The Lights of the Great Armada: Fort Fisher

KURE BEACH - As part of the state's observance of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources' Fort Fisher State Historic Site will host "The Lights of the Great Armada: The 147th Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher" on Jan. 21-22, 2012.


This two-day event will highlight the war's largest amphibious assault with a Navy and Marine living history program that includes small arms and artillery demonstrations, a period torpedo exhibit, as well as special presentations focusing on the Union and Confederate sailors and marines who fought at Fort Fisher in January 1865.

Among the guest speakers will be Dr. Robert M. Browning Jr., Chief Historian for the U.S. Coast Guard. The author of several books and dozens of articles on the Civil War, Browning will present "None can be more vigilant than we are...the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War." Also presenting will be Dr. Mark Wilde-Ramsing, Deputy State Archaeologist with the N.C. Office of State Archaeology, who will discuss the blockade runner Modern Greece, and Larry Bopp and Steve Bockmiller of the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Company and Ship's Company.

Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. The program is free both days; donations are appreciated.

All Fort Fisher programming is made possible by support from the Friends of Fort Fisher, a nonprofit group, and 2012 sustaining members Mike McCarley and James M. Taylor.