159th Anniversary of Siege of Fort Macon-- Part 2: Over a Month-Long Siege

In mid-April, Gen. Ambrose Burnside arrived  with reinforcements and took command of the siege.  On April 25, 1862, the fort was bombarded from both land and sea.  Although the fire from the Union fleet did little damage to the fort because of its strengthened seaward defenses, the land bombardment did major damage.

Col. White surrendered the next day, April 26.

The fall of Fort Macon gave the Union control of both Beaufort and Morehead City, strengthening heir control over the Eastern North Carolina coast.  Beaufort also became a major Union naval base and was used a lot for the duration of the war.  This is where the Union blockaders received supplies of coal and ammunition and  where the Union fleet operated from during the two attacks on Fort Fisher.

Fort Macon was constructed by the Federal government from 1826 to 1834 and was named after a North Carolina U.S. Senator, Nathaniel Macon and designed by Brig. Gen. Simon  Bernard, who also designed Fort Monroe.  It also featured an 1840s design of erosion control that was prepared by one Robert E. Lee.

It was seized by North Carolina militia just two days after Fort Sumter was fired upon.

Fort Macon is now one of 39 state parks.  The park will commemorate the siege and battle this coming April.

--Old Secesh

159th Anniversary of Beginning of Fort Macon's Siege-- Part 1: Roanoke and New Fall, Then On to the Fort

From Mar. 18, 2021, Chowan(NC) Herald "Week in NC history."

THE SIEGE OF FORT MACON

On March 23, 1862,  U.S. forces under  Brig. Gen.   John G. Parke began the siege of Confederate-held Fort Macon.  At the time, the fort was commanded by Col. Moses J. White of Mississippi, and was defended by  54 pieces of artillery and a garrison of five companies.

In January 1962,  a Federal force  commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside arrived off the North Carolina coast. After taking Roanoke Island in February and New Bern in March, Burnside's next objective was Fort Macon.

White refused Parke's order to surrender causing the Union forces to lay siege on the fort.  They were aided by the Union Navy who bombarded the masonry fort.

--Old Secesh

Confederates From Goldsboro and Wayne County, North Carolina-- Part 2

JOHNPROBERT COBB--  Goldsboro Rifles.  At Fort Macon in 1861.  Later became commissioned officer in the 2nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment and rose to the rank of colonel and command of the regiment.

He lost his leg at the Battle of Winchester.

HERMAN WEIL--  1842-1878.  Born in Germany.  Served in the Goldsboro Volunteers which became Co. D of the 4th North Carolina Infantry Regiment.

Returned to Goldsboro after Lee's surrender at Appomattox.  Purchased a store with his brother Henry and began Weil Brothers.  Herman Park in Goldsboro is named after him.

--Old Secesh

Confederates From Goldsboro and Wayne County, North Carolina-- Part 1

The Wayne County History Museum in Goldsboro, North Carolina, has pictures and write-ups on these men.

MARSHALL D. CRATON--  Captain in Goldsboro Rifles.  At the outbreak of the war, he was ordered by Governor John W. Ellis to capture Fort Macon on April 15, 1861.  he commanded the first military group in the state to take action against the Federal government.

JOEL JACKSON DENMARK--  2nd Lt. in Goldsboro Rifles of the 27th North Carolina Infantry regiment.  Killed in action at the Battle of Bristoe Station, Virginia, on October 14, 1863.

--Old Secesh

Fort Macon-- Part 3: No Choice But to Surrender

Colonel White had no choice but to surrender, which he did at 4:30 p.m. on 25 April.  Arrangements for surrender were completed the following morning, and Union forces formally occupied the battered fort.  The Confederates lost 7 killed and 18 wounded; Union losses were one killed and 3 wounded.  The Confederates were paroled and released.

Union forces repaired the damage to Fort Macon and used it for the rest of the Civil War.  During Reconstruction the U.S. Army occupied the fort continuously until 1877, using it as a prison.

In 1898, the fort was regarrisoned for the Spanish-American War, and in 1903 it was again abandoned with the belief that it would never again be needed.

For the rest of the history of Fort Macon, go to my World War II blog, Tattooed On Your Soul for May 5, 2016.

--Old Secesh

Fort Macon-- Part 2

In 1862, Union forces led by Major General Ambrose E. Burnside launched a campaign against the North Carolina coast, intending to capture Fort Macon and Beaufort Harbor.  They took possession of Morehead City on 23 March and captured Beaufort three days later.

Five artillery companies of North Carolina troops were garrisoned at Fort Macon under Col.Moses J. White.  Altogether they amounted to 450 men and 54 heavy guns.  The Union forces demanded he surrender.  He refused.

On 28 March Brig. Gen. John G. Parke established siege positions within a half mile of the fort.  He made a final demand for surrender .  Early the next morning, Parke's batteries opened fire on the fort in a bombardment that lasted 11 hours.

The Union rifled cannons carried the day.  This was only the second time in history that rifled cannons had bombarded a masonry fort and this one demonstrated the growing obsolescence of forts as a means of defense.  It took only a few hours for the cannons to crack Fort Macon's walls and threaten a magazine.

--Old Secesh

Fort Macon-- Part 1: Named After Nathaniel Macon

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

North Carolina's Fort Macon

From the June 18th Fayetteville (NC) Observer "Summer Exploring: Oceanfront Fort Macona fortress for history" by Michael Futch.

The fort now features a newly acquired fireable reproduction of a 32-pounder made by students at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro.

It was first garrisoned 177 years ago and has been restored to appear as it did in the Civil War. A few years ago, $12 million was spent on repairs and renovation.

The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Macon will be April 12, 2012, something I'd like to attend.

The fort is the centerpiece of a 422 acre park and is surrounded on three sides by water: Atlantic Ocean, Bogue Sound and Beaufort Inlet.

Construction on the masonry fort began after the War of 1812 and cost $464,000.

Robert E. Lee designed the front door and made modifications on the fort while he was a coastal inspector for the US Army before the Civil War. North Carolina militia seized it on April 14, 1861, and the Confederates held it for almost a year, mounting 54 heavy cannons. It fell after a 11 hour battle

During Reconstruction, it served as a Federal Prison. It was reactivated during the Spanish-American War and World War II.

I haven't been to it for many years.

A Little-Known Fort for Most People. --Old B-Runner

Replica Cannon to Fort Macon

From the Dec. 12, 2010, ENC Today.com web site.

A 7,000 pound, 20-foot-long, working replica cannon designed and built by Wayne Community College students was delivered to Fort Macon State Historic Site this past winter.

The 32-pdr (so named for the weight of the shot if fired) was placed on an open bed trailer and left from Goldsboro, North Carolina and stopped along the way at the CSS Neuse State Historic Site in Kinston and in New Bern at the Historical Society and Civil War battlefield near Taberna.

I imagine it drew some glances from folks driving along US-70 along the way. Definitely something you don't see every day.

Over the last 18 months, mechanical engineering, machinery and welding students studied 1840's-era drawings of original cannons and chasses.

New plans to fit today's materials and technology were drawn up. Parts were created out of rectangular aluminum tubing. The barrel the pieces hold together was built elsewhere.

The project was sponsored by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation and cost $20,000.

Always Good to Have Another Cannon in a Fort. maybe They Can Make Some More for Fort Fisher. --Old B-Runner