North Coastal North Carolina

Last Update: 04/SEPTEMBER/2010

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2010 American Forts Network

Fort Granville
(1749 - 1764, 1776, 1794 - 1814), 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 called Beacon Island Fort (1794), and a blockhouse (1795), were later built and used through 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.

Fort Ocracoke
(1861 - 1865), Beacon Island
A nine-gun square redoubt constructed of sod. Built to protect the Ocracoke Inlet. 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. This fort guarded the ocean approach to Hatteras Inlet. Some so-called "ruins" (?) are located two miles past the Ocracoke ferry docks on a gated access road (National Park Service access road).

CSA Camp Winfield was located near the 1803 Cape Hatteras 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, exact site eroded away.

¤ 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. The Navy also operated a magnetic indicator loop receiving station on Loop Shack Hill just east of the town. The underwater cable ran from Portsmouth Island to Cape Hatteras, guarding both major inlets against German U-boats.

Fort Oregon
(1861 - 1865), Oregon Inlet
A CSA earthworks fort located on the then 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 as the inlet has since shifted south.

Kitty Hawk Radar Station
(1942 - 1945), Kitty Hawk
A WWII anti-aircraft spotting station and an SCR-271 early warning radar was located here. Exact location undetermined.

Roanoac
(c. 1585), Manteo
A palisaded Indian village southeast of old 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)
(First Colony Foundation)
(1585 - 1586, 1587 - 1589/90), Fort Raleigh City
This is the general site of the first English settlement in North America. The New Forte in Virginia was a small log stockade established by Ralph Lane in 1585. A science 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). By the following year 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 log stockade fort was found to have been destroyed by the Indians, and was then rebuilt. 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 (unnamed in sources), were born here in 1587, before John White and others returned to England. 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 English colony still there, but did not attack. When John White finally returned in 1590, the settlement was found "recently" abandoned, with no survivors in sight. The surviving colonists may have relocated south to Hatteras Island, or north to the Chesapeake Bay, however John White never investigated any further into either option and returned to England. The "Lost Colony" has remained a mystery to this day. The site of the original 1585 fort, as well as the site of the 1587 settlement, has never been found to date, and may possibly have been eroded away along the northern shore of the island. It has been estimated that nearly 200 feet of shoreline has eroded away since the 1700's. The name "Fort Raleigh" was first coined in the 1880's to promote the site as a tourist attraction, otherwise the fort had no other known name. The reconstructed earthwork (1950) located here has been dated to sometime after 1585 (see below). See also Roanoke Island: Fact and Fiction from NCpedia.org

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

Roanoke Island Fort ? ? ?
(1580's ?, 1720's ?, 1750's ?, 1770's ?), Fort Raleigh City
The earthen fort presently located here was reconstructed in 1950 by the National Park Service on the trace of an old work long thought to have been Ralph Lane's original 1585 fort. Excavations in the mid 1990's revealed that this fort was built later, and which was also situated over the ruins of the 1585 science laboratory, not the 1585 fort. Possibly built as an outwork by Lane's men in 1586, or by Grenville's men in 1586-87, however this fort was probably most likely built much later (1720's ?) to cover the shipping approach to Edenton through the shallow channel from the old Roanoke/Bodie Inlet (present-day Whalebone Junction), as depicted on a 1770 map. A minor naval action occurred at the inlet in August 1776. The old fort site on Roanoke Island was severely altered by Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War, and by subsequent archaeological digs, as well as roadway construction in 1924. The name "Fort Raleigh" was first coined in the 1880's to promote the site as a tourist attraction, otherwise the earthwork fort had no other known name. The Virginia Dare Monument was erected here in 1896. The site became a state park in 1934, and was transferred to the National Park Service in 1941. Several historically inaccurate log cabin structures and a palisade were built in 1934, but were all demolished by the NPS between 1946 to 1952.

Camp Wright (1934 - 1942) was a CCC work camp located adjacent to the Fort Raleigh Historic Site.

Civil War Defenses of Roanoke Island
(The Battle of Roanoke Island - NPS)
(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 Defiance (2) (three guns) (as referred to by the Union), located in the center of the island on Suple's Hill, guarding the road junction to Ashbee Harbor. Renamed Fort Russell by the Union after its capture. This small redoubt still exists.
Fort Sullivan, location undetermined.
Camp Georgia, located between Forts Huger and Bartow. Renamed Camp Foster by the Union. Later became the nucleus of the Freedmen's Colony on the island (1862 - 1867). Site now developed as part of the Dare County Regional Airport.
Camp Raleigh, on the northern end of the island in the environs of old Fort Raleigh. Renamed Camp Reno (1) by the Union.
Camp Rescue, location undetermined, on the northern end of the island, probably just north of Fort Huger.

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.

Of interest at Roanoke Island Festival Park is the Roanoke Adventure Museum.
Also of interest in the town of Manteo is the Outer Banks History Center, administered by the NC Office of Archives and History.

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.

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.

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
The Union Army captured the town in December 1862. Union defenses 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) (aka 85th Redoubt), located at Campbell and Winston 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 October 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.

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. The town was attacked by the British in June 1781. Edenton (founded 1722) was once the colonial capital of North Carolina. It may have been fortified at that time.

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 naval 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.

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