CAM's 60th Anniversary & First USCT Park-- Part 2: Naming the Battle

Said Chris Fonvielle after his research and excavating of the grounds of the Cameron Art Museum (CAM) in Wilmington, N.C., "It convinced me that a firefight had taken place there, but I found no documentary evidence to support the archaeological record."

He began focusing his studies on the battle, piecing together information and eventually giving it a new name.

"Scarce Confederate correspondence from the battleground was postmarked Cross-Roads and Forks Road, as an intersection of the Federal Point Road.  A byroad  that ran towards the Cape Fear River stood about where you enter the Cameron Art Museum's parking lot today," he explained.  "I thought the Battle of Forks Road had a nicer ring to it."

Fonvielle wrote about his discoveries in 2007's "Last Stand at Wilmington:  The Battle of Forks Road."

His research has caused CAM staff for years to embrace the story.  They have hosted living history days with reenactors, but this next step, starting a park devotedb to the United States Colored Troops (USCT) takes the story even further.

--Old B-Runner

S.C. Preserves Fort Johnson Site in Charleston Harbor-- Part 2

The Medical University of South Carolina(MUSC) board of trustees has agreed to sell its Fort Johnson holdings at the northeastern tip of Windmill Point on James Island to the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, which will place a conservation easement on the property to prevent  any commercial or residential development, then donate the land to the DNR.

State Senator  Chip Campsen was instrumental in securing both the Fort Johnson and May Forest properties.  (May Forest from the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy).  In the spring of 2021, he got fellow legislators to make an offer on the convent tract and the state purchased the 23 acres for $23.25 million.

At that time, they started looking at the adjacent Fort Johnson plot which had 1.58 acres.  They bought it for a huge price, $3.5 million.

The sprawling yaupon (an evergreen shrub in case you're wondering like me) will be thinned out or cleared and  eventually trails will be built with picnic tables, signage and water access.

Good News.  --Old B-Runner

Fort Zachary Taylor-- Part 5: It's Also About Key West's Best Beach

The Department of the Interior turned Fort Zachary Taylor over to the state of Florida in 1976 and in 1985 the Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park opened.  It is the southernmost state park in the continental United States.

Before visiting, you should go to this site:  floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-zachary-taylor-historic-state-park for updates on operations and information about events, including weekly Civil War reenactments at the site.

And at fortzacharytaylor.com/beach, you'll discover that the 54-acre park also boasts "Key West's best beach" for  swimming, snorkeling, fishing, and picnicking.  Or, simply sit back and enjoy one of Key West's fabulous sunsets that it is so famous for.

--Old B-Runner