Some 9.2 million bricks were used. The perceived threat was from countries such as Spain and Britain, who had both invaded the port in the eighteenth century. "Lifesavers of the Crystal Coast" DESCRIPTION Station Fort Macon's primary goals are to serve the Crystal Coast's boating public, while performing the United States Coast Guard's 11 primary missions. Battle damage was repaired and the Federals made certain they installed mortars for defense, so they would not repeat the mistake of the Confederates. 4.H.2.SS - Understand how notable structures, symbols and place names are significant to North Carolina. fort, Fort Macon, was a part of this chain. Volume VII, pages 277-83. Fort Macon: History - See 523 traveler reviews, 231 candid photos, and great deals for Atlantic Beach, NC, at Tripadvisor. Gen. John G. Parke was sent to capture Fort Macon. Because there was a seepage problem with salt water, the water was never used for drinking. Chief Engineers who were responsible for constructing the fort were Lieutenant William Eliason, Captain John L. Smith and Lieutenant George Dutton, U.S. Army Engineers. 7.G.1 - Understand how geography, demographic trends, and environmental conditions shape modern societies and regions. After several skirmishes with Confederate soldiers, Parke’s men succeeded in entrenching as close as 1400 yards from the fort, while three batteries of siege guns (two batteries of mortars and one of 30-pounder Parrott Rifle guns) were established 1280 to 1680 yards from the fort. There are no equipment rentals and concessions available. "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set" - Proverbs Col. Moses J. Fort Macon, located on the eastern tip of the Bogue Banks along North Carolina's central coast, is an early-19th Century fort which has been restored as the centerpiece of one of the state's busiest State Parks. Fort Macon was designed by Brig. For more information on The Union army held Fort Macon for the remainder of the war, while Beaufort Harbor served as an important coaling and repair station for the Union navy. (Submitted on May 29, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.) However, at the bidding of North Carolina leaders, a Congressional Act on June 4, 1924, gave the fort and surrounding reservation to the state of North Carolina to be used as a public park. This same article on the capture of Fort Macon appeared in both The Prescott Journal and The Hudson North Star on May 7, 1862. The stairways provided added protection against shellfire. Paul Branch, a ranger/historian at Fort Macon has illustrated his book with original engineering … Today, Fort Macon is one of North Carolina’s most visited state parks, receiving more than a million visitors a year. Fort Macon: A History Paul Branch This is a story of Fort Macon, one of America’s most visited forts, describing the many dramatic parts it has played in our history. Fort Macon has a rich history as a Civil War site, but its story also features an ambitious doctor named Elliott Coues, whose interest in the natural surroundings helped focus attention on environmental science in and U.S. Navy Department, The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of Rebellion, 30 Volumes (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1894-1927). Wells outside the fort provided drinking water. Blackbeard and other pirates passed through Beaufort Inlet at will, while successive wars with Spain, France and Great Britian during the Colonial Period provided a constant threat of coastal raids by enemy warships. There are 26 casemates in fort (including sally port). CCSS.Literacy.RI.4.7 - Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively. The fort was first garrisoned in December, 1834, although no guns were given for its defense until a year afterward. Two American soldiers were injured in Casemate 2 when a cannon shot they had placed in the fireplace as an andiron exploded from the heat of the fire. Defense against the Spanish (when we were still an English colony); defense against the English (American Revolution and War of 1812); and defense against pirates who operated in North Carolina sounds. Early in the 1800s, continued strained relations with Great Britian caused the United States government to build a national defense chain of forts for protection. Indeed, Beaufort was captured and plundered by the Spanish in 1747, and again by the British in 1782. North Carolina Confederate forces occupied the fort for a year, preparing it for battle and arming it with 54 heavy cannons. A number of allied ships and one German submarine were sunk just off the coast from the fort. Construction began in 1826 and lasted for eight years. Naval vessels involved in the Siege of Fort Macon. Available at Fort Macon Bookstore and at bookstores in Morehead City/Beaufort Area, Paul Branch, Fort Macon, A History (Charleston, SC: Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1999) The definitive history of the Fort. The fort’s Confederate garrison was then paroled as prisoners of war. Larger outdoor facilities with a maximum capacity of more than 50 people are also not available for reservation. Camping reservations must be done online. Visitor centers and park offices are open, and masks or face coverings are required to enter. Radio and communications rooms, map-plotting rooms, and so forth were housed in the fort. Picnic shelters and group campsites that accommodate less than 50 people are open. A total of 54 guns were mounted for its defense (consisting of 10- and 8-inch Columbiads, also rifled and smoothbore 32- and 24-pounders). Droppings were carried away by the tide. Fort Macon in Carteret County, North Carolina was one of a series of forts originally built to protect the state’s main deep ocean port, known as the Beaufort Inlet. At that time the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the government work programs spawned by the Great Depression, began to work on the fort to counteract the years of neglect and make it presentable to the public. Walls of Fort Macon Credits. The wall of the covertway (counterscarp wall) is 12 to 15 feet high. 4.C.1.SS - Understand the impact of various cultural groups on North Carolina. Two ships suffered damage. The Friends of Fort Macon is an all-volunteer, tax exempt organization. Finally, the garrison was reduced and the living conditions improved. In 1809, the Government built Fort Hampton, a circular brick masonry structure about 300 yards northeast of site of Fort Macon. On the beach were four 155 mm seacoast guns, later replaced by 2 6-inch navy guns, mounted on concrete platforms. Construction of the present fort … Hospital, stables, storage buildings and quarters for some of the officers and married personnel were also located in buildings outside the fort. Fort is of pentagon shape. Early in 1862, Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside swept through eastern North Carolina, and part of Burnside’s command under Brig. Just before the Federal attack (March, 1862), the garrison was reduced to five artillery companies, all of which were from North Carolina, and two of which were from Carteret County. The fort had no mortars of its own and was unable to do much damage to the Federals in return. Campgrounds remain open under the order. The fort had been hit 560 times by artillery fire. Fort Macon State Park is the most visited park in the state, with over one million visitors passing through here each year. 5.G.1 - Understand how human activity has and continues to shape the United States. The prisoners were mostly Government prisoners with an occasional civil prisoner (such as a murderer or rapist) thrown in. The battle reports of U.S. Daniel H. Hill, Bethel to Sharpsburg, 2 Volumes (Raleigh: Edwards and Broughton Company, 1926). Gen. Simon Bernard and built by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. One Federal killed, three wounded. Most trails, restrooms, playgrounds, and several boat ramps are open. Four vessels of the Federal blockading fleet joined in from the ocean, but the fort’s guns quickly drove them off. During 1934-1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the fort and established public recreational facilities which enabled Fort Macon State Park to officially open May 1, 1936, as North Carolina’s first functioning state park. For about 11 years during this era, since there were no state or federal penitentiaries in the military district of North and South Carolina, Fort Macon was used as a civil and military prison, until 1876. *Note: Works well combined with Civil War Musket Firing program. The wall inside fort overlooking parade ground is 17 feet high. Siege of Fort Macon, 29 March-26 April 1862, The final major success during General Burnsides expedition to the North Carolina coast in early 1862 The final major success during General Burnside’s expedition to the North Carolina coast in early 1862. expedition to the North Carolina coast in early 1862. Federal forces took possession of the fort on the following day. (North Carolina was one of three states requiring this arrangement.). For the 12 years after the war, Federal soldiers continued to occupy the fort. Parke easily captured Morehead City and Beaufort on March 23 and 26, respectively, and then transferred his troops, supplies, and artillery over to Bogue Banks. Today, Fort Macon is one of North Carolina’s most visited state parks, welcoming more than 1 million visitors each year. The danger of naval attack along the North Carolina coast seems remote now, but during the 18th and 19th centuries the region around Beaufort was highly vulnerable to attack. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of Company C, First Artillery, during the siege and reduction of Fort Macon: As you are aware, I was ordered to leave my light battery at New Berne and report to you with three Parrot 30-pounder guns as part of the siege train for the reduction of Fort Macon, and that they did their work well the sequel has proved. All students are encouraged to wear closed-toe shoes for walking. From its completion in 1834 until the start of the U.S. Civil War in 1861 it was garrisoned for less than six years and in … General Simon Bernard was its architect. Raleigh, NC 27699-1615, Contact the Park Office at least three weeks in advance. The Battle of Fort Macon was fought there during March and April 1862. A system of stone jetties was constructed in the 1840s to control erosion. Other forts on the coast (Sumter, Pulaski, Jackson, Jefferson, Morgan, Monroe, etc.) Fort Macon's largest public parking area, the Boathouse, is located close to the entrance, but history buffs will want to drive on until they reach the official entrance to the Fort Macon Historic Site. Fort Macon guarded Beaufort Inlet and Beaufort Harbor, North Carolina’s only major deep-water ocean port. The fort was garrisoned in 1834 and named after U.S. Indoor facilities are currently not available for reservation. 2303 East Fort Macon Rd The fort “sink” was located at the head of the marsh for the big business. The fort was completed in December, 1834, and was improved with further modifications during 1841-46. Five sewers or drains carried water to a central drain in the center of the parade ground. (ISBN 1.877853-45-3). This battle was the second time in history that rifled cannons had been used against a fort and demonstrated the obsolescence of fortifications such as Fort Macon as a way of defense. By Craig Swain, May 2, 2010 3. Five-sided Fort Macon is constructed of brick and stone. The actual battle reports of the commanders involved in the Siege of Fort Macon are reprinted here. This fort guarded the inlet during the subsequent War of 1812, but was abandoned after the end of the war. There was such exetensive damage that Col. White was forced to surrender the following morning, April 26. Walter Clark (ed. John G. Barrett, The Civil War in North Carolina (Chapel Hill: University of N.C. Press, 1963), pages 10-11, 113-120. Al White: The Story of a Marine Grunt in the First Battle of Khe Sanh (April 1967) - Duration: 1:19:39. Fort Macon Marker By Craig Swain, May 2, 2010 4. The fort was occupied from December, 1941, to November, 1944. Total cost of the fort was $463,790. While the fort easily repulsed the Union gunboat attack, the Union land batteries, utilizing new rifled cannons, hit the fort 560 times. A history of the fort. Finally, in 1924, the state acquired it from the Federal Government with the intentions of making it into a state park. A Brief History of Fort Macon and Cape Lookout Military Reservation (1834 - 1903, 1941 - 1945) Earlier forts were located here, including: Fort Dobbs (1756), which was never completed, and Fort Hampton (1809). The fort commandant was Col. Moses J. Volume I, pages 652-54. Fort Macon is a Third System fort designed by Brigadier General Simon Bernard and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1826 and 1834. The Confederates worked feverishly to prepare the fort for battle over the next few months. This project was initially engineered by Robert E. Lee, who later became a general of the Confederate States Army. Check out our regularly or seasonally available activities below. North Carolina leaders recognized the need for coastal defenses to prevent future attacks and began efforts to construct forts. The ceilings are arched to give added strength and dissipate concussion from shells exploding on terrepleins or from guns firing in battle. 1615 Mail Service Center Reconstruction was ending and Government troops were being removed from the South. 649 were here. During the Reconstruction Era, the U.S.Army actively occupied Fort Macon until 1877. Fort Macon State Park. Twenty-six vaulted rooms (also called casements) are enclosed by outer walls that are 4.5 feet (1.4 m) thick. Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 During the period 1841-46 engineers made structural improvements to the fort's defenses. Volume I, pages 247-257. 4.G.1.SS - Understand how human, environmental and technological factors affect the growth and development of North Carolina. The state quickly garrisoned the fort with more companies, making in all about 900 men. Once protecting the small coastal town of Beaufort from assaults by Spanish raids, pirates such as Blackbeard and even the Confederate Army, Fort Macon is now a State Park of North Carolina and has been so since 1924. Fort Macon is waiting for you! As a part of this defense, a small masonry fort named Fort Hampton, after a North Carolina Revolutionary War hero, was built to guard Beaufort Inlet during 1808-09. Take a journey into time as students learn the exciting history of Fort Macon, which will include the construction of the fort, the Civil War battle of Fort Macon, and the eventual creation of North Carolina’s first functioning state park. Separating the two is the “Ditch,” the bottom of which is near mean low tide level. Construction of the fort that now stands began in 1826. Defend the Harbor against hostile warships and sea attack. After World War II, the fort again became a state park. Fort Hawkins, birthplace of Macon, GA. Archaeology, Car shows,We are extremely proud of the new Macon - Bibb County Seal and we would like to thank Mayor Robert A.B. XXVII (April, 1950), pages 163-77. Fort Macon was deactivated after 1877 only to be regarrisoned by state troops once again during the summer of 1898 for the Spanish-American War. Gen. Simon Bernard and built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Fort has outer line of defense (covertway) and an inner citadel. White and 400 North Carolina Confederates in the fort refused to surrender even though the fort was hopelessly surrounded. Troops were quartered in the fort and in barracks outside. Senator Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina, who procured the funds to build the fort. The turning point of the battle came when a Federal signal officer in Beaufort noticed this fact and signalled range correction to the batteries. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Being For the Most Part Contributions by Union and Confederate Officers, 4 Volumes, (New York: Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., 1956). Swim beaches and areas are closed. Welcome to the Official U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Macon Facebook page. Richard A. Sauers, A Succession of Honorable Victories, The Burnside Expedition in North Carolina, (Dayton: Morningside House, Inc., 1996), Pages 308-340. After 1903 the fort was abandoned for years. After noon, every shot fired at the fort struck it or exploded over it. 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