Fort Fisher "Beat the Heat" Summer Lecture Series

Saturday, August 1st at 2:00 PM

Author and historian Michael Hardy will present "North Carolina as the Last Confederate Capital."

In the waning days of the Confederacy, North Carolina was the Capital of the Confederacy. Hardy's discussion will focus on this important, but overlooked, part of Civil War History.

Following his presentation Mr Hardy will be available to greet visitors and sign copies of his books.

Location:

Fort Fisher State Historic Site's Spencer Theatre
1610 Ft Fisher Blvd
Kure Beach, NC 28449

For more information call 910-458-5538

For Fisher "Beat the Heat" Summer Lecture Series

Saturday, June 27, 2:00 PM

Fort Fisher's Becky Sawyer will present "The Jewett Patent Leg," a fascinating look at a miracle of 19th century surgical technology.  With so many amputees resulting from the devastation of the Civil War, an artificial limb program was developed to assist injured war veterans who lost a leg.  A rare example of the Jewett Patent Leg is on display in the Fort Fisher museum.  Becky will walk visitors through the process of how one of the country's earliest prosthetics came to fruition.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site's

Spencer Theatre

1610 Ft. Fisher Blvd.
Kure Beach, NC 28449

910.458.5538

Fort Fisher Holiday Open House

Fort Fisher State Historic Site will celebrate the upcoming holiday season by hosting its annual Holiday Open House.

When and Where

Tuesday, December 9, 2014, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. in the visitor's center. 

Fort Fisher State Historic Site is located at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd S, Kure Beach, N.C. 28449. 

Entertainment
Open House visitors will enjoy seasonal refreshments, decorations, and entertainment throughout the day, including an array of holiday musical selections by the Murray Middle School Jazz Band, under the direction of David Tyson. The event will also feature storyteller and musician John Golden, as well as Masonboro Parlor, a group of local musicians who offer a unique combination of dance and period music. Current members of the group include John Bennett, Carole Green, Susan Wilzer, and Mary Ruth Marshall.

For this one day only, a special 25% discount will be offered on all museum shop merchandise, so visitors can stock up on gifts for the history enthusiast on their list.

Raffle
Before the conclusion of the program, the Friends of Fort Fisher will announce the winner of the 2014 rifle raffle, at which a lucky ticket holder will win a reproduction Civil War Springfield Musket. Raffle tickets are available right up until announcement time, but you need not be present to win.

Sponsored by the Friends of Fort Fisher and Fort Fisher Chapter 2325 of the UDC, the Holiday Open House is FREE and open to the public.

For more information, contact Paul Laird at 910-612-7067 or plaird@friendsoffortfisher.com

Friends of Fort Fisher- Balsam Range Bluegrass Concert

Friends of Fort Fisher Present

Balsam Range

Join Balsam Range at Brunswick Community College for an unforgettable night of bluegrass. Enjoy a night of music while helping keep history alive, as concert proceeds benefit Fort Fisher State Historic Site. 

Balsam Range: 

Based in Haywood County, NC, Balsam Range consists of five men native to the region “where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge.”

Each band member grew up amidst the rich musical heritage of the Appalachian South, surrounded by culture and heritage. The men were influenced by the Scotch-Irish settlers of the Southern Mountains, English ballads and western songs.

Members:

Buddy Melton- fiddle/ upright bass/ vocals
Darren Nicholson: mandolin/ vocals
Marc Pruett: banjo
Caleb Smith: guitar/ vocals
Tim Surrett: bass/ resonator guitar/ vocals

148 th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher - January 19, 2012

From the Friends of Fort Fisher:

Multiple cannon blasts will mark the commemoration of the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher on January 19, 2012, when Fort Fisher State Historic Site hosts “Sheppard's Battery: Confederates Defending the Left Flank,” a living history program that focuses on the Confederate defenders at Sheppard’s Battery and at the fort’s “Bloody Gate.”

Civil War re-enactors will set up displays of camp life and talk with visitors about the life of the Confederate infantry and artillery troops during the January 1865 campaign. Throughout the day, infantry and artillery units will conduct drills and firing demonstrations, including the site’s rifled and banded 32 pound cannon atop Sheppard’s Battery. The program is free and will be held from 10 am to 4 pm.

Scheduled speakers include local historian Ernie Kniffen, who will discuss new findings on his extensive research of Confederate sailors and Marines. Later in the day, author Richard Triebe will sign books and discuss NC troops who were captured at Fort Fisher and sent to a prison camp in Elmira, NY. Also on site will be author, educator, and member of the Wilmington Railroad Museum board of trustees, James Burke, who will sign and promote his book, “The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad in the Civil War.”

At 12:30, the NC Underwater Archaeology Unit will dedicate a new highway marker for the blockade runner Modern Greece.

All Fort Fisher programming is made possible by the Friends of Fort Fisher and its sustaining members, Mike McCarley, Brian Nunnally, Ernie Kniffen, Tammy and Jack Moore, and Jim and Catherine Taylor.

Fort Fisher, the largest earthen fortification in the Confederacy, once protected the port of Wilmington and the vital blockade running trade on the Cape Fear River. After two massive bombardments the fort fell to a Union infantry assault on January 15, 1865. With the capture of Fort Fisher, Wilmington’s port – “the Lifeline of the Confederacy” – was closed to foreign trade.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site is located at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd S, Kure Beach, N.C. 28449.  For more information, call (910) 458-5538 or visit the web site www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher/. Fort Fisher State Historic Site is part of the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.

The 147th Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher January 21-22, 2012

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 An-niversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher" on Jan. 21-22, 2012.

This two-day event will highlight the war's largest amphibious as-sault 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.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site Presents “Storms Of Shot and Shell” - June 11, 2011

If you’re looking for some family fun that’s easy on the pocketbook, visit the Fort Fisher State Historic Site on Saturday, June 11, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., as the site celebrates the second Saturday in June with ―"Storms of Shot and Shell", a field artillery extravaganza.

Visitors will see and hear the frequent firing of a full six-gun battery lining the south air strip. They can also meet historian Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr., who will debut his new book on Timothy O’Sullivan’s historic photography of Fort Fisher.

Fort Fisher, the largest earthen fortification in the Confederacy, once protected the port of Wilmington and the vital blockade running trade on the Cape Fear River. After two massive bombardments the fort fell to a Union infantry assault on January 15, 1865. With the capture of Fort Fisher, Wilmington’s port – ―the Lifeline of the Confederacy‖ – was closed to foreign trade.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site is located at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd S, Kure Beach, N.C. 28449. For more information on the site, call (910) 458-5538 or visit the web site www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher/.

"Glory Enough For All" - Special Event At Fort Fisher Historic Site

The year 2011 marks the 146th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War.  To commemorate the Second Battle of Fort Fisher (the largest land-sea battle of the Civil War), the Fort Fisher State Historic Site will stage "Glory Enough For All", an all day event on Saturday, January 15, 2011 beginning at 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. The program will focus on post-war reunions and efforts to memorialize the battle. The event will also serve as the kick-off for the sesquicentennial (150th) commemoration of the Civil War in North Carolina.

The Fort Fisher State Historic Site is located in Kure Beach, NC, at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd. South, along US Highway 421 South. For more information call 910-458-5538 or go to www.fortfisher.nchistoricsites.org