Local historian, author of many books about the local Civil War history and historical preservation society member Chris E. Fonvielle Jr. said the park includes some of the most intact and substantial Sugar Loaf earthworks still existing.
The Sugar Loaf Line of earthworks came into play as the Union closed in on taking Fort Fisher and eventually Wilmington, one of the South's last remaining seaports for supplies in the waning years of the war.
"When the seriousness of the threat to Wilmington became real, General William Whiting (Commander of the Department of the Cape Fear) decided to build this auxiliary line north of Fort Fisher so there would be troops ready to contest any landing by Federal troops," Fonvielle said.
Fighting that occurred along the Sugar Loaf Line would lead directly to the fall of Wilmington in February 1865 and featured the involvement of the United States Colored Troops.
--Old B-Runner
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