From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina "Fort Macon" by Paul Branch.
On May 5th, I wrote about Fort Macon during World War II in my World War II blog, Tattooed On Your Soul.
After the War of 1812, the U.S, military constructed a chain of permanent fortifications to defend the coast of the country. Fort Macon replaced an earlier fort on the eastern point of Bogue Banks to guard Old Topsail Inlet (Beaufort Inlet), the entrance to Beaufort Harbor. It was named for Nathaniel Macon (1758-1837), a U.S. congressman, senator and leading Republican statesman of North Carolina.
Active garrisons occupied Fort Macon 1834-36, 1842-44 and 1848-49. During 1841-1846 engineers made structural improvements to the fort's defenses.
On 14 April 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, local militia forces from Morehead City and Beaufort, commanded by Captain John Pender, occupied Fort Macon in the name of the state without bloodshed. Throughout the rest of the year Confederates strengthened it in preparation for an expected Union attack.
--Old Secesh
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