Southport/Smithville, North Carolina: The History-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

The area where Southport is located, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina was  explored as early as the 1500s by Spanish explorers.  During the 18th century, British settlements along the Carolina coast lacked  fortifications to protect against pirates and privateers and there were numerous Spanish incursions as well.

In response to these attacks, Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston, in 1744, appointed a committee to best select the site for a fort to protect the Cape Fear River region.  It was determined that the site would be near the mouth of the river where the fort was eventually constructed.

During that same year, France declared war on Britain, later known as King George's War, increasing the need for a fort.  At the same time, Spanish privateer raids increased on the American colonies. As a result, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the construction of "Johnston's Fort" in April 1745, which would become known as Fort Johnston, the name it carried into the Civil War.

The governor of South Carolina agreed to lend ten small cannons to the fort and the legislature in , in the spring of 1748, appropriated 2,000 pounds for construction costs, and the fort finally became a reality.

The town of Smithville, later Southport, developed around the fort.

It was Smithville during the Civil War.

--Old B-Runner