Tattooed sailors off Fort Fisher: Talk will focus on the history of the art, designs popular during the Civil War and where ink was placed on the body (even there!)

19th century tattoo designs (Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Tattoo Pattern Books)

Ah, sailors and tattoos. They go so well together, and have for hundreds of years.

Whether through images of sweethearts, whales or ships, countless generations of sailors have worn tattoos to show social identity, ethnic heritage or simply for identification should they be killed in battle.

Becky Sawyer, historian at Fort Fisher State Historic Site in North Carolina, has conducted about five years of research on those who in participated in the battles for the Confederate sentinel near Wilmington and had some ink on their bodies.

Sawyer (left) will share the fruits of her work on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 19, at Pleasure Island Library in Carolina Beach. The talk is entitled “Red, Blue & Black: Tattoos Among Sailors at Fort Fisher.”

“Through images and stories, explore this fascinating and sometimes gritty aspect of maritime history. Not for the faint of heart,” the program advertises.

The Picket asked Sawyer to describe the topic and the resources she used. Her responses have been edited for brevity.

Wait for it: The last question below gets to the “faint of heart.”

Q. What will be the main thrust of your message? Why do you find this a particularly relevant topic?

A. Tattoos have always been a tradition of naval history. Tattoos tell a story of the sailors who fought at Fort Fisher, whether they they were in the maritime service for years prior to the Civil War or joined the U.S. Navy to serve their country. They also tell the story of traditions such as the Kanacha tattoos among the Polynesian sailors with the fleet. Tattoos identified men in a time when there were no dog tags. Several of the men on my list were killed in the Battles of Fort Fisher. Some were sent home north to be buried, like Abel Cole of the USS Brooklyn, who had a blue star between right thumb and index finger. He would be buried in his home state of Maine. William Baker of the USS Sassacus is buried at the Wilmington National Cemetery – he had his initials tattooed on his left forearm

Naval rendezvous record describes fancy artwork for one Civil War seafarer

Q. Is this all or almost all about Federal sailors? Which campaign(s) against the fort did they participate in?

A. My focus is on the U.S. sailors who served onboard vessels both as part of the blockade off Wilmington/Fort Fisher in 1863-64 and then also the battles of Fort Fisher. There are also former Confederates who joined the U.S. Navy during the exchange in late 1863 and into 1864 who have tattoos which they may have received while in a prisoner of war camps such as Camp Douglas and Fort Delaware.

Q.  How did you learn about these tattoos? Can you describe the themes? Were tattoos well-known among sailors before the Civil War?

A. Researching the muster rolls for the various ships that participated in the battles of Fort Fisher and then cross-referencing them with the Naval Rendezvous Enlistment records along with pension records of those who served in the battles. As for themes – I have broken it down into 11 categories such as names & initials; things of the sea (mermaids, anchors, ships), religious symbols, patriotic symbols, memorials, bracelets, etc. Tattoos are well-known among sailors prior to the Civil War. 

Artist at work (Library of Congress) and two tattoo designs (Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Tattoo Pattern Books)

Q. I know you have researched this for a while and have made previous presentations. When did you begin this research and what piqued your interest? 

A. I began researching this about five years ago or so. At first, it was on foreign-born sailors and then realized the former Confederates who served with the Navy and finding tattoos among the prisoners when they enlisted, and it just snowballed into the research that I have today.

Q. Are there specific sailors you will mention? If so, can you please provide a couple examples?

A. Simon Duggan of the USS Fort Donelson (former Confederate POW) had a cross between his shoulder blades (naval record, below). He was from Ireland. John Love of the USS Wabash had the phrase “Where Liberty Dwells There is My Home” tattooed on his breast. Leander Spaulding (tattoo artist on the USS Tristam Shandy) had a snake and “don’t tread on me” tattooed on his right forearm. Charles Haldgate of the USS Tuscarora had “Dieu Et Mon Droit” (God and my right) tattooed on his right forearm – he was a mariner by trade from Liverpool.

Q. One promotion for your speech says it "is not for the faint of heart." Can you explain why?

A. I found at least two sailors with tattoos on their manhood and then there are tattoos found on the buttocks as well.

Becky Sawyer’s presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. at Pleasure Island Library, 1401 N. Lake Blvd #72, Carolina Beach, N.C. Call 910-798-6300 or 910-251-7351 for more information.

Sign about tattooed sailors research at Fort Fisher in 2023

This ornate gift from blockade runners to Fort Fisher's commander features palmettos, flags, cannon and a tiny replica of the Banshee. You can learn about the silver epergne at an Aug. 17 talk

Col. William Lamb and wife Daisy; silver epergne (Fort Fisher State Historic Site) and sketch of Banshee

It’s been said Col. William Lamb, commander of the Confederacy’s Fort Fisher, was a blockade runner’s best friend.

His garrison, based at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, safeguarded the vital port of Wilmington, N.C. The city was an important destination for ships that dared to run past the Union blockade, risking gunfire or running aground. Lamb’s troops and artillery provided cover fire for those missions.

Among the scores of vessels that made the journey was the English-made Banshee, which was made especially for the job. Banshee made eight successful runs to Wilmington before it was captured offshore in November 1863 – by then, its investors had made seven times their investment.

The vessel’s owner, the Anglo-Confederate Trading Co., commissioned a silver epergne, or table centerpiece, to show appreciation to Lamb for his efforts to safeguard efforts to supply the resource-starved Confederacy. The officer wasn’t a professional engineer, but he made Fort Fisher a formidable bastion.

The privately owned lavish piece, which features a cannon, four Confederate flags, a Palmetto tree and a replica of Banshee, is the subject of a talk this coming Monday by Ray Flowers, an interpreter and historian at Fort Fisher State Historic Site. His 7 p.m. presentation will be held at the Federal Point History Center in Carolina Beach. The epergne will not be present.

Flowers (at right, with artifact) is passionate about the piece’s impressive combination of art and utility.

“Without a doubt, this is the most extraordinarily phenomenal single artifact, pertinent to Fort Fisher that will ever grace this property,” Flowers wrote in an email to the Picket.

“It is a tangible monument of Fort Fisher post commandant William Lamb's vigilance in maintaining the lifeline of the Confederacy, as he would come to be recognized as the ‘Guardian Angel of Blockade-Running.’ This exquisite trophy is emblematic of both the success of this smuggling operation as well as the potentially lucrative nature of the venture.”

It's a fancy dinnerware piece with a cause

I had never heard of an epergne before researching this post, and I still have difficulty spelling it.

Epergne is a French word for “saving,” with the idea of placing small dishes of food  on a stand in the central part of the dining table so that guests wouldn’t have to spend time passing dishes. Unlike a “lazy Susan,” the base does not revolve. Sometimes, small candies or candles might be featured.

The artifact has made four one-day appearances at Fort Fisher but has never been on display for an extended time, said park officials, adding they would like to see it there again.

The epergne was made by Elkington & Co. of Birmingham, England, said Flowers. (Click photo to enlarge)

“Lamb was presented with a photo of the promised centerpiece in December 1864, shortly before the fort fell in mid-January 1865. Fortunately, he did not gain possession until 1866.”

By then, the war was over and the colonel had been released from brief confinement. A native of Norfolk, Va., the soldier returned there after the Civil War and was active in business and politics.

The inscription at the base reads: "Presented to Colonel William Lamb, C.S.A. commanding at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, by the owners of the steamship ‘Banshee’ in recognition of the eminent service and valuable assistance at all times so continuously rendered during the period she was engaged in trading between Nassau and Wilmington from May to November 1863."

This Englishman lived for adventure, riches

One of Fort Fisher's formidable guns after its capture (Library of Congress)

While blockade running occurred at ports across the Confederacy, the epicenter was Wilmington, which depended on Fort Fisher. Union land and naval forces attacked the sentinel twice before it fell in early 1865, and the loss was crippling to the South.

Owners and captains of the blockade runners had a massive risk and reward balancing act during Fort Fisher’s existence.

Among the most enterprising was English-born Thomas “Tom” E. Taylor (below).

In 1862, the Anglo-Confederate Trading Co. employed the 21-year-old as their "supercargo," (owner's representative). “All told, they operated or owned 15 vessels engaged in blockade-running. Taylor himself ran the blockade 28 times, 26 of the 28 were either in-or-out of Wilmington,” said Flowers.

Taylor has been described as both a thrill seeker and opportunist.

“Although sympathetic to the South’s cause and her struggle for independence, Taylor put his vessel and his life in harm’s way not for patriotism, but for the enormous profits that could be accrued by successfully running the Federal blockade,” wrote Confederate navy author R. Thomas Campbell in a 2007 issue of Military Heritage magazine.

In his 1896 memoirs, “Running the Blockade: A Personal Narrative of Adventure, Risks, and Escapes during the American Civil War,” Taylor wrote extensively about the Banshee, detailing one attempt in which several Federal gunboats fired upon the vessel as it neared the protection of Fort Fisher.

“Their shots were soon dropping close around us: an unpleasant sensation when you know you have several tons of gunpowder under your feet,” wrote Taylor, who became friends with Lamb. Blockade runners carried both military and civilian goods.

Notwithstanding the loss of the Banshee by capture, “she earned sufficient on the eight successful round trips which she made to pay her shareholders 700 per cent on their investment,” he said.

Sixteen of the side-wheel Banshee’s 17 trips to Rebel ports had been successful.

The U.S. Navy, ironically, used the captured ship in the first attempt on Fort Fisher, before assigning it to the Potomac Flotilla in Chesapeake Bay.

Commander's wife was there during attack

Flowers said Lamb, who was in his late 20s during the war, was the architect and commander of the “grandest, single sea-coast sandcastle in the Confederacy.”

He called Wilmington the last gateway on the Eastern Seaboard to the outside world as “the fortunes of the neophyte nation were moored to the docks of the port city's harbor. This story requires no exaggeration or embellishment; it is also leavened by an incredible love story, as Lamb's Northern-born wife, Daisy, shared the victories and vicissitudes of that war with him as they coupled beneath their star-crossed banner on Confederate Point.”

Daisy, born Sarah Anne Chaffee in Rhode Island, lived in a small cottage near Fort Fisher (above, photo Fort Fisher).

Lamb was severely wounded and captured when Fort Fisher fell to Union forces on Jan. 15, 1865, after a stalwart defense. The wounds he received during the final assault would leave him on crutches for seven years, according to NCpedia. (Daisy escaped capture.)

The Lambs, who had three children, subsequently moved to Virginia. Daisy died at age 54 in 1892. William was 73 when he passed in 1909.

The epergne remained in possession of the Lamb family until last year, said Flowers. “Hopefully, it will go on temporary display here at the new visitor center by the end of the year, or soon after.” (Above, inscription at base, Fort Fisher)

The new owner may make the artifact a gift to the state upon his passing, officials said.

The program on Col. Lamb and the silver epergne is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, at the Federal Point History Center, 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Carolina City, N.C. Parking is at Carolina Beach Town Hall across from Dollar General. Call 910-458-0502 or 910-251-7351 for more information.

William Campbell's gun crew rained hell and shot on defiant Rebel batteries at Fort Fisher. The sailor's Medal of Honor has been donated to the North Carolina park

William Campbell's Medal of Honor; click to enlarge (Fort Fisher SHS)

The Medal of Honor bestowed to the captain of a gun on the USS Ticonderoga was donated this week to a North Carolina state park that tells the story of Union naval and land assaults on Fort Fisher.

Boatswain’s Mate William Campbell’s medal was brought Wednesday to Fort Fisher State Historic Site below Wilmington.

The park said the Zimmermann family from Illinois reached out a few months ago. Officials declined to provide information on them, citing privacy, and do not know whether they are related to Campbell.

I have been unable to learn much about Campbell, who was born in 1838 and enlisted in Indiana.

Becky Sawyer of the Fort Fisher site with the donors this week (Fort Fisher SHS)

He was one of 10 Ticonderoga sailors to receive the Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

“On board the U.S.S. Ticonderoga during the attacks on Fort Fisher, 24 and 25 December 1864; and 13 to 15 January 1865. Despite heavy return fire by the enemy and the explosion of the 100-pounder Parrott rifle which killed eight men and wounded 12 more, Campbell, as captain of a gun, performed his duties with skill and courage during the first two days of battle. As the ship again took position on the line of the 13th, he remained steadfast as the Ticonderoga maintained a well-placed fire upon the batteries onshore, and thereafter, as she materially lessened the power of guns on the mound which had been turned upon our assaulting columns. During this action the flag was planted on one of the strongest fortifications possessed by the rebels.”

Fort Fisher assistant site manager Chad Jefferds told the Picket enlistment records indicate Campbell was originally from Ireland.

Jefferds said the site plans to place the medal on permanent display soon.

“The entirety of the US Navy fleet is interpreted in our exhibit gallery. The Ticonderoga (left, Wikipedia) is specifically mentioned in a section about the first battle, regarding the explosion of several 100-pounder Parrott rifles.” 

During that first assault on Fort Fisher, about 45 Federal sailors were killed or injured when the Parrotts malfunctioned.

The fall of the fort in January 1865 was a massive blow to the Confederacy, which lost a supply pipeline months before the end of the Civil War.

Fort Fisher has one other Medal of Honor, that of William Henry Freeman of the 169^th New York (right), said Jefferds.

Freeman volunteered to carry the brigade flag during the victorious Second Battle of Fort Fisher after the bearer was wounded.

The Navy and Army created the Medal of Honor early in the conflict. More than 3,500 medals have been awarded since inception of the honor.

Ravaged by war, erosion, time and World War II bulldozers, Fort Fisher will celebrate its resilience and new earthworks Saturday with 160th anniversary events

Reproduction 32-pounder was installed this week; note the two guns amid traverses (Fort Fisher SHS)

As a native of Wilmington, N.C., Chris Fonvielle grew up amid sand, surf and history. He recalls climbing all over Fort Fisher, the Civil War sentinel a few miles to the south.

Fonvielle (pronounced fawn-vull) eventually immersed himself in the study of Confederate blockade running, coastal operations and Fort Fisher, thought to be nearly impregnable as the “Gibraltar of the South.” And, as fate would have it, he still walks all around the site -- as an occasional tour guide.

Fonvielle and fellow author Rod Gragg will be among the speakers Saturday at Fort Fisher State Historic Site’s observance of the 160^th anniversary of the bastion’s fall to Union forces, hastening the South’s defeat in the four-year conflict.

"As the guardian of Wilmington -- the sole surviving major seaport in the Confederacy -- Fort Fisher was indispensable to the South, and was a critical lifeline that Northern forces had to sever,” Gragg, author of the seminal “Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher,” told the Picket.

Union forces attempted to take Fort Fisher -- built by enslaved persons on a peninsula between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean -- in December 1864, but naval guns failed to reduce artillery positions and the attack was called off. But success came on Jan. 15, 1865, after an effective and sustained bombardment.

“That knocked out all the heavy artillery that otherwise would have devastated the ground troops,” said Fonvielle.

What followed was the largest amphibious assault before World War II. Union troops rolled up defenders, leading to surrender.

The victory cut off blockade runners and the last supply line through Wilmington to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. U.S. Colored Troops were among those taking part in the attack. 

The big draw Saturday will be the new 20,000-square-foot visitor center and reconstructed earthworks that opened late last year. Programming includes artillery and infantry weapons demonstrations, guided tours, reenactors and book signings (see schedule below). The Friends of Fort Fisher are sponsoring the event.

The state park whomped up excitement Wednesday by announcing it installed a second reproduction 32-pounder cannon between the newly reconstructed seventh and eighth traverses.

“In the coming months, we will continue fleshing out these new earthworks with ground cover and interior decorations for the bombproof shelter exhibit,” Fort Fisher said in a Facebook post.

The site had closed in April 2024 to allow completion of the visitor center and the recreation of three traverses, bombproofs, a powder magazine and the sally port.

(Trails map modifications showing new traverses/ Dennis Gast)

Fort Fisher’s use during World War II helped the Allied cause but destroyed some of its familiar defensive traverses. They were removed to make way for an airstrip when the area was used for training anti-aircraft and coastal artillery units. Much of the fort was lost to erosion from the shifting Atlantic Ocean.

“It’s been a dream down here to rebuild this segment of earthworks since the 1960s. We finally did it,” Fort Fisher site manager Jim Steele told McClatchy News.

He spoke to the news service about the Southern effort to create the immense sand fort.

Building and repairing went on nonstop during the four-year war, which required the enslaved laborers to rotate through for weeks or months at a time, Steele said.

Montage of Timothy O'Sullivan photos of traverses; click to enlarge (Library of Congress)

The three new traverses, as with the original six, were the scenes of heavy, close-quarters combat as Union troops pushed east on Jan. 15,1865.

Chad Jefferds, Fort Fisher’s assistant site manager, said Saturday's weapons demonstrations will occur at Shepherd’s Battery, which guarded the western end of the Rebel defenses.

“We will be conducting both infantry and artillery demonstrations during the weapons demos at Shepherd’s Battery,” he told the Picket. “The infantry will show how units maneuvered in the field and fire blank rounds from reproduction muskets (mostly Springfields or Enfields), while artillery will show the process of loading and firing along with how each cannon crew member functioned. We currently anticipate having a 10-pounder Parrott rifle, along with the site’s 12-pounder Napoleon and 32-pounder firing blank charges.”

Admission to the site and programming is free, with the exception of $10 to take part in an “Above the Scenes” tour. Site historian Ray Flowers leads the walk, which delves deep into the experiences of those who lived, labored and fought at Fort Fisher, and gives visitors the rare opportunity to climb the fort’s earthen mounds.

Reenactors will be in an interpretive camp in Fort Grove, said Jefferds.

Books by Fonvielle (right), a retired educator, include “The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope” and “Fort Fisher 1865: The Photographs of T.H. O’Sullivan.”

He and co-author Bob Browning will discuss their new “Fort Fisher Illustrated: Art of the Battle.”

The paperback features lithographs, engravings, drawings and other dramatic illustrations made after the battle.

 “People knew because of the media coverage how important Wilmington was,” said Fonvielle.

Here is the current schedule for Saturday:

10 a.m.: Weapons demonstration at Shepherd’s Battery

10:45 a.m.: Presentation and book signing by Chris Fonvielle and Bob Browning, “Fort Fisher: Art of the Battle” (Orientation Theatre)

11 a.m.: “Above the Scenes” guided tour, leaving from main entrance breezeway.

Noon: Weapons demonstration at Shepherd’s Battery

12:45 p.m.: Presentation and book signing by Rod Gragg (left), “Cold Steel and the Butt of a Gun: The Fall of Fort Fisher” (Orientation Theatre).

"Commemorative events such as the 160th anniversary of the battle of Fort Fisher help us to remember our history and to learn from those who came before us," said Gragg.

1 pm.: “Above the Scenes” guided tour, leaving from main entrance breezeway.

2 p.m.: Weapons demonstration at Shepherd’s Battery

2:45 p.m.: Presentation and book signing by Angela Zombek, “Suspicious Characters and Captured Combatants: The Experiences of Prisoners of War” (Orientation Theatre)

3 p.m.: “Above the Scenes” guided tour, leaving from main entrance breezeway

4 p.m.: Weapons demonstration at Shepherd’s Battery

The site will be open Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., with public program being held between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The visitor center is located at 1610 S. Fort Fisher Blvd. in Kure Beach. With an expected large crowd, the site recommends carpooling. Limited extra parking will be available at Battle Acre Road. Tickets for the “Above the Scenes” guided tour can be purchased at the first-floor information desk in the visitor center. Concessions will be provided by the Federal Point History Center.

Below: One of the reproduction 32-pounders points to the visitor center to its north (FFHS photo)

Rain-heavy storm drops a bomb on earthworks being recreated at North Carolina's Fort Fisher. It will take several more weeks for crews to fix erosion, finish project

South entrance of sallyport tunnel, bombproof tunnel at far left left; earthworks looking toward visitor center,
gun emplacement at top right; click to enlarge (Photos courtesy Fort Fisher State Historic Site)

Historic rainfall along a stretch of North Carolina’s coast heavily eroded replica earthworks going up at Fort Fisher, creating a cascade of mud and delaying the opening of a new visitor center by at least a month.

Communities south of Wilmington – among them Kure Beach and Carolina Beach – received more than 18 inches of rain in 12 hours on Sept. 16. The National Weather Service said such inundation occurs once every 200 years.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site now says the park reopening, originally set for this Friday, will be pushed back until the earthworks are completed. Officials are not sure when that will occur.

A bleak view of the north end of the sallyport tunnel, amid shifted dirt and debris

“There has been a fair amount of damage around the site due to flooding/storm damage. Some trees and limbs came down, along with some pieces of the (replica) palisade fence,” said assistant site manager Chad Jefferds.

The visitor center roof had a small leak and the road to a park maintenance facility was washed out. “The sand in the washout was essentially quicksand.”

By far the biggest damage was to the unusual earthworks project.

The site closed in April to make way for completion of the visitor center and the recreation of three traverses, bombproofs, a magazine and the sally port. Fort Fisher’s use during World War II helped the Allied cause but destroyed some of its familiar defensive traverses. They were removed to make way for an airstrip when the area was used for training anti-aircraft and coastal artillery units.

View from the visitor center to the north parking lot on Sept. 16.

Jefferds said beyond scraping away much of the muck at the earthworks site, the contractor must wait for the proper moisture levels for replacing dirt. “It’s not a simple process.”

“The Underwater Archaeology Branch facility sustained some damage from water intrusion. There are many homes on the island that took major flood damage and some condos have been condemned,” said Jefferds.

A photograph the site posted to social media on Friday was taken last Monday from the front of the visitor center facing north toward the parking lot. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the storm,” the park wrote.

Entrance to the sallyport tunnel as the storm is happening, fallen tree elsewhere

The state historic site near Kure Beach will feature a two-story visitor center and museum..

Fort Fisher was built on the peninsula between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, south of Wilmington. It is best known as a crucial coastal bastion for the Confederacy.

On Jan. 15, 1865, after a naval bombardment, the Federal army attacked from the western, river side while Marines pushed in from the northeast bastion. The fall of the “Gibraltar of the South” cut off blockade runners and the last supply line through Wilmington to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

The new Fort Fisher visitor center, opening Sept. 27, will tell a wider story. Crews at the North Carolina Civil War site are rushing to finish recreated earthworks

New visitor center, Civil War map along staircase to the second floor and a colorized version of a Timothy O'Sullivan photograph of a damaged Fort Fisher traverse (FFSHS)

(Editor's note: The park announced Sept. 20 the opening is indefinitely postponed due to flooding damage from a tropical system)

A new and larger visitor center at Fort Fisher below Wilmington, N.C., will provide a broader and more people-centric history than the previous venue, officials said.

The state historic site near Kure Beach recently announced the two-story visitor center and its museum will open on Sept. 27. The park closed in April for construction of the 20,000-square-foot visitor center and for an usual rebuilding of earthworks.

“There are a few more items in the Civil War section, but the new sections covering the time before Fort Fisher as well as the span of time between the Civil War and WWII are where we had to bring in the most new artifacts,” assistant site manager Chad Jefferds told the Picket.

Fort Fisher was built on the peninsula between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, south of Wilmington. It is best known as a crucial coastal bastion for the Confederacy.

A Whitworth gun on the first floor of the visitor center (FFSHS)

On Jan. 15, 1865, after a naval bombardment, the Federal army attacked from the western, river side while Marines pushed in from the northeast bastion. The fall of the “Gibraltar of the South” cut off blockade runners and the last supply line through Wilmington to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. U.S. Colored Troops were among those taking part in the attack.

Essentially everything between Shepherd’s Battery on the western end of the fort’s land face and the center sally port were the scenes of intense fighting during the US Army’s assault. The fighting went from along the traverses from west to east and was often hand-to-hand.

Fort Fisher’s use during World War II helped the Allied cause but destroyed some of its familiar defensive traverses. They were removed to make way for an airstrip when the area was used for training anti-aircraft and coastal artillery units.

Construction crews are working to complete recreations of three traverses, bombproofs, a magazine and the sally port, Jefferds said. “The dirt being brought in has to dry out to a certain level before it can be used, but the weather has not been conducive. Hopefully it will be ready for our grand opening, but it’s no guarantee at this point.”

Sally port tunnel on far left during traverse reconstruction. At far right is historic traverse (FFSHS)

With the three traverses will come two gun emplacements, which will each have a heavy cannon, along with two 12-pounder Napoleons in the center sally port.

The new visitor center stands about 100 yards from the fort wall. It is just north of the east-west line mounds of earth known as traverses that were part of the defenses. Much of the eastern part of the fort has been claimed by the ocean. 

“Not only will visitors be able to see the majority of the remaining traverses from the second floor, they will also be able to see them as they approach from the parking lot. This is one of the main reasons for the first floor being perpendicular to the second floor,” said Jefferds.(bombproof recreation, below)

The visitor center’s first floor has a welcome desk, gift shop, restrooms and staff offices.

The second floor houses the main exhibit gallery as well as a temporary exhibit gallery that will change regularly. It  is home to an information desk, an orientation theater, restrooms and a multipurpose room that can be used for a classroom space, banquets or wedding receptions.

Among the wall displays is a colorized Timothy O’Sullivan photo of the fort taken shortly after its fall.

“That particular photo is of the 4^th traverse along the land face of the fort, likely where the fort’s commander Col. William Lamb was wounded,” said Jefferds. “It really shows the carnage that abounded here after the U.S. Navy’s bombardment and ensuing land battle, with the broken cannons and debris scattered all around.”

I asked him whether the venue will tell the same story, with some twists.

“The story is the same and Fort Fisher is obviously the central theme, but the way it’s told is different. We’ve tried to tell the story of Fort Fisher through the eyes of the people who lived, worked, fought and died here. We’ve also enhanced the coverage of the time before the Civil War as well as the time after, all the way through WWII when the fort served as a training facility for antiaircraft and coastal artillery units.”

Parking and admission at the site is free. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. The building is wheelchair-accessible and an elevator goes to the second floor.

Here's the recipe for the new bombproofs and traverses going up at North Carolina's Fort Fisher: Do research. Add precast concrete. Cover with a whole lot of dirt

Bombproof construction begins, pieces for tunnel entrance next to original traverses (Fort Fisher)

A construction project this summer at Fort Fisher State Historic Site in North Carolina is something you don’t see every day – or will likely see anywhere else.

Sections of precast concrete were placed Friday near a giant mound of dirt as crews begin to build a replica bombproof -- an earth- and timber-covered structure that protected a garrison from shelling.

The Civil War site near Kure Beach and contractors are engaged in an extraordinary effort to recreate three traverses, bombproofs, a magazine and a sally port that were vital parts of the Confederate fort, which fell in furious hand-to-hand combat in January 1865.

“This is a one-of-a-kind project,” said Ben Warren project manager with Bordeaux Construction of Morrisville, N.C. “We build much larger projects, but many things on this project are unique.”

Rendering of traverses, sally port and visitor center behind (Fort Fisher)

A portion of the vital fort’s earthworks was leveled during World War II to make way for an airstrip when the area was used to train anti-aircraft and coastal artillery units. The work is in conjunction with a new visitor center, also being built by Bordeaux Construction.

The earthworks project requires nearly three dozen pieces of precast concrete. About half have arrived, said Warren. The pieces were made by the Alcrete plant in Jacksonville, N.C.

Chad Jefferds, assistant site manager at Fort Fisher, told the Picket there will be a new tunnel allowing visitors to pass through the fort at the center sally port, as would have been the case originally, along with bombproofs under the traverses.

The traverses are being built in the same line as those that have withstood the effects of time and change. Rebuilding the fort will involve the reconstruction of the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th traverses.

Click to enlarge to see rebuilt features, including tunnel and bombproof (Fort Fisher)

“You will not see the precast concrete tunnels, as they will be clad in wood, such that the tunnels will appear as though they were built from timber, same as they were built originally,” Warren said in an email.

Jefferds said the concrete will be placed, waterproofed and buried over the next several weeks “so that work can begin on the gun emplacements atop the recreated mounds. The current timeline for the work has everything being completed by early September, but this is all highly dependent on weather.”

The site, with the exception of a tour stop, closed in April. The new 20,000 square-foot visitor center, a significant upgrade, is just north of the east-west line mounds of earth known as traverses that were part of the defenses. Much of the eastern part of the fort has been claimed by the ocean. 

Visitors will use tunnel to explore  features in new traverses (Fort Fisher)

Crews will work to ensure any exposed portions of the concrete will be made to look like they appeared during the battle.

“Visitors will be able to walk through the tunnel and bombproofs, as well as up into the gun emplacements themselves,” said Jefferds.

“We are in the process of sourcing reproduction munitions, boxes, barrels, etc. to make the bombproofs appear as they may have during the Civil War.”

With the three traverses will come two gun emplacements, which will have a heavy cannon in each, along with two 12-pounder Napoleons in the center sally port.

The project will allow people to interact with the fort in a whole new way, as the tunnels and bombproofs have been caved in and inaccessible since the late 19th century, said Jefferds.

The new visitor center rises to the north of construction area (Fort Fisher)

The design of the recreated earthworks is based on historic maps, photographs and descriptions. Architectural and engineering firm Clark Nexsen made the designs, which will be similar to the original mounds, said Warren.

Dennis Stallings, design director for Clark Nexsen, said it had an archaeological consultant on its team, Commonwealth Heritage Group, which “provided documentary research along with archeological research and provided a comprehensive report on the original fort and its construction."

There were archeological investigations in 1970 and another in 1981 that provided context.

“We aimed to create earthworks that appeared historically accurate while seamlessly incorporating modern construction techniques,” Stallings wrote in an email. “This endeavor presented a unique challenge, as we found little precedent to guide us.”

“The reward is a project that is immensely satisfying as architects. It is a one-of-a-kind endeavor that millions of people will interact with over the coming decades,” he said.

New visitor center is in the middle, at left is current one, new traverses far left (Bordeaux Construction)

Fort Fisher was built on the peninsula between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, south of Wilmington.

On Jan. 15, 1865, after a naval bombardment, the Federal army attacked from the western, river side while Marines pushed in from the northeast bastion. The fall of the “Gibraltar of the South” cut off blockade runners and the last supply line through Wilmington to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. U.S. Colored Troops were among those taking part in the attack.

Essentially everything between Shepherd’s Battery on the western end of the fort’s land face and the center sally port were the scenes of intense fighting during the US Army’s assault. The fighting went from along the traverses from west to east and was often hand-to-hand.

Jefferds said planning is underway for a grand opening ceremony, which should take place toward the end of September “if everything stays on schedule.”

Montage of Timothy O'Sullivan wartime photos of traverses; click to enlarge

The new museum will be three times larger than the current one, with more room for groups, educational space, rental opportunities, staff offices, etc. The exhibit area is also larger and will be based on the experiences of the place by the people who lived, fought, and died here.

While Fort Fisher is still the focus, the approach in developing our exhibits was much more driven by people, including underrepresented groups, said Jefferds.

“The (visitor center) exhibit casework and artifact installation will begin next week and will wrap up on the last week of August, at which time the only remaining work will be on the earthworks and fortifications,” said Warren.

The old visitor center has been torn down.

"Doing so allows us to create a better viewshed of the fort from the new visitor center as well as create green space for programming," said Jefferds.