Feb. 18, 1865: Fort Anderson Falls and Sugar Loaf Evacuated in North Carolina

FEBRUARY 18TH, 1865:  The big guns of Rear Admiral Porter's fleet in the Cape Fear River silenced the Confederate batteries at Fort Anderson.  Under a relentless hail, of fire from the ships and with Union troops investing the fort from two sides, the Southerners evacuated their defensive positions and fell back to Town Creek.

Simultaneously, the Confederates dug in at Sugar Loaf Hill, on the east bank of the Cape Fear River, adjacent to Fort Anderson, withdrew to Fort Strong, a complex of fortifications comprising several batteries some three miles south of Wilmington.

The combined Army-Navy movement was now pushing irresistibly toward Wilmington, North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner