Exhibit Honoring Lumbee Indians Forced to Work at Fort Fisher Debuted

From the June 30, 2021, WECT News 6, (Wilmington, North Carolina)  "Exhibit honoring Lumbee men forced to work at Fort Fisher during the Civil War debuted by state leaders.

This week, state officials joined the Lumbee  Tribe and American Indian Tribal leaders from across North Carolina to officially debut the state's newest exhibit at Fort Fisher, which honors Lumbee men who were forced to work at the fort during the war.

The new exhibit is housed in a display case at Fort Fisher State Historic Site is entitled, "A memory a People Could Not Forget:  Lumbee Indians at Fort Fisher."

It shows the important role played by the Lumbee Indians in constructing the fort's massive earthworks alongside  free and enslaved Blacks.  Faced with the  reality of conscription and brutal working conditions, the Lumbee Indians  endured seemingly  endless labor demands in building what became known as the "Gibraltar of the South."

--Old B-Runner