The Division of State Historic Sites and Properties preserves, operates, and interprets significant historic sites, enabling visitors to explore North Carolina's rich and diverse heritage in an engaging, relevant manner.
Fort Fisher welcomes over 1,000,000 visitors and community members each year to our historic site. Our site focuses on Civil War and World War II history. In addition to our permanent exhibits, we conduct dozens of small and large scale public programming from our Junior Reserves children's activities to living history days. Volunteers play a vital role in our site. Volunteers assist staff with gift shop operations, visitor orientation, tours, and programming.
In the Civil War, Fort Fisher guarded the port city of Wilmington, N.C. The Confederate fort was built largely by American Indian and enslaved and free African American laborers with assistance from the white garrison. Fort Fisher protected Wilmington against the U.S. Navy blockade. Meanwhile, local enslaved African Americans utilized the Navy's presence to free themselves by rowing down the river to the Navy ships. In January 1865, Union forces launched a joint army-navy attack and captured the Confederate fort.
In October 1941, Fort Fisher officially reopened. The U.S. Army converted the old fort into an artillery training camp as the nation revamped its defenses. Dozens of coast and antiaircraft artillery regiments trained at Fort Fisher and nearby Camp Davis from 1941 to 1944. These regiments often deployed to the Pacific and European theaters and participated in major campaigns in World War II.
Write a review