Wilmington,
NC – February 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / One of the lesser-known,
yet very important Civil War battles was the Battle
of Forks Road, a skirmish that preceded the fall of Wilmington during
the Civil War. As the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War approaches,
the Cameron Art Museum will
present its 10th Annual Civil War Living History Weekend on February 7
and 8 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Battle of Forks Road. This
year’s theme “Forks Road…The Beginning of the End” highlights this significant
battle which is re-enacted on both days by uniformed Union, U. S. Colored
Troop (U.S.C.T.) and Confederate re-enactors.
Reenactments and demonstrations
will take place on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 10:00 a.m. each day.
For two days the grounds at the Cameron Art Museum will be filled with
historic-themed kids and family programming, camp life, sutlers, demonstrations
of pottery-making, spinning wheel, basket-making, blacksmith, and an archaeological
dig. Other activities include lectures, battle site tours, United Daughters
of the Confederacy, Sons of Confederate Veterans, a roll call of those
who served, music, story-telling, food vendors and more.
This outstanding educational
program affords visitors the opportunity to learn more about the role of
African-American troops during the Civil War. Step back in time with re-enactors
who will demonstrate life as it was in the mid-1800s on the restored Civil
War mounds at the site where the Battle of Forks Road actually took place.
Re-enactors will represent Confederate, Union and U.S. Colored Troops—including
the 37th USCT Regiment and Battery “B.” Saturday’s opening ceremony will
begin at 10:00 a.m. with special guests, including Wilmington Mayor Bill
Saffo, County Commissioner Chair Jonathan Barfield, and Dr. Malcolm Beech,
a U.S.C.T. Infantry re-enactor.
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Saturday’s events will take
place from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. On Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m.,
there will be a community contra dance with mid-19th century music by The
Huckleberry Brothers, a band comprised of musically gifted American Civil
War re-enactors. Battle reenactments are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday
and again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Special kids and family programming will
take place from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. each day. Camps and activities
will resume on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and the museum will
remain open until 5:00 p.m. Events are free and donations are welcomed.
For details and event schedule, visit www.battleofforksroad.org.
For information about the Cameron Art Museum and CAM Café, visit
www.cameronartmuseum.org
or 910-395-5999.
The original Battle of Forks
Road battlefield is located on the grounds of the Cameron Art Museum, a
site on the N.C. Civil War Trail, located at 3201 South 17th Street in
Wilmington. The Civil War mounds were restored when the Museum opened at
this location in 2002. The Battle of Forks Road followed the fall of Fort
Fisher, directly preceded the fall of Wilmington, and led to the final
surrender of the Confederate armies. It was the final fight to take Wilmington
on February 20, 1865. The site is where Major General Robert F. Hoke made
his last stand against Union soldiers, primarily made up of African-American
troops (referred to as U.S. Colored Troops during that era) from several
divisions, before evacuating Wilmington. The “Sable Arm” of the U.S. Army
was made up of freed men and former slaves who volunteered for service
after the Emancipation Proclamation. For more information on the U.S. Colored
Troops and their role in the Battle of Forks Road, see History of the U.S.C.T.
[below].
Related Activities:
If your favorite pastime
is exploring “past times,” plan to visit the Cameron Art Museum and other
area attractions that interpret the region’s Civil War history. And be
sure to visit www.WilmingtonCivilWar150.com,
a designated web page designed to assist visitors seeking more information
about Civil War-related attractions, tours, events, maps and articles that
interpret Wilmington’s role during the Civil War. There are also direct
links to seasonal specials and accommodations packages.
Other area attractions with
Civil War ties include: Fort
Fisher State Historic Site & Civil War Museum, Cape
Fear Museum (NC’s oldest history museum includes Civil War exhibits),
Wilmington
Railroad Museum, Bellamy Mansion
Museum, Oakdale Cemetery,
Wilmington
National Cemetery, Thalian Hall,
Sugarloaf
Sand Dune at Carolina Beach State Park, Orange
Street Landing on Cape Fear, Fort
Anderson, Poplar Grove Plantation,
as well as tours, monuments and markers.
Find out more at www.WilmingtonCivilWar150.com.
Visitor Information:
Go with the flow and see
where the water takes you! Wilmington and its island beaches offer one
destination with four unique settings. Wilmington is an easy drive from
I-95 via I-40 and US74. Prefer to fly? The Wilmington
International Airport (ILM) provides many non-stop flights to popular
destinations within the U.S. For a free Official Visitors Guide to Wilmington,
North Carolina and the island beaches of Carolina
Beach,
Kure Beach and Wrightsville
Beach, call 866-266-9690. For online visitor information, visit the
official destination website at www.GoWilmingtonAndBeaches.com
and find seasonal activities and special rates at www.wilmingtonandbeaches.com/season/2015-winter-highlights.
Before traveling great distances for an event, please confirm details (subject
to change without notice) directly with event organizers.
History of the U.S.C.T.
(provided by Cameron Art Museum)
When President Abraham Lincoln
signed the Emancipation Proclamation effective January 1, 1863 it was a
turning point for the war and the fight for freedom by authorizing the
engagement of African Americans as soldiers in the Civil War. And on May
22, 1863, the Bureau of Colored Troops was established under General Order
No. 143 to coordinate and organize regiments from all parts of the country.
This coordination effectively impacted the war through 39 major engagements
and more than 400 lesser ones fought by the United States Colored Troops
(U.S.C.T.) in support of the Union Army. Twenty-four African American soldiers
received the Congressional Medal of Honor for extraordinary bravery in
battle in addition to their white officers. One such event was the Battle
of Forks Road which led to the fall of Wilmington and was fought by 1600
U.S.C.T. alongside other Union soldiers. And three of the U.S.C.T. Medal
of Honor recipients fought at the Battle of Forks Road in Wilmington, NC
though they received their Medal’s at a later date as indicated: 1st Sgt.
Powhatan Beaty: 5th U.S.C.T. Battle of New Market Heights, April 6, 1865,
Sgt. Milton M. Holland: 5th U.S.C.T. Battle of New Market Heights, April
6, 1865, 1st Sgt. Robert Pinn: 5th U.S.C.T., Battle of New Market Heights,
April 6, 1865.
In contrast to many Civil
War battles, at Forks Road there were white and African American soldiers
serving in both the Union and Confederate forces. Furthermore, many soldiers
in both forces were local men—North Carolinians for generations. Three-fifths
of all African American troops were former slaves, but they were, nonetheless,
on their home ground in Wilmington as were the white Confederates.
It was at great personal
threat to their lives that African American soldiers participated in the
Civil War. The Confederate government threatened to execute or sell into
slavery any captured U.S.C.T. soldiers--and it was not uncommon for them
to carry out such threats. President Lincoln threatened punishment against
Confederate prisoners whenever black soldiers were killed or enslaved.
During the war, African American
troops battled against discrimination in pay, promotions, and sparse medical
care. Blacks were in separate regiments with white officers as their commanders.
They received less pay, inferior benefits than white soldiers, and food
and equipment was lacking. Blacks received just $10 a month--$3 less than
whites, out of which $3 was deducted for clothing—while whites enjoyed
a $3.50 clothing allowance and the black soldiers were refused enlistment
bonuses, common to white soldiers.
There were African American
soldiers, too, who had been sent, as slaves, to serve in their owner’s
place, throughout the Confederate army. These men, along with other Union
troops, were victorious at Forks Road, defeating the Confederate forces,
taking control of Wilmington, and hastening the end of the war. The U.S.C.T.
emerged from the war as heroes, viewed by former slaves and freemen alike
as liberators of their people. Very soon after the end of the war Wilmington’s
population shifted from a majority white population to a majority African
American population; an effect that some have attributed to the influence
of the soldiers who remained to make Wilmington their home. The cultural
and political effects of that population shift were profound and are still
reflected in the social and political life of the region.
Media
Contact:
Wilmington
and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau
Connie
Nelson
Communications/PR
Director
910-332-8751
866-266-9690
ext. 120
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The
New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority d/b/a Wilmington and Beaches
Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization
of New Hanover County, North Carolina that stimulates economic development
through the promotion of travel and tourism.
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