Fort Anderson Celebrates the "Navy Way" Feb. 15-16

WINNABOW, N.C. -- Take to the high seas and explore the "Navy Way" during the 149th Anniversary of the Fall of Fort Anderson Feb. 15-16, at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site. Visitors can experience the life of sailors on land during the American Civil War.

 

Some sailors were attached to the torpedo service and others to posts not shipboard, but on shore. Demonstrations will include weapons, equipment and torpedo firings. Civil War torpedoes were not today's self-propelled explosives, but fixed water mines, and will be detonated throughout the day. In addition to the navy, the North Carolina Artillery Battalion will demonstrate the role of field artillery with maneuvers and firing guns during the day.

 

There will also be cavalry, civilians and sutlers to sell period merchandise. In addition, there will be an unveiling ceremony Feb. 15 for two new wayside exhibits: "Yankee Catchers & Infernal Machines" (Obstructions and Torpedoes in the Cape Fear) and "The Big Guns of Fort Anderson."

 

Brunswick Town was the first permanent settlement on the Lower Cape Fear River, established in 1726 as a port town. The town was attacked and captured by Spanish privateers in 1748 and was the site of the Stamp Act Rebellion in 1766. Partially burned by British in 1776, it was abandoned by the end of the Revolutionary War. In 1862, Confederate forces constructed Fort Anderson on part of the town. 

 

Today, one can tour ruins of buildings and houses that lie along the shaded scenic tour trail.  Other attractions include the majestic ruins of St. Philip's Anglican Church, featuring three-foot thick brick walls that recall the splendor of a bustling colonial port, and the remains of Russellborough, where North Carolina colonial governors once lived. Brunswick once was the unofficial capital of colonial North Carolina. 

 

For more information, please call (910) 371-6613, email brunswick@ncdcr.gov or visit its www.nchistoricsites.org/brunswic.

 

Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson is located at 8884 St. Philip's Road S.E. in Winnabow. Take Interstate 40 east to Wilmington where the interstate ends and becomes College Road. Then take U.S. 17/74 south/west through Wilmington. Remain on this highway to the Southport/Leland exit. Take this exit and follow N.C. 133 south for approximately 17 miles and follow the signs to Brunswick Town. From Southport take N.C. 133 north approximately 15 miles to the site.