About Wilmington, N.C.'s Eagles Island-- Part 1: Rice Plantations

I came across an article in the March 28, 2021, Wilmington Port City Daily (NC) "Conservationists aim to turn Eagles Island  into 'Central Park' for the region" by Mark Darrough."

I got to wondering exactly where it was and what role it might have played in the Civil War?  Turns out that I have been there on several occasions thanks to this little old World War II battleship located there.

From the Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "My Reporter:  What is Eagles Island?" by Ben Steelman.

It is right across from downtown Wilmington and is  a group of closely spaced  swampy islands roughly  2 miles wide and 7 miles long between the Cape Fear River and the Brunswick River.  It has had several names, but its present one comes from brothers Joseph and Richard Eagles who settled in the area in 1725 with land grants.  (I would have guessed it came from the eagle birds who might have been there.)

Parts of Eagles Island were used for rice  planting and there were even two rice plantations there as late as 1900.

By the 1800s, Eagles Island  seems to have functioned  as an industrial district for Wilmington with saw mills, turpentine distilleries and similar operations.  Various ferries operated between Wilmington and the island from the 1760s until the completion of the completion of the Twin Bridges in 1929. 

--Old B-Runner

Where Was This Photo Taken?-- Part 4: Walking Over From Pine Island Sandbar

 **  Before 2019, some locals had found a way to visit the fort without paying the $24 fee normally required of visiting the site.

**  Unbeknownst to most  visitors, there is technically no cost to enter Fort Sumter itself.  Instead, the fee is to cover the ferry service to and from the fort.

**  It turns out that a short distance from Fort Sumter is a sandbar, popularly known as "Pine Island" by weekend -party boaters.  Some locals would anchor the boat off the sandbar, and take the short walk through the shallow waters to Fort Sumter island.

**  But in 2019, the National Park Service (NPS) officially closed access to the fort from the  sandbar beach in an attempt to limit overcrowding and  the number of inebriated guests who visit the national monument.

**  It seems that the NPS can really be a party-pooper.

--Old B-Runner

Well, the Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry Reopened Last Friday, But, This Little Old Hurricane Came By and...

From the August 5, 2010, WECT News (Wilmington, N.C.) "Southport ferry expects to resume services sometime Wednesday after Hurrican Isaias."

After being closed for several months, for repairs, the Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry across the Cape Fear River finally reopened last Friday, but closed again for Hurricane Isaias.

The city of Southport sustained some damage as the Category 1 hurricane came ashore nearby, but power has been restored at the ferry terminal again, but has not been operating today because of ramp problems.

Service is expected to begin at sometime on Wednesday.

--Old B-Runner

Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry to Close for Three Months

From WITN NBC News,Wilmington, N.C.

This is important news to all visitors to Fort Fisher, especially with the 155th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher coming up soon.

It is being closed for three months to make repairs and update ramp equipment and closed Monday, Jan. 6.  The $3 million project is expected to be finished by April.

This closure will be a headache to tourists and commuters as the 30-minute trip across the Cape Fear River there, will now involve an hour-plus trip to go north and through Wilmington with all its traffic and photo-enforced stoplights.

--Old B-Ferry

Fort Fisher Ferry Rates to Be Hiked

From the March 8th Wilmington(NC) Star-News.

Like every state, North Carolina is having financial problems. The governor has proposed raising fares on the state ferries, including the Fort Fisher-Southport one that takes you across the Cape Fear River near its mouth.

Right now, the fare is $5 a car and passengers each way, a really good deal. It is proposed to raise fares to $10 for car and driver and an additional $2 per passenger.

i still do not feel this is outrageous as it is a 30-40 minute trip and probably saves 40-50 miles if you have to drive north to Wilmington to cross the river. And, then, there is the horrific Wilmington traffic where it seems everyone drives all the time.

I am sure this will have an impact on visitors to Fort Fisher, unfortunately.

Still a Deal. --Old B-R'er

USS Hunchback

I mentioned this ship in my post for today on my Saw the Elephant Civil War blog.  Sgt. Major George Washington Whitman, the brother of poet Walt Whitman, was a member of the 51st NY Infantry at the Battle of Roanoke Island and had seen this ship before the war when it had operated as a Staten Island ferry.

Some Wikipedia information about the vessel:

sidewheel steamer
built 1852 as a NY ferry
Purchased by Navy Dec. 16, 1861 and commissioned within a month.
512 tons
179 feet long
29 foot beam
125 officers and enlisted
Mounted 3 X 9-inch guns and 1 X 100 pdr. Parrott rifle

After commissioning, assigned to North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and received heavy damage battling Fort Bartow at Roanoke Island, NC.  After fall of the island, continued operating in NC waters and assisted in the capture of New Bern and had several expeditions up the Chowan River.

Spent time in Baltimore undergoing much-needed repairs and the assigned to patrol the James River in Virginia.  Ended the war back in NC, operating along the Chowan River.

Decommissioned 12 June 1865 and sold the following month and became a ferry in New York again, being renamed the General Grant..  In 1880, it was retired and scrapped.

The Story of a Ship.  --Old B-R'er