Jan. 30, 1865: Action at Half Moon Battery, North Carolina

JANUARY 30TH, 1865:  The USS Cherokee, Acting Lieutenant William F. Dennison, exchanged gunfire with Confederate troops at Half Moon Battery, Cape Fear River.

Earlier in the month, 19 January, the USS Governor Buckingham, Acting Lieutenant John MacDiarmid, opened on the battery in support of Army efforts ashore to clear the area of Confederates following the fall of Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

Jan. 15, 1865-- Part 5: Over a 1,000 Union Casulaties

Fort Fisher had not been taken without considerable loss.  The Union forces -- Army and Navy -- sustained some 1,000 casualties, more than twice as many as the defenders suffered.  Porter wrote:  "Men, it seems, must die that this Union may live, and the Constitution under which we have gained our prosperity must be maintained."

More than 35 sailors and Marines were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroism in this action that closed the Confederacy's last supply line from Europe.

The second Federal assault on Fort Fisher revealed again the inherent  ability of a fleet-supported  amphibious force to capitalize on the superior mobility conferred by command of the sea, forcing defenders to spread their forces thinly in a vain effort to be strong at all threatened points simultaneously.

This operation also provided dramatic demonstration of a fleet's ability to  mass superior firepower at any point of a shore defense position.  Fear of concentrated  naval gunfire forced  inaction of General Hoke's Confederate division stationed between the fort and Wilmington, forestalling any interference with the landing of  the Federal expeditionary force and enabling General Terry to split the Confederate defense force.

--Old B-Runner

Jan. 15, 1865-- Part 4: "Fort Fisher Is Ours"

Cries of victory rose from the embattled Confederate defenders, who with the defeat of the naval brigade, believed they had beaten back the main Union attack, but their exultation was short-lived.  While the naval land assault was going on, General Terry's troops had meanwhile taken the western end of the fort by the Cape Fear River.

The Confederates instantly launched a counter-attack and desperate hand-to-hand fighting ensued.

The naval shore bombardment then renewed again (it had fallen silent during the naval assault) and this intervention proved to be decisive.  The guns of Porter's armada, firing at right angles to the direction of the Union charge, opened with "deadly precision" into the Confederate ranks.

Other ships now directed their fire to neutralize the river bank behind the fort to stop any attempts to reinforce.  Lamb later recorded that "as the tide of the battle seemed to have turned in our favor, the remorseless fleet came to the rescue of the faltering Federals."

Both General Whiting and Colonel Lamb were put out of action with severe wounds leading the counter attacks.  Major James Reilly assumed command of the fort.  He and his men surrendered later that night.

"Fort Fisher," Porter wired Welles, "is ours."

--Old B-Runner

Jan. 15, 1865-- Part 3: The Naval Brigade at Fort Fisher

"All the officers," Robley Evans wrote, "in their anxiety to be first into the fort, had advanced to the heads of the columns, leaving no one to steady the men in behind;  and it was in this way  we were defeated, by the men breaking from the rear."

The significance of the naval assault, even in failure, was perceived by the fort's commander, Col. Lamb, when he wrote that "their gallant attempt enabled the army to enter and obtain a foothold, which they otherwise could not have done."

--Old B-Runner

Jan. 15, 1865-- Part 2: "Under A Perfect Hail of Lead"

Ensign Robley D. Evans described the Naval Brigade attack:  "About five hundred yards , from the fort, the head of the column suddenly stopped, and if by magic, the whole mass of men went down like a row of falling bricks.... The officers called on the men, and they responded instantly, starting forward as fast as they  could go.

"At about three hundred yards they again went down, this time under effect of canister added to the rifle fire.  Again we rallied them, and once more started  to the front  under a perfect hail of lead, with men  dropping rapidly in every direction."

Some 60 men under Lieutenant Commander Thomas O. Selfridge reached and broke through the palisade, but it was the high water mark of the charge.  They were hurled back and others recoiled under the withering fire after approaching the stockade at the base of the parapets.

--Old B-Runner

January 15, 1865: The Fall of Fort Fisher-- Part 1: The Naval Brigade Attack

Taken from the Civil War Naval Chronology.

At 3 p.m. on the 15th the signal to cease firing was sent to the fleet, and the soldiers, sailors and Marines ashore charged the Confederate fortifications.  Because the Army advanced through a wooded area while the Naval Brigade dashed across a open beach, the he defenders opened a concentrated fire at point blank range on the naval attack, "ploughing lanes in the ranks."

Leading the assault, Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston, one of the war's ablest young naval officers, and Lieutenant Benjamin H. Porter, commanding officer of the flagship, USS Malvern, were among those killed.  (Porter was not related to Rear Admiral David D. Porter, commander of the fleet.

Unchecked, however, this assaulting force, under the command of Lieutenant Commander K. Randolph Breese pressed forward.

Ensign Robley D. Evans, later  to become a Rear Admiral with the well-earned sobriquet "Fighting Bob" -- suffered four wounds, two crippling his legs.

--Old B-Runner

January 22, 1865: Union Navy Moving Up the Cape Fear River

JANUARY 22ND, 1865:  Rear Admiral Porter ordered Commander John Guest, USS Iosco, to "regulate the movements o vessels in the Cape Fear River above Fort Fisher...."  Porter sought to move the line of ships as near Fort Anderson, the position to which the Confederates had withdrawn following the fall of Fort Fisher and adjacent forts, "as is consistent with safety, and in doing so care must be taken of torpedoes and other obstructions."

The same day USS Pequot, Lieutenant Commander Daniel L. Braine, steamed upriver and opened fire on Fort Anderson to reconnoiter and test its defenses.  The Confederates brought only two "small rifle pieces" in action, but Braine reported:  "I observed 6 guns, evidently smoothbore, pointing down the river, protected by ordinary sand traverses."

Having sealed off Wilmington, the last major port in the South, the Union was now moving to,occupy it.

--Old B-R'er

January 21, 1865: Schofield's XXIII Corps Arrives at Cincinnati On Their Way to Fort Fisher

JANUARY 21ST, 1865:  Elements of the Twenty-Third Army Corps, Major Gcincieneral Schofield, disembarked from transports at Cincinnati, Ohio, which they had reached in five days via the Tennessee and Ohio rivers from Clifton, Tennessee.

From Cincinnati, they entrained for Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland, where the first echelon arrived 31 January.

They had been ordered to join forces with Union troops at Fort Fisher for operations against Wilmington, North Carolina.  The movement took just 17 days to cover from Clifton, Tennessee to Fort Fisher, quite an accomplishment.

--Old B-Runner

January 21, 1865: Confederate James River Squadron to Attack City Point

JANUARY 21ST, 1865:  Secretary Mallory again wrote Flag Officer Mitchell urging an immediate movement by the James River Squadron past the obstructions at Trent's Reach and assault on general Grant's operations at City Point.

"You have an opportunity, I am convinced, rarely presented to a naval officer, and one which may lead to the most glorious results to your country."

That same day, Mitchell sent a telegram to General Lee, whose troops depended heavily on a successful completion of the attack, informing him that the squadron would attempt to pass the obstructions on the 22nd.

"I have not time to visit you," he wrote," and would therefore be glad to meet on board of the flagship at Drewry's  Bluff any officer whom you could appoint to meet me, to give your view and wishes as to my cooperation with the army down the river in the event of our being successful."

--Old B-Runner

Learn About the Impressment of Slaves and Native Americans in the Construction of Fort Fisher Tonight

The Federal Point Historic Preservation  Society will hold ts monthly meeting Monday, January 20, at 7:30 PM, at the History Center next to the Carolina Beach, N.C. Town Hall off US Highway 421.

Dr. Jamie Martinez will speak about the impressment of privately owned slaves and Native Americans (the Lumbee Indians) which were used to help build Fort Fisher.  Under policies instituted by the Confederacy, white Virginians and North Carolinians surrendered their control over portions of slave populations to state authorities, military officials and the national government to defend their new nation.

State and local officials cooperated with the Confederate War department and Engineer Bureau, as well as individual generals, to ensure a supply of slave labor for fortifications.

Dr. Martinez is an Associate Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where she teaches classes on the U.S. Civil War, Antebellum America, African American history, Historical methods and general U.S. history.

--Old B-R'er

See Photos of the Battle Re-enactment at Fort Fisher on January 18, 2020

I was able to go, but did enjoy the 80 photographs in the January 19, Wilmington (NC) Star-News Online site.

It shows Confederate and Union re-enactors battling it out at Shepherd's Battery by the Cape Fear River.  This is where Union troops entered the fort back 155 years ago  which led to its capture.

You can view the pictures at Photos: 155th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

Big To Do at the Fort This Weekend-- Part 5: Sunday, Jan. 19

1:00 PM--  Dr. Angela Zombek  "Military Prisons & POWs During the Civil War"  at the Masonboro Parlor at the E. Gehrig Spencer Theater.

**  Infantry demonstration at Shepherd's Battery.

1:30  PM--  Free guided tour of the fort.

2:00 PM--  Artillery demonstration at Shepherd's Battery.

**  Above the Scenes tour, tickets required; limited to 25 persons.

**  Junior Reserves  "Cyphers" in the Living History Area.

2:30 PM--  Dr. Jamie Martinez, "Confederate Slave Impressment in North Carolina."

**  Torpedo demonstration in Living History Area.

**  Infantry demonstration at Shepherd's Battery.

**  Free guided tour.

3:30 PM--  Infantry demonstration at Shepherd's Battery.

4:00 PM--  Artillery demonstration at Shepherd's Battery.

5:00 PM--  Visitors Center closes.

It's Over Now.  --Old B-Runner

Know Before You Go to Fort Fisher This Weekend for the 155th Commemoration

**  Free paring will be available at the Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area.  From there, Cape Fear Coach Lines  will drive you, at no charge, to the fort.

**  Or, you can choose to walk the wooded trail to the fort (about 1/2 mile).

**  Handicap parking  will be available onsite at the Visitors Center, for those with a placard.

**  Battle Acre parking will be closed starting Friday morning (January 17) until Sunday (Jan. 19)  due to the fireworks which will be used during the re-enactment.

**  The Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry is closed until March.

**  Hot dogs and refreshments will be available on site by the Federal Point Historic Preservation Society.

This event has been made possible through the donations of individuals, Friends of Fort Fisher members, New Hanover County, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.

Come On Down!!  --Old B-R'er

Big To Do at the Fort This Weekend-- Part 4: Activity Schedule for Sunday, Jan. 19

9:00 AM--  Visitors center opens.

**  Free guided tour of the fort.

**  Music bu the Huckleberry Brothers in E. Gehrig Spencer Theater and throughout the day in the Living History Area.

10:00 AM--  Battle Scenario around Shepherd's Battery. There will be several hundred re-enactors recreating the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

11:30 AM--  Remarks by Rod Gragg  "My Friend, the Enemy."

12:00 PM--  Free guided tour of the fort.

**  Torpedo demonstration in Living History Area.

12:30  PM--  Artillery demonstration at Shepherd's Battery

**  Above the Scenes Tour, requires a ticket; limited to 25 persons.

**  Junior Reserves   Signal Flags" in the Living History Area.

More Coming Today.  --Old B-Runner

Big To Do at the Fort This Weekend, Fort Fisher, N.C.-- Part 3

Continuing with the events of January 18, 2010.

1:00 PM--  Battle Scenario around Shepherd's Battery.  This is the major re-enactment of the Battle of Fort Fisher.  There will be some 400 re-enactors involved.  The fort was taken traverse  by traverse.

2:30 PM--  Presentation by Bernard George:  "United States Colored Troops in the Cape Fear."

**  Junior Reserves "Signal Flags" in the Living History area.

**  Above the Scenes Tour (Requires ticket and limited to 25 participants.)  Led by Chris Fonvielle.

**  Torpedo demonstration in the Living History Area.

3:00 PM--  Free guided tour of the fort

5:00 PM--  Visitor Center closes.

--Old B-RunnerWouldSureLikeToBeThere