Originally built in 1744 to protect the Cape Fear River from Spanish attack, what is left of it stands today at present-day Southport (originally the town of Smithville) about twenty miles south of Wilmington.
I will have its pre and post Civil War history on my history blog http://cootershistorything.blogspot.com, tomorrow.
This is from the May 10th Wilmington Star-News' MyReporter column where they delve into the history behind readers' questions. This one was by Amy Hotz.
Of all the forts protecting Wilmington during the war, I know the least about this one.
On January 9, 1861, local residents marched on Fort Anderson and demanded its surrender. Ordinance sergeant James Reilly, was the only soldier there and handed the fort over with no resistance.
Governor John Ellis ordered them to return the fort two days later and it was given back to Reilly.
On April 16, 1861, after Fort Sumter, Fort Johnston was occupied once again. Like before, the good sergeant James Reilly surrendered it. Only this time, Reilly resigned from the US Army and joined the Confederate one.
This same James Reilly, now a major, surrendered Fort Fisher to Union forces January 15, 1865. He was buried at Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery.
During the war, Fort Johnston served as a hub for recruiting and assisted blockade-runners. It was occasionally called Fort Branch or Fort Pender, but most still referred to it as Johnston, named for the British colonial governor Gabriel Johnston who had it built.
From "A History of Fort Johnston on the Lower Cape Fear" by Wilson Angley.
So That Reilly. --Old B-Runner
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