Kure Beach in New Hanover County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Capture!
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, March 11, 2010
1. Capture! Marker
(captions)
As 2,000 U.S. sailors and marines charged down the beach, three brigades of Federal infantry (4,300 strong) attacked the western end of the landface. Following several hours of determined resistance and the committal of fiver more Federal regiments (including U.S. Colored Troops). The Confederate defenders were overwhelmed.
The Union fleet pulverized the landface, knocking out all its heavy artillery except one cannon.
Lawyer-soldier Gen. Alfred Terry, 37, led the Union army.
Maj. Gen. W.H.C. Whiting, disobeying orders, returned as a volunteer to help defend the fort and was mortally wounded.
The Confederate surrendered at Battery Buchanan at 10 p.m. Wilmington fell within weeks, sealing the fate of the South.
Erected by Fort Fisher State Historic Site. (Marker Number 11.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1865.
Location. Marker has been reported
this page online
Regionally, this marker was in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and on the Cape Fear Coast. It was also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: After Taking Fort Fisher, I Think Our Troops Could Storm Hell Itself. (here, next to this marker); A Work Of More Labor Than The Pyramids (within shouting distance of this marker); Our Occupation Of The Fort, Was Not Equivalent To Its Possession. (within shouting distance of this marker); Every Charge Was Death Or Surrender. (within shouting distance of this marker); 1st Battle Of Fort Fisher - December, 1864: A "Fiasco" (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort Fisher (about 300 feet away); A Desolate Spit Of Land (about 300 feet away); The Whole Garrison Has Gone To Gardening (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kure Beach.
Other markers no longer nearby. Union Fiasco - The First Battle (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Fort Fisher Since 1865 (was within
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, March 11, 2010
2. Interior view of Fort Fisher (facing northwest)
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Marker has been replaced with a new marker containing additional information.
Also see . . . Fort Fisher. North Carolina Historic Sites (Submitted on March 16, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, March 11, 2010
3. Interior view of Fort Fisher (facing northeast)
Photographed by Kurz & Allison, 1890
4. Capture of Fort Fisher
Library of Congress [LC-DIG-pga-01862]
Photographed by Endicott & Co., circa 1865
5. Bombardment of Fort Fisher
Library of Congress [LC-DIG-pga-01164]
Photographed by J.O. Davidson, circa 1887
6. Capture of Fort Fisher
Facsimile print by L. Prang & Co. Library of Congress [LC-DIG-ppmsca-19925]
Photographed by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Jan 1865
7. Battery Buchanan
Library of Congress [LC-B815- 1231]
Credits. This page was last revised on July 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,019 times since then and 35 times this year. Last updated on July 17, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on March 16, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
