As the N.C. Civil War Sesquicentennial nears an end in April, the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh will present a series of lectures through April. Two January programs will focus on forts in North Carolina. Admission is free.
Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2 p.m.
Before its eventual fall in January 1865, Fort Fisher, the Gibraltar of the South, was the largest, most formidable coastal fortification in the Confederacy, and it protected the South’s only remaining seaport, Wilmington. Presented by Rod Gragg, Author and Historian, Center for Military and Veterans Studies, Coastal Carolina University.
History à la Carte: Civil War Archaeology of the Lower Cape Fear
Wednesday, Jan. 14, noon-1 p.m.
Thomas Beaman Jr. from Wake Technical Community College will illustrate the scope of Civil War archaeology in the state by focusing on four forts — Johnston, Caswell, Fisher and Anderson — that protected Wilmington and allowed Confederate blockade-runners, and their goods, access to the interior. Bring your lunch; beverages provided.
To learn about the Civil War’s final chapters, see the exhibit North Carolina and the Civil War: The Bitter End, 1864-1865. The exhibit story line begins in the spring of 1864, when heavy fighting in Virginia was thinning the ranks of Tar Heel troops. It concludes with the surrender of the CSS Shenandoah in Liverpool, England, on Nov. 6, 1865. Highlighted artifacts include revolvers, swords, battle flags and uniforms used by North Carolinians who persevered in the face of impossible odds.
The Bitter End, 1864-1865 is part of the N.C. Civil War Sesquicentennial, a statewide initiative organized by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina. For more information, go to www.nccivilwar150.com.
For information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube.