Glory Enough for All – the 155th Commemoration of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher

By December 1864, Wilmington, NC stood as the last remaining open port in the Confederacy, and the supplies it fed – in from the port and out via the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad – were the “life blood” of General Robert E. Lee’s men in Northern Virginia. The largest and strongest fortification protecting Wilmington and its blockade runners was Fort Fisher. After a failed attack by Union Forces on Christmas Eve, 1864, what became our country’s largest amphibious battle prior to D-Day was launched against Fort Fisher on January 12, 1865:  the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. For days, millions of projectiles rained down on the fort, followed by hours of brutal hand to hand combat on the final day, and ending on the night of January 15, 1865 with the fort’s surrender . Thousands were injured or dead. Wilmington fell on February 22, severing the Confederacy’s supply line, and Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, VA less three months after the fall of Fort Fisher.

On January 18th & 19th, 2020, Fort Fisher will hold a two-day family-friendly event to commemorate the 155th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Approximately 500 costumed reenactors will participate in a battle reenactment (1:00pm on Saturday & 10am on Sunday). There will be living history demonstrations, musket demonstrations, artillery firing, period music, guided tours and special guest speakers including Chris Fonvielle, Michael Hardy, and Rodd Gragg. Topics will include slave impressment, Civil War military prisons, USCT’s in the Cape Fear, bravery & valor and more. Children’s activities will include signal flags, spy codes, and the school of the soldier. Food trucks will be on site.

This will be Fort Fisher State Historic Site’s largest event in five years and is not to be missed!

This and all Fort Fisher programming is made possible by the Friends of Fort Fisher membership, support from the towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, New Hanover County and generous donations from people like you. Without all your help this event and others would not be possible.