Raising More State Funds for the Fort Fisher State Historic Site

Same source as previous post.

Ted Davis' move to help the aquarium comes right alongside his efforts to secure funds for the adjacent Fort Fisher State Historic Site.  The Civil War fort is currently in the midst of a $22 million renovation project, which includes a new visitors center that is funded by the state.

Phase 2 of the project will include reconstruction of part of the fort and cost roughly $3.57 million, with the Friends of Fort Fisher (to which I belong)  contributing $1 million toward the project.  (The reconstructed area will be that part that was leveled for construction of an airstrip during World War II.) 

Davis has submitted a bill  that would have the state provide $2.9 million to help finance the next stage of the fort's renovations.  That bill, HB 297, is currently in the House  Appropiations Committee where it has been since March 8.

Davis notes that Fort Fisher is the most popular historic site in the state.

Old B-Runner

Raising State Funds for the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher

From the April 28, 2023, Wilmington (NC) Star News "From Venus' Flytraps to wetlands, what 4 proposed bills could mean  for the Wilmington area" by Gareth McGrath.

Yesterday I wrote about the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher's new otter pups.

This aquarium is a huge attraction at Fort Fisher along with the Civil War site and public beach.

Right now, there is a push on to provide money for the improvements of both the aquarium and historic site in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Even though these two are no longer in Representative Ted Davis' district, the Wilmington Republican has not forgotten about the Fort Fisher area.  He has submitted a bill for the state to give the aquarium $10.5 million or its  renovation project.  This proposal comes after Davis had previously helped secure $20 million for the project.

The last time the aquarium was renovated was 2002

The legislation, House Bill 710, is currently in the House Appropriations Committee.

--Old B-Runner

Dabney Butler

From Black Virginians in Blue.

Dabney (Daybury) O. Butler was born around 1823 in Louisa County, Virginia.  He moved toAlbemarle County and is recorded in special census of free blacks of 1833.  He next moved with his family to Chillicothe, Ohio,  where he married  Susan Ann Evans on December  24, 1846.    The couple had at least six children together:  Elbridge born around 1849, Charles 1851,  Walter 1853, John 1855, Samuel 1860 and Ellen  1868.

On February  24, 1864,  Butler enlisted  in Company E of the 27th USCT regiment in Chillicothe.  He was mustered in at Camp Delaware, on March 8.  According to his service records,  he was a 43-yearold laborer, with black hair, eyes and complexion, who stood five feet, eight inches tall.

The 27th saw service during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, begore being transferred in December to North Carolina.  In January it took part in the capture of Fort Fisher.  He mustered out with the rest of the 27th at Smithville, North Carolina on September21, 1865.

After the war, he returned to Chillicothe where he loved the rest of his days working as a brick mason.  Both he and his wife received pensions from the federal government.

Butler died around 1892 in Chillicothe, two years prior to his wife.  Both are buried in the city's  Grandview Cemetery.

--Old B-Runner

The 158th Anniversary of the Fall of Fort Anderson to Be Observed-- Part 2

A pre-Revolutionary War town on the Cape Fear River, Brunswick was once attacked by the Spanish and later partially burned during the war.  It never fully recovered, especially with the rise of Wilmington further up the river.  It was eventually abandoned.

During the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed on top of some of the ruins of the town and served as part of the defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy.

Colonial foundations dot the present-day tour trail, which crosses the earthworks of the Confederate fort.  Today, visitors can see the archaeological ruins of foundations of old Colonial kitchens, home sites and various outbuildings that once stood at the old port town, along with the shell of St. Philips Anglican Church.

Both the old town and the fort are run by the North Carolina Divivion of State Historic Sites.

--Old B-Runner

Groundbreaking Set for New Fort Fisher Visitor Center

From the November 3, 2022, Coastal Review "Groundbreaking set for new visitor center, lab at Fort Fisher."

A groundbreaking ceremony is set to take place at  Fort Fisher State Historic  Site at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, November 10 to mark the construction of a new visitor center and conservation lab for the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the  Office of State Archaeology. 

Located at 1610 Fort Fisher Boulevard South, Kure Beah, North Carolina. it is a part of the  Division of State Historic Sites in the North Carolina Department of Natural and  Cultural Resources.

Attendees at the groundbreaking are expected to include Secretary  D. Reid Wilson of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, members of the North Carolina General Assembly and members of the Friends of Fort Fisher (to which I belong).

Light refreshments will be served.

Construction is expected to be finished in April 2024.  The new facility is expected to cost about $25.5 million, most of whih has been appropriated by the General Assembly since 2016.

In planning since 2010, the new visitor center is to be about 22,000 square feet, three times the size of the existing facility which was built in 1965 (and I remember when this opened).

The new visitor center will have  nearly double the museum exhibit space, plus amenities such as a 100-seat orientation theater and a multipurpose room suitable for rental and eduactional activities such as wedding eceptions and classroom instruction.

I Can't Wait.  My Favorite Place Gettng Even Better!!  --Old B-Runner

While on the Subject of Shipwrecks-- Part 2

4.  A SHIPWRECK CAN LINGER FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY

The iconic Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was built to withstand intense naval battles when it was launched in 1862.  But its design -- advanced for its time--  was still not enough to help the vessel withstand the tracherous winter storms off the coast of North Carolina on New Year's Eve that same year.

The resulting shipwreck has been intensely researched since it was rediscovered in 1973.  In 2002, the Monitor's turret was recovered in a joint U.S. Navy and NOAA mission, it still held the skeletal remains of two of the 16 men who lost their lives on the vessel 140 years earlier.

--Old B-Runner

20th Anniversary of Recovery of USS Monitor's Turret-- Part 2

From the August 2, 2022, Chesapeake Bay Magazine"Anniversary celebration: Ironclad Civil War  ship's turret pulled from the ocean" by Kendall Osborne.

It was 20 years ago this week that the turret of the famous USS Monitor was pulled off the ocea floor of North Carolina.

The ship of course, had that famous battle with the ironclad CSS Vorginia at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on March 9, 1862, and then  sank the last day of 1862 before being found in August 1973.  Exploration and recovery  began with smaller pars of the ship being brought up like the propeller.  The largest piece broke  the surface of the Atlantic Ocean on August 5, 2002, the turret and was taken to the Mariners' Museum for preservation.

The recovery of the turret was no small feat.  It took 41 days and 160 divers, mostly from the U.S. Navy, to get the turret to the surface, and it has since most of the last twenty years in an Electrolyte Reduction (ER) System in a 90,000 gallon tank to keep it protected.

--Old B-Runner

USS Don-- Part 2: A Short History

From the Naval History and Heritage Command.

DON

(Screw steamer:  390 tons, 162 feet long, 23 foot beam,  12 foot 3 inches depth,  d. 6', complement 43, 10-14 knots)

She was an iron, twin-screw,  two-stacked running mate of  Hansa as a blockade runner.  Operated and partly owned by the State of North Carolina and are generally  considered to have been public vessels for all practical purposes.

A man named Captain  Cory commanded the Don when, as a still new , $115,000 ship carrying  a $200,000 cargo of Army uniforms, blankets and shoes in from Nassau, she fell prey  to the USS Pequot, 4 March 1864, on her third attempt that voyage  to run into Wilmington, North Carolina.

She was  purchased from the Boston prize court the next month and commissioned as the USS Don and assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.  She was sold to commercial interests 28 August 1868 after being stricken from the Navy Register.

--Old B-Runner

USS Don

Patrick Mullen was on the USS Don when he received his second Medal of Honor.

From Civil War Navies 1855-1883" by Paul H. Silverstone.

Blockade runner Don was built by J&W Dudgeon in London, England in 1863.  Other ships listed built by J&W Dudgeon were the  blockade runners Flora (1862), Hebe (1863) and Vesta (1862).

Tonnage of these ships put at between 353 to 449 GRT.  

Dimensions:175' by 22'6"

Depth: 12'3"

Don owned by State of North Carolina.

Don was captured by USS Pequot off Wilmington, N.C., 4 March 1864.  Commissioned into U.S. Navy as the USS Don.

--Old B-Runner

In Case You're Wondering About the Mission to USS Monitor Being Named 'Valor in the Atlantic'?

From the May 15, 2022, Chesapeake Bay Magazine "Deep Dive:   Shipwreck of ironclad  USS Monitor gets  high-tech exploration."

Then turret of this famous ship was raised from the ocean floor  and now is being carefully preserved  at the Mariners Museum in Newport News.  Most of the rest of the USS Monitor is still underwater.  The turret was recovered after a 41-day recovery mission in 2002.

In addition to the Monitor, the area around it in the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary also contains other wrecks.  The expedition's name, "Valor in the Atlantic," is the fact that a variety of wartime shipwrecks will be explored.

During World War II, attacks from German U-boats against Allied merchant vessels, a part of the famed Battle of the Atlantic during that war, resulted in a high concentration of World War II ships off the North Carolina coast.  The project represents  an ideal, opportunity to honor the history and sacrifice of Allied servicemen and members of the U.S.  Merchant Marine who fought and died during the war.

--Old B-Runner

160 Years After Sinking, NOAA Scientists Plan to Survey USS Monitor

From the May 13, 2022, Maritime Executive.

U.S. researchers and scientists will soon embark on a 10-day expedition to explore and investigate the  shipwreck of the USS Monitor which sank 160 years ago off the North Carolina coast.  They will be leaving May 15.  This will be the first visit to the wreck since the ship's turret was recovered in 2002.

The remains of the ship are located sixteen miles off Cape Hatteras and the area surrounding the vessel has been designated a national marine sanctuary.

This survey will also commemorate the 50th anniversary  of the creation of the sanctuary.  Earlier this year, the 160th anniversary the ship's launching and of the sea battle between the Monitor and the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia at the Battle of Hampton Roads which changed naval warfare forever.

Over the course of the two-week mission, researchers will also visit  several natural reefs and  historical shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

Gilbert Elliott's CSS Albemarle-- Part 3: Problems with William Lynch

The project to build the Albemarle was also beset by administrative issues.  Questions over contract terms cropped up, especially  after William F. Lynch, North Carolina's ranking naval officer got involved.  In October 1863, he assumed overall supervision of construction, and, fearing that Edwards Ferry was too vulnerable to Union cavalry raids, ordered the unfinished ironclad towed upstream to Halifax.

"For many reasons it was thought judicious to remove the boat to ...Halifax," Elliott later wrote, "and there the work of completion, putting in her machinery, armament, etc., was done...."

While dragging the hull from the cornfield on a bluff to the river below, the hull was bent,  "but to our great gratification did not...spring a leak."  Once the hull was straightened out, it was hauled 22 miles up the Roanoke River to Halifax where it awaited its iron plates.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Neuse Opening Preview Party This Friday

CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center to hold exclusive  exhibit opening on March 11, 2022, this Friday.  This will be the final phase of its permanent exhibits entitled "The Civil War in Eastern North Carolina."  They will showcase a variety  of aspects of the Civil War including causes, battles, personalities,, involvement of women and Blacks.

To help kick this off, the CSS Neuse Gunboat Association will host an exclusive exhibit opening preview on the evening of March 11 from 6 p.m. to  10 p.m.  Tickets for the event are $50 a person and include a catered dinner, musical entertainment and one free alcoholic beverage pre person.  (Hopefully from King's BBQ.)

Tickets may be purchased at either the  CSS Neuse Interpretive Center or through a special link  posted on the site's Facebook page.

In addition to the above activities,  the evening will include a raffle drawing and a silent auction.  The raffle prize is a 14-foot skiff that has been  hand-crafted using 19th century tools and construction techniques.  Tickets for the raffle are $10 each or 3 for $25.

Only 100 tickets to the event are available so don't delay getting yours.

--Old B-Neuse

Richard Triebe's Book on Fort Fisher to Elmira-- Part 3: Two Readers Had Ancestors There

This is a big book with 455 pages and you can buy it from Amazon for $24.95 and free shipping with total order of $25 from Amazon.

I found much interest in two comments.

**  Randy Rogers wrote that his great great grandfather and two brothers had enlisted from Bladen County, N.C., and stationed at Fort Fisher together.  All three of them were captured and sent to Elmira.

One brother died there and is buried in the prison graveyard; the other brother was returned back to the James River, Virginia, where he was exchanged, probably from the poor health from the prison.

My gg-grandfather endured the atrocities of Elmira.  His records and those of his brothers are in the book.

**  Harold Singletary wrote that he liked the book because it involved his great great grandfather who was there when the battle ended and was taken to Elmira and survived that hell hole.  Lived to be 93 years young.

--Old B-Runner

After Fort Fisher, the Prisoners-- Part 7: Interesting Facts and Figures on Fort Fisher Prisoners at Elmira

The average age of a Fort Fisher prisoner at Elmira was 19.

The youngest Fort Fisher soldier sent to Elmira was  17-year-old Private William H. Faulk of Co. E, 36h Regt., 2nd NC Artillery.  he was 15 years old when he enlisted in Columbus County, NC, on  26 February 1862.  He was exchanged on the James River in Virginia  on 2 March 1865.  Private Faulk is most likely buried in the Tabor City/Whiteville area of Columbus County, NC.

The oldest Fort Fisher Confederate sent to Elmira was  fifty-six-year-old  Private Samuel Hales of Co. D,  36th Regt.,  2nd NC Artillery.   He was born in 1808 and was fifty-four when he enlisted at Blockerville in Cumberland County, NC,  on 26 February 1862.  He was transferred to Point Lookout and exchanged on the James River 2 March 1865.  Prison records spell his last name Hale.

The deadliest month for Fort Fisher men was March 1865 when over 200 of them died at Elmira.

There are four Jewish artillerymen from Fort Fisher and 9 other Jewish Tar Heels who died at Elmira Prison and are buried in the Woodlawn National Cemetery  along with 12 other Jewish  Confederate soldiers.

--Old B-R'er

After Fort Fisher, the Prisoners-- Part 5: A High Death Rate for Confederates at Elmira

South Carolina had 482 men captured at Fort Fisher.  Of those, 357 were sent to Elmira and 134 of them died there and are buried in Woodlawn National Cemetery.  A number of sick South Carolinians captured at the fort were paroled and exchanged and would die either during transit to the James River or very soon after arriving in Confederate hospitals.

FORT FISHER PRISONERS BURIED AT WOODLAWN NATIONAL CEMETERY

A total of 319 North Carolinians and 134 South Carolinians.  This is a total of 453 Fort Fisher men.

There are 2,970 Confederate graves in the Woodlawn National Cemetery of men who died at the Elmira Prison.  A total of 1,228 are Tar Heels.  The 319 Tar Heels buried from Fort Fisher represent 25.9% of all Tar Heel deaths at Woodlawn.

134 South Carolina Fort Fisher men are buried at Woodlawn and represent 28% of South Carolina deaths at the cemetery and 4.5% of all deaths at Elmira.

A total of  457 Fort Fisher men including three Confederate Marines died at Elmira, representing 15.4% of all Elmira deaths.

--Old B-Runner

After Fort Fisher, the Prisoners-- Part 4: 518 of 1,121 Fort Fisher Prisoners Died at Elmira in Five Months

When the first shipment of men from Fort Fisher arrived in Elmira on Monday, 30 January 1865, the weather was bitterly cold and the snow was deep.  Private Thaddeus C. Davis, from  Morehead City, NC 3rd,  Co. G, 40th Regiment, 3rd N.C., recalled after the war, "We arrived  (at Elmira) about  eight o'clock in the evening, in four feet of snow,  and many prisoners had neither blankets nor coats."

The Union Army inspecting officer at the prison, Lt. James R. Reid, wrote in February 1865, "The Fort Fisher prisoners arrived in cold weather very depressed, poorly clad, and great numbers were soon taken sick with pneumonia and diarrhea, rapidly assuming a typhoid character."

In February 1865, there was a prisoner exchange and most of the sick at Elmira Prison were sent to the James River in Virginia for exchange. 

Of the 1,121 Fort Fisher men sent to Elmira, 518 would die in five months of which 372 were North Carolinians.  Of that number, 319 did at Elmira and were buried in the Confederate section of the Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira.

Fifty-three of the sick Tar Heel soldiers who were paroled either died in transit or died very soon  in various hospitals in Richmond, Virginia, Raleigh, Greensboro, Weldon and Charlotte, North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

After Fort Fisher, the Prisoners-- Part 3: How Elmira Became 'Helmira'

Steamer DeMolay arrived in New York on January 27 with850 rebel prisoners from Fort Fisher.

The steam frigate USS Colorado also arrived in  New York.

According to  the book "Fort Fisher to Elmira" by Richard Triebe there were 1,121 Confederate soldiers sent to Elmira from Fort Fisher.  

Of those, 761, or 68% of the men were native North Carolinians.  There were 357 men from South Carolina and four were Confederate Marines.  Out of the 1,121, 518, or 48% would die within five months.

The major causes of death at Elmira were  pneumonia, diarrhea and  small pox.

--Old B-Runner

Notable Wilmington Anniversaries This Year: 1862 Yellow Fever Epidemic

From the December31, 2021, Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News  "The year ahead:  11 Wilmington anniversaries we'll be marking in 2022" by John Staton.

YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC : 160 YEARS

Back in 1862,  hundreds of Wilmington residents died and thousands more, about half the  Port City's population, fled the city when there was an outbreak of yellow fever spread by mosquitoes. 

Kind of reminds you of our present-day troubles with COVID-19.

There is a marker in Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery showing where some 400 of those deaths are buried in a communal grave.

It reads:

1862 Burial Site of Yellow Fever Victims.

Communal burial site of approximately  400 people who died of yellow fever during Wilmington's epidemic between September and the frosts of November 1862.  Few yellow fever  victims' burials are marked with headstones.

In 1862, Wilmington's population, black and white, was approximately 10,000.  About half the population fled the city to avoid the epidemic.

Of the reported 1,505 cases , 654 (43%) died of yellow fever.

--Old B-Runner

Re-Enactment at North Carolina's Fort Branch

From the November 5. 2021, Greenville (NC) Daily Reflector  "Fort Branch holds its annual re-enactment  this weekend."

The 35th Annual Fort Branch  Reenactment will be held this weekend at the fort's site on the Roanoke River near Hamilton in Martin County.

It starts at 9 am each day and has a battle at 1:30 pm.  The site features cannons that were actually mounted at the fort during the Civil War which were recovered from the river.

It was built by the Confederate Army as a defensive position overlooking a bend in the river to guard against Union warships coming up the river to attack a vital railroad bridge upriver at Weldon.

Each year, except, of course, for last year, hundreds of re-enactors come from across the eastern United States to give spectators an idea about what life was like back during the war.

There is a charge for parking and concessions to raise funds for upkeep and restoration efforts.

--Old B-Runner