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| New traverses (top), reproduction guns, new visitor center, Civil War image (Fort Fisher, Library of Congress) |
In a unusual project, Fort Fisher State Historic Site near Kure Beach, N.C., in coming
months will restore a portion of earthworks
leveled during World War II to make way for a training base airstrip. The work is in conjunction with a new visitor center.
The park will close Tuesday for a few months as workers relocate exhibits, artifacts and
offices to the new 20,000 square-foot building, officials said. All site features west of U.S. 421 will be off-limits
to visitors, including the museum, restrooms, tour trail and parking lot. The
Battle Acre tour stop will remain available.
The
Confederacy’s 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. (Click map at left to enlarge)
The visitor center 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.
The Picket
asked assistant site manager Chad Jefferds about the significant upgrade at the
park. The responses have been edited for brevity.
Q. I
understand all of the park, including staffing, will not be available for the
next few months, except for one trail on the east?
A. All
site features surrounding the current visitor center will be off the table –
especially since there will be demolition of the current visitor center and
reconstruction of the earthworks. It’s a safety measure.
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| New visitor center is in the middle, at left is current one, traverses above them (Fort Fisher) |
Q. Regarding the new visitor
center/museum, I understand the bottom floor will open sometime in July, with
an information desk, restrooms and a gift shop?
A. Our
plan based on the current construction schedule is to have a soft opening in
July. We will be able to orient visitors, have some educational programming and
conduct modified guided tours as well as offer restroom facilities and the gift
shop.
Q. The top
floor, with all the exhibits, is expected to open around Labor Day, right?
A. This
is also correct, based on the current construction schedule.
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| New fortifications that will be built on site (Fort Fisher) |
Q. Regarding “rebuilding the fort”
what exactly will that involve? I know there are new reproduction Napoleon
artillery pieces.
A. Rebuilding
the fort will involve the reconstruction of the 7th, 8th,
and 9th traverses and center sally port of the land face. These
were destroyed during World War II when the Army built an airstrip when the
area was used for training anti-aircraft and coastal artillery units. With three
traverses will come two gun emplacements, and will have a heavy cannon in each,
along with two 12-pounder Napoleons in the center sally port.
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| Montage of Timothy O’Sullivan photos of traverses; click to enlarge |
There will be a
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.
This exhibit 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.
Q. Were these features prominent in a
particular action at Fort Fisher?
A.
Yes. 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 in January 1865. The fighting went from
along the traverses from west to east and was often hand-to-hand.
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| Archaeological work last summer on site of traverses (Fort Fisher) |
Q. New South Associates, a
cultural resources management services company, last summer did archaeology work ahead of
this. Can you briefly summarize what they found? Did it add any understanding
to the Civil War history of the fort?
A. In
preparation for rebuilding the fort, New South conducted archaeology on the
airstrip targeting where the bombproof under the 8th traverse
was located. We were able to confirm it using measurements taken by US Army
engineers after the battle. It definitely added a new layer to our
understanding of the fort and its construction. (The team of
archaeologist uncovered the remnants of a Civil War ammunition magazine and its
connecting tunnels, according to the Wilmington Star-News.)
Q. When do you
hope the earthworks construction will begin and conclude?
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| New earthworks at left, new visitor to their north, at far right (Fort Fisher) |
A. Earthworks
construction has technically already been underway as workers have been moving
dirt from the visitor center construction site to the earthwork construction
site. It will begin in earnest within the next month or so, as the concrete
forms for the bombproofs and tunnel are completed and arrive on site.
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| Click to enlarge to see features of new earthworks (Fort Fisher) |
Q. Can you
please tell me more about the new museum? Will it be much different from the
current one? Will there be any new themes or artifacts? What are the most
notable items?
A. 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. There will be ways for all our visitors to
connect with the shared experiences of this place – something for everyone.
In
terms of artifacts and notable items, we do have a few things up our sleeve to
help people understand the magnitude of the bombardments that took place here
in late 1864 and early 1865.
Q. What do you want Fort
Fisher visitors to learn from the museum and visitor center?
A. We all want people to leave here with is a sense of the
importance of this place and the shared experiences of the diverse people who
have walked before us here.
Q. Will there be a movie? If
so, is it the same as now? Are there any new technology/interactive features in
the new museum?
A. In
the immediate (future) we will keep the same orientation film we have been
using, but we will likely produce a new one as funding becomes available. Budget
constraints limited the technological features immediately available, but there
is room to expand our interactive features in the future. (Current exhibit, left, Fort Fisher photo)
