How Fort Fisher Came to Be in Pleasure Island (and Federal and Confederate Point)

From the October 3, 2021, Wilmington (North Carolina) Star-News "What's the story behind the 'Pleasure Island' name?"

Anyone visiting Fort Fisher might see it advertised as being on Pleasure Island or Federal Point.

QUESTION:  When and how did Pleasure Island get its name?  I assume it was just called Federal Point then.

ANSWER:   Rebecca Taylor, manager of the Federal Point History Center explains it this way.

 James Sprunt, long-time historian of the lower Cape Fear River area, says Federal Point was named  in honor of the new Federal Constitution adopted in 1788.  During the Civil War, the name obviously was changed to Confederate Point after North Carolina seceded from the United States.  The name was changed back to Federal Point after the war.

But, what does that have to do with Pleasure Island as a name for the area?

Continued.  --Old B-Runner

Wilmington's Famous "Dram Tree"-- Part 2: "Like a Grim Sentinel"

The famed old tree stuck out of the west bank  of the Cape Fear River about two miles south of Wilmington.

The crooked, ancient bald cypress tree. covered with Spanish moss looked as though it had been the victim of nature's wrath over hundreds of years.  The top of it had no leaves.   It looked like something you might see in a horror movie.

But, to those old mariners, it was something you wanted to see.  It meant home and safety.  When they saw it, this meant that Wilmington was real close by.

Famed local historian James Sprunt once described it as:  "Like a grim sentinel, it stands to warn the outgoing mariner that his voyage had begun and to welcome the in-coming storm-tossed sailor into the quiet harbor beyond."

But, why is it called "The Dram Tree?"

Next.  --Old B-Runner

Wilmington in the Secession Crisis-- Part 2: "Great Popular Excitement and Enthusiasm"

After the war, the widowed wife of Confederate Colonel William Parsley, Eliza Hall Nutt Parsley, recalled:  "In 1861, when amid great popular excitement and enthusiasm, South Carolina seceded from the Union, the people of Wilmington were deeply stirred by conflicting emotions.

"Meetings were held and speakers for and against secession swayed the multitudes which attended them.  A prominent secessionist was attorney Oliver P. Meares.

Her husband, William M. Parsley, had been among the men who seized Fort Caswell during the Star of the West crisis in January 1861.  Then in April, was elected captain of the Cape Fear Riflemen.

Cape Fear historian James Sprunt wrote that Meares "was an ardent secessionist and a fiery speaker, and the younger element were carried away by his eloquence."  When North Carolina seceded, he was among those who occupied Fort Caswell.

Both men later served as officers in the Confederate Army.

--Old B-R'er