Page 38 - Wilmington VG 2024

HISTORY

Wilmington’s pre-war housing boom.
• Book a guided tour of Thalian Hall
(c. 1858) for a behind-the-scenes look at
one of the oldest theaters in the country.

18 6 1 - 18 6 5
THE CIVIL WAR
Fort Fisher protected Wilmington until
it fell to Union troops on Jan. 15, 1865
during the largest naval bombardment of
the 19th Century. Cameron Art Museum
(CAM) stands on the site of the Battle of
Forks Road, a Civil War skirmish that was
won by the 1,600 United States Colored
Troops (USCT) who fought for the Union.
Many of the African American soldiers
who fought there were native to the area;
after the war, many stayed to build the
community.
• Explore the South’s largest earthen fort,
waterside walking trails and interpretive
exhibits at Fort Fisher State Historic Site.
• See history re-enactors at the anniversary
of the Battle of Fort Fisher every January.
• Visit the nation’s first park honoring 18 6 5 - 18 9 8
the USCT at CAM and see Boundless
by Stephen Hayes, a bronze sculpture RECONSTRUCTION & BEYOND
honoring the USCT with life-size casts of The newly freed Black population after
11 African American men who are USCT Emancipation started new businesses,
descendants and reenactors. ran for office and took up professions
in Wilmington. These freedoms were
attacked by a violent white supremacy
campaign that resulted in the Wilmington
Coup of 1898. The insurrection culminated
in electoral fraud, the burning of the city’s
Black newspaper offices and the deaths of
an unknown number of African Americans.
• Cape Fear Museum of History & Science
interprets the experiences of Wilmington
African Americans and changes in
the region.
• Wilmington Tours’ African American
History self-guided app tour stops at
32 significant sites, landmarks and
FORT FISHER STATE HISTORIC SITE
neighborhoods.
38 WilmingtonNCV isitorGuide.com • 866-534-0845