Southport/Smithville, N.C. History-- Part 3: Named For Benjamin Smith

Present-day Southport was founded as the town of Smithville in 1792.  Joshua Potts had requested the formation of a town adjacent to Fort Johnston, and the North Carolina General Assembly formed a commission of five men to administer its founding.

It was named for Benjamin Smith, a colonel in the Continental Army during the American revolution and later a governor of North Carolina.  Smithville grew up as a fishing village and since it supported military activity with its Fort Johnston, it was the county seat of Brunswick County from 1808 to 1977.

In an effort to promote  the town as a major shipping port, Smithville was renamed Southport in 1887.  Smithville Township, in which Southport is located, and other local landmarks like the cemetery continue to use the name Smithville.

The renaming of Smithville as Southport did not bring about its aim and it did not become a major sea port.  But, Southport is now known for its relaxed atmosphere and Victorian-era seaside charm.

--Old B-Southport

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

When Smithville, N.C., Became Southport, N.C.-- Part 2: Snapshots and Postcards of Smithville/Southport

Photographs accompany the article.

**  One shows the Stuart House.  It was a boarding house and many blockade runner captains and pilots would stay there during the war.

**  Another one shows a large sign with the words:  "Welcome to Southport, a deep Water Natural  Harbor" from when the city was trying to become a major North Carolina seaport.  Wilmington, up the Cape Fear River, became that seaport.  Blockade runners would drop down to Smithville (now Southport) after taking on cargo in Wilmington, and wait to see which of the two exits was the best one for their voyage (least blockaded).

**  Another one showed Capt. John Harper's  steamer Wilmington which was the most popular way to get from Wilmington to Southport from 1896 to the 1910s.  Thus was also the ship you took to go to Carolina Beach and Fort Fisher.

**  A hospital which once stood at Fort Johnston.

**  Pirate Steed Bonnet, the "Gentleman's Pirate" who was captured near Southport.

**  The barracks that once stood at Fort Johnston.

**  Fort Johnston marker:  "Gov. Gabriel Johnston ordered  construction of the fort, 1745.  Burned by defiant colonists, 1775.  Rebuilt later..  Only the officers quarters remain."  Today it is the Southport welcome center and museum.

**  United States Quarantine Station  at Southport.  Too bad we didn't have more of these back in January and February this year.

--Old B-Runner

When Smithville N.C. Became Southport N.C.-- Part 1

From the July 30m 2020, Jacksonville (N.C.) Daily News  "Cape Fear Unearthed:  How Smithville became Southport" by Hunter Ingram.

The latest episode of a podcast "Cape Fear Unearthed."

During the Civil War, the town of Southport was called Smithville, the name it had had since the 1700s.  It was originally  designated as Fort Johnston in the 1740s and was supposed to protect the growing and thriving  ports of Brunswick Town and Wilmington.

But, it never became a major fort and the town of Smithville grew up around the ruins of the fort after the American revolution and a favorite escape the heat spot for Wilmington residents.  Over time and through at least three major wars, Smithville flourished, even after becoming Southport in 1887.

That is why it is the Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry instead of the Smithville-Fort Fisher Ferry.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington (NC) in the Secession Crisis, 1861 Tonight at the History Center in Carolina Beach, NC-- Part 1

From the Federal Point Historic Preservation Society.

The society will be holding its monthly meeting tonight at the Federal Point History Center at 1121-A North Lake Park Boulevard, adjacent to the Carolina Beach Town Hall.  (That is right off US Highway 421.)

The meeting starts at 7:30 pm and this month the guest speaker is Bernhard Thuersam and the topic will be "The Secession Crisis in Wilmington, 1860-1861."

It will focus on local people, viewpoints and events leading up to North Carolina's reluctant removal from the United States. A fundamental point to be examined is prominent North Carolina Whig and Unionist Jonathan Worth's assertion that his state was "forced out of the Union."

Early news of the Star of the West relief expedition in early January 1861 of Fort Sumter by President James Buchanan startled Wilmingtonians who feared Forts Caswell and Johnston would be seized by federal forces.  This would be a repeat of the British occupying Smithville (Southport today)  and thus sealing the Cape Fear River off from commerce.

Prominent Wilmington citizens of Wilmington acted immediately and seized the forts, only to have to relinquish then as the state had not yet seceded.  Of interest, Fort Johnston was surrendered to the Wilmington citizens by U.S. Ordnance Sgt. James Reilly who later in the war, as a Confederate major, surrendered Fort Fisher after the woundings of Col. Lamb and General Whiting.

I'd Sure Like to be There.  --Old B-Runner

Fort Casey, Florida-- Part 2: A Short Life for the Fort But a Strong North Carolina Connection and 3 Future Confederate Generals

From Wikipedia.

In 1848, the War Department determined the need for the selection of a new fort at Charlotte Harbor, Florida, to assist in the removal of Native Americans (Seminoles) from the region on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Fort Brooke (in present-day Tampa) commander Major W.W. Morris and Captain John Charles Casey, with other officers, examined the area November  15-22, 1848, and then on January 20, 1949, recommended the island of Giuseppe, now Useppa, as the most suitable location.

The post was established 3 January 1850.  I imagine it must have been named after Captain John Casey.  Brevet Major R.C. Gatlin was the first commander with 108 men of Companies C and F of the 7th Infantry Regiment garrisoned the fort.  (Richard Caswell Gatlin was a North Carolinean West Point graduate who became a Confederate general and for a time was in charge of North Carolina coast defenses.  His maternal grandfather was North Carolina's 1st governor, Richard Caswell.)

The companies were commanded by Brevet 2nd Lieutenant E.D. Stockton and 1st Lieutenant Earl Van Dorn, respectively.  C,H. Crane served as Assistant Surgeon.  (Earl Van Dorn later became a Confederate general.)

On April 7, 1850,  Brevet Major T.H. Holmes took command.  (Theophilus Hunter Holmes later became a Confederate general.  He commanded in North Carolina for awhile and Fort Holmes on Smith Island, now Bald Head Island, was named for him.) Soon afterwards, the 7th Infantry left for Missouri and were replaced by 60 men from Company C, 4th Artillery.

On November 10, 1850, Brevet Brigadier General Thomas Childs of the 1st Artillery arrived at the fort and closed it.  (Childs, 1796-1853, was a career Army officer and was stationed at Fort Johnston at Smithville, now Southport, N.C. in 1843.)

--Old B-Runner

Sign Up for Cleaning Parks in Wilmington, N.C., Area

From the March 13, 2016, Port City Daily "Sign up for cleaning at three local historic sites on Civil War Park Day."

Five sites in North Carolina are participating in the annual Civil War Trust Park Day event on April 2..  In the Wilmington area it will take place at Fort Fisher (as mentioned in my Monday blog, Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson site and the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport.

This is a promotion of the Civil War Trust and has been done ever since 1996.

**  Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson:  Event goes from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will focus on debris removal, ruin stabilization, leaf and weed removal, cleaning the wayside signs and park benches, and sanding and sealing the entrance sign.

**  Fort Fisher: Runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon.  debris removal, leaf raking, light painting and scraping.  Gloves and tools provided on site.  Lunch will be given by the Friends of Fort Fisher.

**  North Carolina Maritime Museum--Southport, N.C. (at site of Fort Johnston).  9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Grounds cleaning, landscaping at the museum entry and planting a popular history garden (a project of Girl Scout Clarissa Sommers for her Gold Award).

Getin' Down and Dirty for the History.  --Old B-Runner

Bragg Orders Evacuation of Remaining Fortifications at Mouth of Cape Fear River

JANUARY 16TH, 1865:  With Fort Fisher lost and foreseeing the Union fleet's entrance into the Cape Fear River would cut his waterborne communications system, General Bragg ordered the evacuation of the remaining Confederate positions at the mouth of the river.

At 7 a.m. Forts Caswell and Campbell were abandoned and destroyed.  Fort Holmes on Smith's Island and Fort Johnson at Smithville were likewise destroyed by the retreating garrisons, which fell back on Fort Anderson, on the west bank of the Cape Fear River between Fort Fisher and Wilmington.

One Confederate wrote: "The Yankees have made a barren capture...."  In fact, however, Wilmington, the last major port open to blockade runners, was now effectively sealed and General Lee was cut off from his only remaining supply line from Europe.

Rear Admiral Porter was only too aware of the import of this capture and wrote Captain Godon:  "...the death knell of another fort is booming in the distance.  Fort Caswell with its powerful batteries is in flames and being blown up, and thus is sealed the door through which this rebellion is fed."

A Really Big Loss.  --Old B-R'er

Cushing's Surprise Attack on Fort Johnston Anniversary Commemorated

From the Feb. 26, 2014, State Port Pilot (NC). //// On February 29, 1864, Union Lt. Cmdr. William Cushing with twenty men in two boats, led an expedition from his ship, the USS Monticello, to capture Fort Johnston's commanding officer, General Louis Hebert. //// Fort Johnston was located at Smithville (now Southport) near the mouth of the Cape Fear River leading to Wilmington, NC. Fortunately, for Hebert, he wasn't there or he would have been captured by the daring Cushing. //// The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Southport commemorated this event on its 150th anniversary from 9 to 5 on Feb. 28th. //// Cushing found blockade duty to be tedious and was looking for excitement. The museum and Chris Fonvielle have developed a new display focusing on the raid. //// --Old B-Runner