The Last "Beat the Heat" Lecture at Fort Fisher: The Life of Henry Sterling Lebby, Blockade-Runner, Privateer

The last Fort Fisher "Beat the Heat" lecture will be held this Saturday at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach, North Carolina.

This one is "A Post-War Confederate Sailor:  Finding H.S. Lebby, Blockade Runner and Privateer."

Sailors' Snug Harbor, New York, a retirement home for the purpose of caring for "worn out and decrepit sailors," opened its doors in 1833 on Staten Island to all seamen from all countries.  Henry Sterling (H.S.) Lebby noted on his application that he had worked on merchant vessels from the United States.

And yet, it is clear that his records from South Carolina, that he was not the man he claimed to be.

Who is Captain Lebby and why is he in New York living out his last years at Sailors' Snug Harbor?

Inquiring Minds Want to Know.  --Old B-Runner