Northeastern North Carolina

Last Update: 29/MARCH/2008

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2008 American Forts Network

Fort Barnwell
(1712), Fort Barnwell
Built by the South Carolina colonial militia during a campaign against the Tuscarora. The remains are two miles northwest of town on Contentnea (Cotechney) Creek at the Neuse River. Possibly also known as Hancock's Fort (1) when manned by NC colonial militia a short time later.

Camp Hoffman
(1862 - 1865), near Tuscarora
A Union camp located northwest of New Bern along the north-side of the railroad. A blockhouse was located northeast on Bachelor Creek.

Camp Beech Grove
(1864 - 1865), near River Bend
A Union cavalry camp located nine miles west of New Bern. Site now Beech Grove Church on NC 1401. Also known as Grove Camp. Nearby, or the same camp, was Union cavalry Camp Palmer (1863).

Camp Battle
(1941 - 1942), near New Bern
A WWII Coast Artillery AA gun position guarding the bridges over the Neuse and Trent Rivers. Located at a former 1930's CCC camp.

Fort Lane
(1775 - unknown, 1861 - 1865), New Bern
Located on Fort Point (Union Point Park), originally called Fort Caswell (1), a NC state militia fort guarding New Bern from a British naval attack. The Confederates rebuilt the old fort into a three-gun battery and renamed it. The Union captured it in March 1862.

Civil War Defenses of New Bern
(1861 - 1865), New Bern
Early Confederate defenses included:
Fort Astor, located south of town on the north-bank of the Trent River.
Fort Brown (eight guns), undetermined location.
Fort Holmes (1), undetermined location.
Camp Gatlin, located behind Fort Lane.

Trenches were built from the Neuse River to the Trent River west of town after the town was captured by Union forces in March 1862, with a fort in the center and a fort at each end.
Fort Totten, a 28-gun seven-acre five-bastioned fort that was the southern anchor of the western line. No remains, site now on private property, located between US 17 and US 70.
Fort Rowan, the middle fort in the line, a five-gun four-pointed star fort guarding the railroad into town.
Fort Dutton (aka Fort Union), at the north-end of the line at the Neuse River.
Fort Stevenson, a five-gun work located just west (upriver) from Fort Dutton.
An unnamed fort was located in town at the railroad bridge across the Trent River.

South of town across the Trent River was an additional line of Union works, with a blockhouse in the center on the railroad coming from the south.
Fort Amory, at the west-end on the Trent River. Parts of its ramparts and ditch can still be seen. Camp Amory was adjacent. Camp Pendleton was also nearby.
Fort Spinola, at the east-end on the Neuse River. Camp Massachusetts was adjacent.
Fort Gaston, a palisaded two-gun fort guarding an old bridge across the Trent River, south of Fort Amory and north of the mouth of Brice Creek. Camp Gaston (previously a CSA camp site) was located outside the palisade. Earthworks still remain on private property.
Camp Pierce, undetermined location, previously a CSA camp site.
Located at the mouth of Brice Creek was Union Old Fort (probably originally CSA in 1861). A blockhouse was further south along Brice Creek, guarding a Union cavalry camp.

Located across the Neuse River from New Bern were:
Fort Anderson (2), near the mouth of Mills Branch, directly north of Fort Dutton. Attacked by Confederates in 1863.
Fort Chase in Bridgeton, directly across from New Bern.

Union Fort Pearson (1864), undetermined location.
Union Camp Reno (2) (1862), undetermined location.
Union Camp Andrews (1862) (previously a CSA camp site), undetermined location.

Several Confederate batteries (1862) were located along the Neuse River from New Bern to Kinston to prevent further Union advances.

Civil War exhibits are at the New Bern Academy Museum located at New and Hancock Streets, once used as a hospital during the war.

Fort Ellis (2)
(1861 - 1862), near Granthams
A CSA eight-gun battery located about four miles south of New Bern on the Neuse River. The magazine was blown up when it was about to be captured by the Union. CSA Camp Branch (1) was nearby. Just south of here, near Johnson Point, was the unfinished CSA two-gun Fort Allen.

Fort Thompson
(1861 - 1862), near Riverdale
A CSA 13-gun redoubt with supporting earthworks, located about six miles south of New Bern. It was captured by the Union in March 1862. Private property. About 200 yards of the earthwork line are still extant east of the railroad. Several redans west of the railroad are also extant, but in heavy tree growth. CSA trenchworks were once located nearby in the present-day Craven County Fairgrounds.

Fort Dixie
(1861 - 1862), Flanner Beach
A CSA four-gun redoubt, about one mile southeast of Fort Thompson. It was the left flank of the Croatan Line, a defensive line of trenchworks running southwest. The line was found abandoned by the Union as they advanced to New Bern in March 1862. No remains.

Camp Baker (1)
(1860's), Greenville
A CSA camp. Attacked by the Union in November 1863.

Camp Gordon
(1862), near Simpson
A CSA cavalry camp located about six miles east of Greenville along the Tar River.

Fort Reading
(1711 - 1715), near Washington
A NC colonial militia defense during the Tuscarora Indian War. Located across the Pamlico River opposite town.

Civil War Defenses of Washington
(1862 - 1865), Washington
Union troops captured the town and built a line of earthwork fortifications around the town in June 1862. Clockwise from the north:
Fort Cerris (three guns), manned by Navy sailors.
Blockhouse No. One (one gun)
Blockhouse No. Two (one gun)
Fort Washington (eight guns), at 10th and Market Streets.
Blockhouse No. Three (one gun), with a one-gun battery.
Fort Lombard, an infantry redoubt.
Blockhouse No. Four (one gun)
Fort Hamilton (three guns)
Castle Island Battery, a four-gun naval battery.
A Citadel Fort was garrisoned in town at 2nd and Bridge Streets. One of the blockhouses was at present-day 2nd Street and Hackney Street. The remains of a battery is at 9th and Market Streets. All others no longer exist.

The Confederates attempted to recapture Washington in April 1863, with many camps and seige batteries surrounding the town on both sides of the river, including Rodman's Point Battery just below the town. None remain.

Fort Hill (2)
(1863), near McConnell
Several CSA earthwork batteries (14 guns) were located at Hill's Point along the southern shore of the Pamlico River in the effort to retake Washington. Possibly still exists. Camp Hardee (a Girl Scout camp) is now at the site. A marker is located on NC 33 just southeast of Chocowinity.

Bath Fort
(Bath State Historic Site)
(unknown dates), Bath
As an important colonial town and port, a fort and/or shore battery may have been located here. Undetermined at this time.

Fort Hyde
(1711 - 1715), Beaufort County
A NC colonial militia fort during the Tuscarora Indian War, located at Core Point on the south-shore of the Pamlico River, opposite Bath.
(NOTE: Garrison Point is located nearby, opposite Durham Creek to the southeast.)

Secoton
(c. 1585), Beaufort County (?)
A palisaded Indian village visited by John White in 1585, made famous in his watercolors of the expedition. Possibly located somewhere near Aurora.

Aquascogoc
(c. 1585), Belhaven (?)
A palisaded Indian village which was attacked and destroyed by Sir Richard Grenville in 1585 over a stolen silver cup.

Fort Hall
(1861), Hyde County
A CSA work located on the Pungo River. Exact site undetermined.

Pomeioc
(c. 1585), near Lake Landing (?)
A palisaded Indian village located somewhere on the southeast shore of Lake Mattamuskeet, which was visited by John White in 1585 and made famous in his watercolors.

Fort Granville
(1749 - 1764), Beacon Island
A small wooden L-shaped fort, enlarged in 1757, that was eventually abandoned. It was built to protect against the Spanish. It was later rebuilt and used during the American Revolution. The foundation of a new work (1794) and a blockhouse (1795) were later built, and used in the War of 1812. Ordered rebuilt in 1799, but no further work was ever done. Beacon Island has been severely eroded away over the years. Underwater excavations began in 1998.
(NOTE: Forts Ocracoke and Granville may actually be the same location.)

Fort Ocracoke
(1861 - 1865), Ocracoke Inlet
A nine-gun square redoubt constructed of sod. The Confederates abandoned the fort before the Union seized it in September 1861. It was later destroyed. The Union then built Fort Morgan here as a prison stockade, and also built a hospital, used until the end of the war. The fort was rebuilt as a 12-gun octagonal bastion made from barrels of sand, covered with earth and sod. The site has been eroded away.

CSA Camp Washington (1) (1861) was located in Portsmouth on Portsmouth Island.

Hatteras Inlet Fort
(1759), Hatteras Inlet
A British fort was possibly located here in 1759.

Fort Clark
(1861 - 1865), Hatteras Inlet
The Union captured this seven-gun square redoubt from the Confederates in August 1861, along with Fort Hatteras. The ruins (?) are located two miles past the Ocracoke ferry docks. This fort guarded the ocean approach to Hatteras Inlet. CSA Camp Winfield was located near the lighthouse. Union Camp Wool was established just west of Fort Clark in 1862 - 1865.

Fort Hatteras
(1861 - 1865), Hatteras Inlet
Captured by the Union in August 1861 by combined Army-Navy forces. Further expeditions against the mainland were launched from here. This 12-gun fort, which was larger than Fort Clark, was located 0.75 mile west of Fort Clark and guarded the inlet into Pamlico Sound. It had sand walls six-feet high and 25-feet thick, covered by sod and wooden planks. No remains.

¤ WWII DEFENSES OF CAPE HATTERAS

¤ Cape Hatteras Battery
(1942), Cape Hatteras
In 1942 the U.S. Navy established a mine-protected safe anchorage for allied merchant ships off of Cape Hatteras. Battery Cape Hatteras, four 155mm guns on Panama mounts, was planned for this location, but suitable high ground could not be located. The safe anchorage and minefield was discontinued later that same year. The Navy Section Base for this area was located at Ocracoke.

Fort Oregon
(1861 - 1865), Oregon Inlet
A CSA earthworks fort located on the southern shore of Oregon Inlet on Pea Island. It was abandoned before the Union seized it in September 1861. The actual site has washed away. A U.S. Coast Guard Station is now at this location.

Roanoac
(c. 1585), Manteo
A palisaded Indian village south of Fort Raleigh. Visited by English explorer Arthur Barlowe and seven others in 1584 to be entertained by Chief Wingina. The Indians Wanchese and Manteo returned to England to be studied and exhibited. They returned with Ralph Lane in 1585. The village was attacked and destroyed by the English under Ralph Lane in 1586. The Indians did not resettle the island until after 1590.

Fort Raleigh (National Historic Site)
(1585 - 1586, 1587 - 1589/90), Fort Raleigh City
This is the site of the first English settlement in North America. The New Forte in Virginia was probably a small log stockade established by Ralph Lane in 1585. A scientific laboratory was set up nearby, and small parties were dispatched to explore the mainland to the Chesapeake Bay (see listings for Chesapeack and Great Neck Fort on the Virginia - Hampton Roads page). Before being destroyed by Indians, the 103 survivors (out of 108) were picked up by Sir Francis Drake on his return trip from the Caribbean. A relief expedition by Sir Richard Grenville arrived two weeks too late in 1586, and left 15 men with two year's worth of provisions to occupy the abandoned fort. A second colonizing attempt with 150 people, including 17 women and nine children, was made by John White in 1587. The first fort was rebuilt and renamed. Grenville's 15 men were never found, save the remains of one man. A small battery was built at Town Creek (Shallowbag Bay) to protect the boat anchorage. The first two known children of English heritage born in the New World, Virginia Dare, and the Harvie child, were born here in 1587. A resupply expedition in 1588 was delayed in England because of the Spanish Armada threat. A Spanish ship was sent from Florida in the summer of 1588 to scout the area, and reportedly found the colony still there, but did not attack. When John White finally returned in 1590, the settlement was found "recently" abandoned, but with no survivors in sight. The "Lost Colony" has remained a mystery to this day. The site of the original fort, as well as the site of the settlement, has never been found. The reconstructed earthwork (1950) located here has been dated to a later period (see below).

Located in the town of Manteo at Roanoke Island Festival Park is the replica ship Elizabeth II.

Roanoke Island Fort
(1720's ?, 1750's ?), Fort Raleigh City
The earthen fort located here was reconstructed in 1950 by the National Park Service on the trace of a work long thought to have been Ralph Lane's 1585 fort. Excavations in the 1990's revealed that this fort was built much later, and which was over the ruins of the 1585 science laboratory, not the 1585 fort. This fort was most likely built to cover the approach to Edenton through the shallow channel, as shown on a 1770 map. The site was severely altered by Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War, and by subsequent archaeological digs.

Civil War Defenses of Roanoke Island
(1861 - 1865), Roanoke Island
There were three earthen Confederate forts on the northwestern shore of Roanoke Island:
Fort Huger (12 guns) on Weir Point (the rear wall remains) just south of the bridge. Renamed Fort Reno by the Union.
Fort Blanchard (four guns) about 300 yards south (no remains). Renamed Fort Parke by the Union.
Fort Bartow (nine guns) on Pork Point (no remains) at the end of Burnside Road. Renamed Fort Foster by the Union.
Other CSA works included:
Ballast Point Battery (two guns), protected the Shallowbag Bay entrance into the town of Manteo. Referred to as Fort Ellis (1) by the Union, it was rebuilt and renamed Fort Monteil after its capture.
Fort Russell (three guns) (aka Fort Defiance (2)), located in the center of the island guarding the road junction to Ashbee Harbor. This small redoubt still exists.
Fort Sullivan, location undetermined.
Camp Georgia, location undetermined.
Camp Raleigh, on the northern end of the island in the environs of old Fort Raleigh.

The island was occupied by the Union in February 1862, and Ashbee Harbor, located just to the south of Manteo, was used as a base of operations. Other Union works later built included:
Fort Burnside, on the northern end of the island near old Fort Raleigh.
Camp Jourdan, location undetermined.
Camp Reno (1), location undetermined.

Dasemunkepeuc
(c. 1585), near Manns Harbor
A major Indian town which was attacked by the English in 1586.

Fort Forrest
(1861 - 1862), Manns Harbor
Located on Redstone Point, directly opposite from Fort Huger on Roanoke Island. Seven guns were mounted on two canal boats that were sunk into the mud. It was destroyed in February 1862. CSA earthworks were also located one mile north (Camp Rescue ?).

Stockade at Fort Landing
(1700), Fort Landing
A traders' temporary log stockade protecting against local Indians. At low tide may be seen what is thought to be the remains of the stockade.

Civil War Defenses of Plymouth
(1862 - 1865), Plymouth
Union forts in 1862 included:
Fort Grey, two miles upriver facing Tabor Island (a paper mill now occupies the site).
Battery Worth (one gun) (aka Fort Hal), with entrenched camp located on the western edge of town facing the river.
Boyle's Mill Redoubt, located on the western edge of town between Battery Worth and Fort Wessells. It was blown up by the Union during the battle.
Fort Wessells (two guns), located at Campbell and Wilson Streets. Renamed Fort Mercer by the CSA.
Fort Comfort (three guns), located east of town between Columbia Road and the river. Also called Fort Conpher. Renamed Fort Jones by the CSA after the town was captured.
Fort Williams, located at Jefferson and Fort William Streets. A marker is on Washington Street noting the rear of the fort. This was the principal Union defense, and the last to fall to the CSA. A line of earthworks connected Fort Williams with an unnamed redoubt to the west, an entrenched camp with redoubt and a detached battery on Boyle's Mill Road on the western edge of town above Battery Worth, and Conaby Redoubt located on the eastern edge of town between Fort Williams and Fort Comfort.

Union forts possibly built after the town was recaptured in late 1864:
Fort Warren, undetermined location.

The town was captured by the CSA in April 1864 with the aid of the iron-clad ram C.S.S. Albemarle, but was recaptured by the Union in October 1864. Nothing remains of these forts. Exhibits and history at the Port-O-Plymouth Museum at 302 East Water Street.

Fort Branch (2)
(1862 - 1865), Hamilton
A Confederate fort on the Roanoke River which claims to have the best preserved star-shaped earthworks east of the Mississippi River. It kept Union gunboats from continuing up the river to the CSA shipyards at Edward's Ferry (north of Scotland Neck) and at Halifax during July 1862. It was evacuated at the end of the war. The restoration efforts hope to make this the only earthwork fort in the South to have all original guns in place (10 were found in the river - only one is missing). Earthworks (still remain) were built nearby several months prior to the fort's construction, but were deemed inadequate. Another website at Albemarle-NC.com
CSA Camp Baker (2), Camp Penders, and Camp Vance (6) were located nearby.

Edenton Battery
(Edenton State Historic Site)
(1778), Edenton
A Patriot shore battery was located near the present-day Barker House Visitor Center. A granite monument with three period cannon is located at the waterfront park. When the guns were delivered, the town could not pay for them, so the ship captain dumped them in the river. Six were recovered during the Civil War. The other three guns are on display in Raleigh at Capitol Square. Edenton (founded 1722) was once the colonial capital of North Carolina. It may have been fortified earlier.

Camp Washington (2)
(1860's), Edenton
A CSA camp.

Weapemeoc
(c. 1585), Snug Harbor
A major Weapemoc Indian town, noted by John White in 1585.

Camp Washington (3)
(1860's), Hertford
A CSA camp.

Fort Cobb
(1862), Elizabeth City
A Confederate four-gun earthwork fort located on Cobb Point. It was abandoned as Union forces approached in April 1862. No remains, site on private property.

South Mills Battery
(1862), South Mills
A Confederate three-gun battery guarded the locks here on the Dismal Swamp Canal. Located three miles southeast of town are the remains of Confederate earthworks on both sides of NC 343. Scene of battle in April 1862.

Fort Buffalo
(1862 - 1863), near Welch
A blockhouse and earthworks built by local Union sympathizers (known as Buffaloes) on the Wingfield Plantation owned by seccessionist Richard Dillard. Also known as Fort Wingfield. It was destroyed by Confederates.

Chowanoke
(c. 1585), near Harrellsville
A major Chowanoke Indian town on the Chowan River, north of Deep Swamp Branch and opposite Horn Point, visited by Ralph Lane, Thomas Hariot, and John White in 1585.

Camp Branch (2)
(1862), Winton
A fortified CSA camp. Attacked and destroyed by Union troops in February 1862.

Potecasi Creek Earthworks
(1863), near Mapleton
Confederate earthworks may still remain here, located in a wooded area off of US 158. Scene of battle in July 1863.

Fort Dillard
(1862), near Riddicksville
A Confederate defense located at the confluence of the Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers. It was later abandoned when the troops moved to Franklin, VA on the approach of Union gunboats up the Chowan River.
(thanks to John Collins for providing info)

NEED MORE INFO: Fort Nelson Road in Corapeake. Garrison Point in Beaufort County, at the mouth of Durham Creek on the Pamlico River.

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