort Fisher. However, when Federal troops
finally did assault the fort by land, they cut the mines’ electrical lines, rendering them useless.
Preparing to Fight-The common soldier at Fort Fisher spent most of his time digging the sand needed to
build the fort, chopping trees for the palisades, cleaning and mounting the fortification’s heavy guns, and
walking guard duty at night. Trying to get a decent meal was a challenge as was fending off boredom and
the hungry mosquitoes that clouded the air around Fort Fisher. Sometimes the men played cards or fished;
however, liquor was forbidden. It is said many went into Wilmington where it was said the bars and
bordellos were always crowded.
The First Assault-Because much Confederate contraband was slipping through the North’s blockade of
Wilmington, the Union forces decided to try to capture Fort Fisher in late 1864. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
chose Gen. Godfrey Weitzel to head a joint Army-Navy assault. However, because Maj. Gen. Benjamin
Butler—a man hated throughout the South—was Weitzel’s commander, he elected to lead the operation
himself.
First, the federals tried to destroy the fort by blowing up an old nearby ship filled with gunpowder, hoping
the shock of the explosion would cause the fort to collapse. When that strategy failed, they attacked Fort
Fisher on Dec. 24-25, 1864. First, the U.S. Navy offshore launched a huge bombardment of the fort.
However, most of Fort Fisher’s defenders were able to ride out the attack safe in their protected shelters.
The Union Army then landed ground troops north of the fort but Butler lost his nerve and told his troops to
retreat. Much to the Confederates’ joy, the offensive failed.
The Second Assault-Immediately following the failed initial assault, the Union command began planning a
second attack. This time, Grant chose the competent Bvt. Maj. Gen. Alfred Terry to lead. Terry soon
headed for the coast with 8,897 federal troops under his command. Fifty-eight warships armed with 627
guns began to shell Fort Fisher on Jan.13, 1865.
For three days and nights, the armada’s firepower devastated the Confederate defenses. Key areas of Fort
Fisher were substantially damaged plus the Confederate side was over gunned, undermanned and underfed.
Large sections of the fort’s palisade were shredded, electrical wires to the land mines were cut and all but
one heavy cannon on the landrace was disabled. During the initial bombardment, Union Gen. Terry had
begun landing troops north of the fort. This time, the landing went more smoothly.
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Meanwhile, confusion reigned amid the Confederate defenders. Though Col. Lamb asked Gen. Braxton
Bragg in Wilmington for more troops, Bragg did not hit the Union forces where needed and a frustrated
Col. Whiting left Wilmington for Fort Fisher. By Sunday, Jan. 15, Fort Fisher’s defenders had taken nearly
200 casualties. To prepare for an all but certain land attack, Whiting increased Fort Fisher’s manpower;
1,500 Confederates awaited the Union’s attack.
It came the afternoon of Jan. 15, when Federal sailors and marines charged down the beach. Initially, it
appeared that the deadly accuracy of Confederate riflemen had won their side another victory. However,
the Union command’s main assault was well underway on the opposite land end of the fort, and the
Northern troops took the fort after several hours of savage hand-to-hand combat. Adding insult to injury,
the 27th U.S. Colored Troops joined the final advance on Fort Fisher’s Battery Buchanan that night.
African American troops of the 25 Army Corps helped mop up the exhausted Confederates. Fort Fisher
fell to the Union after losses of at least 1,290 Federal troops and 600 Confederates. Wilmington was now
within easy grasp of the North.
Ladies of Fort Fisher-Probably the most prominent woman who lived at the fort during the Civil War was
Daisy Lamb, the wife of the fort’s final commander, Confederate Col. William Lamb. Though northern by
birth, Daisy loyally accompanied her husband to his posting, along with two of their children. Here they
lived in a small cottage just north of the fort. Letters she wrote and a diary Mrs. Lamb kept show that she
liked her cottage and life near the fort. Her contentment may have partially come from the fact that she
sometimes received tokens of appreciation from grateful blockade-runner captains, including precious bags
of sugar, bottles of rum and wine, and even boxes of sardines.
Another woman associated with the fort was famed Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow. A passenger
on the blockade-runner Condor in 1864, Greenhow was carrying $2,000 in gold. When the vessel ran
aground near the fort and took damage from a blockading vessel nearby, Rose begged the captain to take
her ashore in a small boat. Unfortunately, the boat capsized and Rose drowned, weighted down with the
precious gold she was carrying.
Additional Civil War exhibits are “ . . . Bullets, blankets, rifles. . .”; Wilmington, 1860; Running the
Blockade; Building Fort Fisher; Torpedoes and Mines; The Battle of Ft. Fisher; Wilmington Falls—
The War is Lost; My Friend the Enemy; Units That Fought at Fort Fisher; Outfitting a Confederate
Soldier and Outfitting a Union Soldier. Other exhibits include Sand Dunes, Oyster Beds, Maritime
Forests; Pirates, Hurricanes, Lighthouses; Shifting Sands; Ever Changing Fort Fisher; Uncovering
Fort Fisher; Flags of the Civil War; World War II 1941-1945; Wartime and the 559th AAA.
PRINCIPAL ARTIFACTS IN THE NEW FORT FISHER EXHIBITS
1. Union Gen. N. Martin Curtis’ ceremonial sword—this diamond-encrusted sword crafted by worldfamous New York jeweler Tiffany was presented to Curtis—who led the successful Union assault on Fort
Fisher—by his former troops in October 1865. The sword is 42 inches long with a heavily engraved steel
blade, decorated with a gold plated geometric pattern. Its hilt features 85 rose cut diamonds (two missing)
and the general’s monogram (NMC). The sword handle is made of sterling silver and sculpted in the form
of a mythological figure, topped with a gold eagle. The handle guard is also silver and features a leaf and
grape design.
This sword is being exhibited along with its scabbard, an epaulet, a hat badge, a sword knot, a belt for
wearing the sword, a sword sash and a set of gold plated spurs also made by Tiffany. All these items are on
loan from the Ogdensburg Public Library, Ogdensburg, N.Y.
2. Confederate Col. Charles Fisher’s sword—sword was made in Massachusetts and features a steel blade
engraved with vines and trumpets. Fort Fisher was named for this officer from Salisbury who died at the
first Battle of Manassas.
3. Confederate Maj. James Reilley’s saber— This weapon features a steel scabbard, dates from 1860 and
was made in Massachusetts. Maj. Reilley surrendered Fort Fisher in January 1865. In so doing, he
relinquished this saber (a cavalry weapon) to Union Captain E. Lewis Moore. In 1893, Moore returned the
sword to Reilley. It is on loan to Fort Fisher by the major’s descendents.
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4. Bell from the Spanish brig Luzon—brass bell with iron clapper, engraved on front Luzon 1852. The
Luzon went down in a storm on New Topsail Inlet in 1857 and its salvaged cargo was auctioned. This bell
eventually made its way to the guardhouse at Fort Fisher and was captured by 16th New York Heavy
Artillery in 1865. It was given to the fort by the State of New York in 1985.
5. Sauceboat from the Modern Greece—This piece of china is from a blockade-runner, which ran aground
off Fort Fisher in June 1862.
6. Wooden fife—This musical instrument was used by Joel Elmore of the 40th Regiment, N.C. Troops, at Fort
Fisher in 1862.
7. Naval signal lantern—used in sending Morse code to vessels at sea.
8. Pieces of the original palisade fence from the fort.
9. Confederate General Whiting’s table—the general wrote official dispatches on this walnut, tilt-top table,
circa 1840. It then passed to family members.
For further information on any of these exhibits, contact Mary Cook at 919/733-7862, [email protected] or
check out the site’s web page at http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/fisher/fisher.htm, which includes
downloadable photos of some of the artifacts that will be on display in the new exhibits at Fort Fisher State Historic
Site along with maps of the battle site.
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