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Beach, NC – January 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Step back in time
to 1865 during the weekend of January 17-18 when Fort
Fisher State Historic Site opens North Carolina’s official 2015 commemoration
of the events that led to the end of the Civil War 150 years ago when they
present: “Nor Shall Your Glory Be Forgot: the 150th Anniversary of the
2nd Battle of Fort Fisher.” This large-scale living history program is
expected to be the site’s largest event to date, featuring more than 600
reenactors who will recreate the battle and Confederate camp life.
At the core of the observance
weekend are Saturday and Sunday recreations of the January 1865 Union attacks
on Fort Fisher. The large-scale battle reenactments will feature hundreds
of reenactors representing Union and Confederate soldiers, sailors, and
Marines realistically depicting everything from camp life to battle strategies.
Saturday’s battle reenactment begins at 1:30 pm, while Sunday’s reenactment
will begin at 10:00 a.m. Other activities include cannon firings, artillery
demonstrations and guided tours led by historians, along with evening lantern
tours, period music and presentations by esteemed guest speakers. Fort
Fisher will also unveil new indoor and outdoor exhibits. Visitors will
have opportunities to speak with reenactors and to meet descendants of
Fort Fisher soldiers.
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Until the last few months
of the Civil War, Fort Fisher kept North Carolina’s port of Wilmington
open to blockade-runners supplying necessary goods to Confederate armies
inland. By 1865, the supply line through Wilmington was the last remaining
supply route open to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Many battles
were fought leading up to the war’s end. The Second Battle of Fort Fisher
on January 15, 1865 was the largest land-sea battle of the Civil War. When
Fort Fisher was captured after this massive Union amphibious assault, the
South’s vital shipping port of Wilmington was closed and the war ended
less than 90 days later.
Fort Fisher’s commemorative
event January 17 and 18 promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience
for all visitors and participants as 1865 history unfolds on the site where
Fort Fisher’s 2nd battle was fought. Fort Fisher descendants in attendance
will include family members of Col. William and Daisy Lamb, General WHC
Whiting, Col. John Hedrick, Major Charles P. Bolles, Pvt. Christopher Bland
and Pvt. Bruce Anderson. A special temporary exhibit has been prepared
to tell the story of Pvt. Bruce Anderson of the 142nd New York Volunteers,
the only African American to receive the Medal of Honor for his valorous
actions at the Battle of Fort Fisher in January 1865.
Other exhibits slated to
debut during the anniversary weekend include “Guardian Angel of the Blockade
Runner” with objects that belonged to Colonel William Lamb and another
exhibit featuring an original Whitworth Gun from Fort Fisher on loan from
the Department of the Navy. Outdoors exhibits include 17 interpretive wayside
panels along the site’s ¼-mile trail and the replica palisade fence
that encircles the remains of the fort.
Civil War historians and
authors will be on hand to talk about their research and sign copies of
their books, including: Jamie Martinez, Rod Gragg, Dr. Chris Fonvielle,
Richard Triebe, Michael Hardy, and Ray Flowers. Renowned historian, author,
and Civil War battlefield expert Ed Bearss will be the keynote speaker
at a special opening ceremony slated for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 17 at
Battle Acre where the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band will perform patriotic
and martial music.
Want To Go?
Fort
Fisher State Historic Site is located in Kure Beach, just 20 miles
south of Wilmington, at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd. S., along US Highway 421.
The site will open at 8:00 a.m. each day with activities and lectures throughout
the day. The two-day observance program is free, except for small fees
associated with unique tours. A limited number of tickets for these tours
will be sold. Visitors, residents, and motorists are advised of loud explosions
during cannon firings and artillery demonstrations.
Due to anticipated high attendance,
organizers encourage an early arrival. Free public parking is available
at the Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Base, with free trolley rides from
there to the fort. The site and trolley service will open at 8:00 a.m.
each day. Food vendors are expected to set up just north of the main parking
lot.
Programming is made possible
with the support of the Friends
of Fort Fisher and its sustaining members. Fort Fisher is part of the
Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C.
Department of Cultural Resources. Due to factors beyond the staff’s
control, some program components are subject to change. For more information
on the site, call 910-458-5538 or visit the web site www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher.
Event information can also be found at www.friendsoffortfisher.com.
Related Activities:
If your favorite pastime
is exploring “past times,” plan to visit Fort
Fisher and other area attractions that interpret the region’s Civil
War history. And be sure to visit www.WilmingtonCivilWar150.com,
a new web page designed to assist visitors seeking more information about
Civil War-related attractions, tours, events, maps and articles that interpret
Wilmington’s role during the Civil War. There are also direct links to
seasonal specials and accommodations packages.
The Cape
Fear Museum of History & Science, located in nearby Wilmington,
is North Carolina’s oldest history museum that was founded in 1898 by the
United Daughters of the Confederacy to preserve our history. Its collection
spans many historical eras, including the Civil War with an interactive
diorama of the Battle of Fort Fisher and hundreds of artifacts, many of
which are now on display in a special collections exhibit “Fort Fisher:
150 Years” (ongoing through July 13, 2015). Other area attractions with
Civil War ties include: Wilmington Railroad
Museum, Bellamy Mansion Museum,
Cameron
Art Museum, Oakdale Cemetery,
Wilmington
National Cemetery, Thalian Hall,
Sugarloaf
Sand Dune at Carolina Beach State Park, Orange
Street Landing on Cape Fear, Fort
Anderson, Poplar Grove Plantation,
as well as tours, monuments and markers. Find out more at www.WilmingtonCivilWar150.com.
Visitor Information:
Wilmington and its island
beaches offer one destination with four unique settings. Wilmington is
an easy drive from I-95 via I-40 and US74. Prefer to fly? The Wilmington
International Airport (ILM) provides flight options through Delta and
American Airlines/US Airways with many non-stop flights to popular destinations
within the U.S. For a free Official Visitors Guide to Wilmington,
North Carolina and the island beaches of Carolina
Beach,
Kure Beach and Wrightsville
Beach, call 866-266-9690. For online visitor information, visit the
official destination website at www.GoWilmingtonAndBeaches.com.
Go with the flow and see where the water takes you!
Media
Contact:
Wilmington
and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau
Connie
Nelson
Communications/PR
Director
910-332-8751
866-266-9690
ext. 120
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The
New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority d/b/a Wilmington and Beaches
Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization
of New Hanover County, North Carolina that stimulates economic development
through the promotion of travel and tourism.
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