How Fort Fisher Came To Be on Pleasure Island-- Part 3

However, locals hated the name, finding it somewhat sleazy. The residents of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach especially were unwilling to give up their individual community names.

The town of Carolina Beach even went so far as to  put the name of "Pleasure Island" on a ballot and have a vote on it.  Carolina Beach voted overwhelmingly against it.

However, the Chamber and some others continue to use the name Pleasure Island for the area as being convenient to describe the resort area.

Our society, the federal Point Historical Society Association continues to use the historical name  for the area which includes everything north of Snow's Cut to Monkey Junction to Fort Fisher, including Myrtle Grove, Masonboro, The Cape, Seabreeze, Carolina Beach, (Wilmington Beach and Hanby Beach were incorporated into the towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach in the 1990s) Kure Beach and Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

Was There A Confederate Camp Near the Grainger's Pointe Neighborhood at Masonboro Sound?

From the September 24, 2012, Wilmington (NC) Star-News "My Reporter" by Gail Calloway.

The newspaper answers questions submitted by readers.

Becky Thatcher at Fort Fisher gives this information.

There was plenty of action around Masonboro Sound.  After the fall of Fort Fisher, Confederates were worried about the presence of Union troops on the lower Cape Fear River an a possible siege of Wilmington.

General Braxton Bragg ordered a line of breastworks built from just below Wilmington at Fort Meares, one of the river batteries, to Hewlett's Creek, near Masonboro Sound.  This gave Confederates a defensive line to fall back on in case Sugar Loaf (by present-day Carolina Beach) fell

The federals did attempt to land troops at Masonboro Sound but were unsuccessful.  There are some structures still standing that were there at the time.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Troops Stationed By Masonboro Sound, N.C.-- Part 2

The largest Confederate  encampment in the general area was Camp Davis, located on the north side of Hewlett's Creek, above Masonboro.  Thousands of troops moved into and out of that camp with their regiments or battalions between 1861 and late 1864.  Most of the troops were North Carolinians, but also South Carolinian and Virginian.

Camp Davis was the largest Confederate  encampment between Fort Fisher and Wilmington's outer defenses at Virginia Creek, 25 miles north of the city.  Camp Davis was located about half way between  Fort Fisher and Virginia Creek.

A great fear of Confederate authorities was that Union forces would attack Wilmington by way of Masonboro, Wrightsville or Topsail Sounds.  They could use the major creeks like Whiskey, Hewlett's, Bradley, Pages, etc. to assault Wilmington from the east, thus bypassing the strong defenses, including Fort Fisher, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

Thus Confederate forces were deployed along the sound to contest  an enemy landing and delay their advance until reinforcements could arrive.

The reported Confederate battery that was shelled by the Niphon and Monticello in Tuesday's post would have been part of this defense system.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Troops Stationed By Masonboro Sound-- Part 1

Since I wrote about action by Masonboro Inlet and Sound yesterday, here is some more information about the area.

From the November 12, 2012 Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "My Reporter:  How Many Troops were stationed in the Masonboro Sound area during the Civil Wart" by Si Cantwell.

According to Wilmington in the Civil War expert Chris Fonvielle, it is impossible to know exactly how many Confederates were stationed there.  Records do not exist to answer that.  Some itineraries for Confederate units do document stations in the Masonboro Sound area but do not tell how many soldier there were.

Two Confederate encampment sites have been located at Masonboro Sound.  One large early war one was Camp Hedrick at the headwaters of Hewlett's Creek and there was a small picket camp  at Grainger's Point.

There might have been others, but their locations have been long lost to time and present-day development.

--Old B-Runner

August 27, 1864: Action At Masonboro Inlet, NC

AUGUST 27TH, 1864:  The USS Niphon, Acting Lieutenant Joseph B. Breck, and the USS Monticello, Acting Master Henry A Phelon, conducted an expedition up Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, to silence a Confederate battery which was reported to have been erected in the vicinity.

The two screw steamers shelled the shoreline and a number of buildings at Masonboro; landing parties went ashore and captured a quantity of rifles, ammunition and foodstuffs.

--Old B-Runner

Attack On Confederate Saltworks at Masonboro Sound, NC

APRIL 21ST, 1864: Boat crews from the USS Howquah, Fort Jackson and Niphon, commanded by Lt. Joseph B. Breck, destroyed Confederate salt works at Masonboro Sound, North Carolina.

The sailors landed under cover of darkness at 9 PM without being detected. and rapidly demolished the works while taking some 160 prisoners.

Breck then returned to the ships which were standing by to provide gunfire if necessary.

Major General W.H.C. Whiting, CSA, noted that the incident demonstrated the necessity of maintaining a guard to protect "these points", and thenceforth there were no salt works constructed at Masonboro Inlet.

The Union Navy conducted a regular campaign against Southern salt works as the need for salt was critical to the Confederacy and getting in much less supply.

--Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: November 4th to 9th, 1862-- Clossing Off Shallotte and New Topsail

NOVEMBER 4TH

Rear Admiral S.P. Lee reported to Sec. Fox "There is no doubt that a large trade was carried on with Wilmington (NC) through Shalotte Inlet 25 miles below, & New Topsail Inlet 15 miles above Wilmington.  I have shut both doors."

The USS Daylight and Mount Vernon forced blockade-running British bark Sophia aground and destroyed her near Masonboro Ilet, NC.

NOVEMBER 5TH

The USS Louisiana captured the schooner Alice B. Webb at Rose Bay, NC.

NOVEMBER 8TH

CSS Alabama captured and burned the ship T.B. Wales southeast of Bermuda.


NOVEMBER 9TH

Greenville, NC, surrendered to a joint Army-Navy landing force under Second Assistant Engineer J.L.Lay of the USS Louisiana.

The Louisiana eventually became Butler's powder ship for his experiment before the First Battle of Fort Fisher.

Old B-Runner