Battle of Forks Road

Battle of Forks Road. USCT Fight to Capture Wilmington. , At about 3 P.M. on February 20, 1865, Col. Elias Wright's brigade of 2,000 United States Colored Troops (USCT) charged down Federal Point Road into a storm of musketry and artillery fire from 1,200 Confederates sheltering behind earthworks located to your left. Swamps buttressed the Confederate flanks, forcing the USCT to assault down the gunfire-swept roadway. The resolute African American soldiers made it to within 150 yards of the earthworks before being forced back., The Battle of Forks Road occurred as part of the Union campaign to capture Wilmington, the Confederacy's last major seaport. Union commander Gen. Alfred Terry was determined to take the city, and ordered more USCT attacks here on February 21 that were also turned back. By daybreak on February 22, however, the Confederates had retreated., Later that morning, Gen. Terry led a victory parade through Wilmington in which the USCT warriors were ordered to march at the back of the parade. Nonetheless, the city's African American population rejoiced at the sight of the USCT liberators. A 4th USCT soldier wrote, "It would be a mere attempt for one such as myself to describe the manner in which the colored people of Wilmington welcomed the Union troops, cheer after cheer they gave us, they had prayed long for their deliverance.... Were they not happy that day? Free, for ever more!", (sidebar) , Touched By Fire , The 1st, 5th, 10th, 27th, and 37th USCT composed Col. Wright's brigade at the Battle of Forks Road. The 5th suffered 39 casualties, the most of their brigade. First Sgt. Powhatan Beaty and Sgt. Maj. Milton Holland, both formerly enslaved, fought here with the 5th. Both men were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery at Chaffin's Farm, Va., in September 1864., (Captions) , Powhatan Beaty (left) and Milton Holland survived the Battle of Forks Road and entered Wilmington as victors. Courtesy Library of Congress , The two-day Battle of Forks Road helped lead to the capture of Wilmington, the Confederacy's last seaport. Map source courtesy Dr. Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr., (sidebar) , To Commemorate The USCT , Boundless, by North Carolina artist Stephen Hayes, is rendered from the features of 11 African American men, USCT descendants, reenactors, veterans, and community leaders, connected to this sacred ground's story. This public art embodies aspects of our community's past, present, and, defiantly, its future.