Located inNorth Carolinaon the Atlantic Coast, theFort Caswell Historic Districtencompasses 2 sites, 43 buildings, and 23 structures; it was added to theNational Register of Historic Placesin 2013.[2]The fort itself was occupied by various branches of theU.S. armed forcesfor most of the period between 1836 and 1945 and is now a part of theNorth Carolina Baptist Assembly,aChristianretreat,owned and operated by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. It is accessible by the public to a limited extent per the conditions set forth by the Assembly’s Director.[3]
Fort Caswell Historic District | |
 Original Fort Caswell | |
   | |
| Location | 100 Caswell Beach Road, nearCaswell Beach, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°53′28″N78°01′41″W/ 33.89111°N 78.02806°W |
| Area | 760 acres (310 ha) |
| Built | 1838,1898-ca. 1941 |
| Built by | U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps; Bernard, Simon |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Queen Anne |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 13001025[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 31, 2013 |
Geography
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Sited on the eastern tip ofOak IslandinBrunswick County, NC,the fort juts into the confluence of the Cape Fear River and theAtlantic Ocean.The district's boundaries also extend a little over 1/2 mile south into the Atlantic Ocean and east into theCape Fear Riverin recognition of the fort's association with blockade runners during the Civil War and its role in hunting down German submarines duringWorld War II.The rifle range site is located a little over two miles to the west-northwest of the fort in the Town ofCaswell Beach.Typical of coastal southeastern North Carolina, the natural topography of the site is flat, roughly ten feet above sea level with a wide sandy beach along its southern boundary. Grass covers most of the area, with Yaupon Holly and Live Oaks trees liberally spread throughout the district.[4]
History
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Named after former governorRichard Caswell,the original pentagonal fortification ofbrickwalls and largeearthworkswas completed in 1836 at a cost of $473,402. With over 61 gun emplacements, it guarded the mouth of theCape Fear Riverin defense ofWilmington,then an important port 20 miles upriver and, at the time, the state's largest city. In 1861, it was seized twice by a group called the "Cape Fear Minutemen", who were subsequently ordered by GovernorJohn Willis Ellisto return it to the keeper of the fort, the only man stationed there by theU.S. Armyat the time.[5]
When the state finally seceded, the newConfederate Armymade it, along with nearbyFort Fisher,one of the most elaborate defensive system in the world at that time. (Fort Fisher guarded the otherinletto the Cape Fear River). This system, along with swiftblockade runners,kept Wilmington's port open longer than any other. No fewer than six plans were devised to capture the fort, but its imposing defenses and theFrying Pan Shoalsjust offshore deterred them; theUnion Armythen diverted its attention to Fort Fisher. After a massive Union assault captured Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865, orders came tospikeFort Caswell's guns, burn the barracks, and explode themagazines.On January 17, the magazines were ignited, exploding approximately 100,000 pounds of powder (reports at the time state that the blast could be heard as far as 100 miles away inFayetteville). As a result of the explosion, one whole wall of the fort was destroyed. The loss of the Confederacy's last port was a major factor inRobert E. Lee's decision tosurrenderatAppomattox[5]
The U.S. Army built a full military reservation on the site in the 1890s complete withcoastal artillerybatteries, and most of the buildings currently extant as well as thesea wallwere constructed during this period. During World War I, the fort along with the discontiguousFort Caswell Rifle Rangeserved as a army training facility. In 2020, a pictorial story of the rifle range along with extensive biographic sketches of all WW I Brunswick County veterans became available.[6]Abandoned after World War I, from 1937-1941 the fort was unsuccessfully converted into a resort, with the gun emplacements used as swimming pools (twoartesian wellsproduced hotmineral waterto fill the pools). In 1941, the Navy purchased the fort for use as a patrol/anti-submarinebase during World War II. TheBaptist State Convention of North Carolinabought the property in 1949 as surplus for $86,000.
References
edit- ^"National Register of Historic Places Listings".Weekly List of Actions Taken: 12/30/13 through 1/03/14.National Park Service. 2014-01-10.
- ^"Fort Caswell NHRP"(PDF).NCDR.gov.Retrieved2019-03-16.
- ^"Fort Caswell".FortCaswell.Retrieved2019-01-30.
- ^"Fort Caswell Historic District"(PDF).NPS.gov.Retrieved2019-02-25.
- ^abHerring, Ethel & Williams, Carolee (1999).Fort Caswell in War and Peace.Oak Island, NC: NC Baptist Assembly.ISBN0-9671897-1-3.
- ^Eckard, Amy; Eckard, Norma; Eckard, Ron (2020).Brunswick County in the Great War.Oak Island, NC: SlapDash, Wilmington NC.ISBN97809984115-6-9.
Further reading
edit- Lewis, Emanuel Raymond (1979).Seacoast Fortifications of the United States.Annapolis: Leeward Publications.ISBN978-0-929521-11-4.
- Weaver II, John R. (2018).A Legacy in Brick and Stone: American Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, 1816-1867, 2nd Ed.McLean, VA: Redoubt Press.ISBN978-1-7323916-1-1.