From the Virginia Pilot Online of Jan. 6th by Linda McNatt.
The fort is well-preserved as it was on private property and far from populated areas. It is located on Hardy's Bluff overlooking the James River. Fort Huger is not a well-known Civil War fort.
James Brown, a member of the Isle of Wight County Board said that at least three of his ancestors helped build it. "I couldn't help but think what it must have been like for them. Today, we think it most ironic that African-Americans participated in the building of a Confederate fort, but in the 1861 south, it was the order of things. The Confederate engineering records contain the names of many of the slaves and free Negroes who labored on the fort's construction." They connect the names of free blacks of Surry County like Brown, Bailey, Johnson, and Newby who worked at the fort.
The fort is named after a Confederate general and built to fight wooden ships with a "hot shot" furnace to heat cannonballs to set ships afire on contact. The furnace is still visible and will be restored.
It was abandoned in 1862 after being shelled four times in ten months, once by the USS Galena, and at least once by the USS Monitor.
The county, which now owns the site, has been restoring it for months. Fiberglass cannons will be placed at the artillery positions. The flagpole site has been identified and a new flagpole will be erected in the center of the fort. A 34-star US flag will fly on it with a First National Confederate flag under it.
Old News, But Always Good to Preserve a Bit of Civil War History. --Old B-R
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
