The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-24
A COLONIAL Fort.


A short distance below Fort Amber
son, on bluff called Howe's Point, are
the remains of colonial fort, and be-
hind it is the ruins of a residence, in
which, tradition SAYS, was born in 1870
one of the greatest heroes Of the rev.
dictionary war General Robert Howe),
the trusted and honored lieutenant of
Washington. He was the son Of Job
Howe, an educated and wealthy planter
on the Cape Fear. who left, in 174S, a
plantation to each of his five sons.
1t is said that Roberts estate was on
Old Town creek and that he resided
there.
FORT FISHER.
Colonel William Lamb, who was in
command Of Fort Fisher, in his admir-
able report of it's defence, says that
''the capture of Fort Fisher, n. c., on
the 18th of January, 1865, was followed
so quickly by the final dissolution of
the Southern Confederacy, that the
great victory was not fully realized by
the American people. The position com
manded the last gateway between the
Confederate States and the outside
world. Its capture, with the resulting
loss of all the Cape Fear river defences
and of Wilmington, the great importing
depot Of the south, effectually ended the
blockade running"
General Lee, feeling the Importance
of the situation, sent word to Colonel
Lamb that Fort Fisher must be held
or he could not subsist his army"
DESCRIPTION OF SITUATION.
The indentation of the Atlantic ocean
in the Carolina coast known as Onslow
bay and the Cape Fear river, running
south from Wilmington, form the pe-
ninsula known as Federal Point. Not
quite seven miles north Of the end of
this peninsula stood a high sand hill
called the Sugar Loaf" Here there
was M entrenched camp for the ARMY
of Wilmington under General Braxton
Bragg, the departments commander.
that was hid from the sea by forest ana
sand hills. From this entrenched camp
the river bank, with neighboring ridge
of sand dunes, formed a covered way
for troops to within 100 yards of the left
salient of Fort Fisher Between the
road and the ocean beach was an arm of
Masonboro sound, and where it ended.
three miles north Of the fort, were oc.
casional fresh water swamps. generally
wooded with scrub growth. and In MANY
eases quite impossible. Along the ocean
shore was an occasional battery formed
from a natural sand hill. behind which
Whitworth guns were carried from the
fort to cover belated blockade runners
or to protect more unfortunate ones that
had been chased ashore
About half a mile north of the fort
there was a rise in the plain forming
hill some twenty feet above the tide
on the river side, and on this was re-
doubt commanding the approach of the
fort by the river road Thus nature
assisted by some slight engineering
work, had given a defence to Confed-
crate Point which would have enabled
an efficient commander at the entrench-
ed camp, cooperating with the garrison
OF Fort Fisher, to have rendered the
point untenable for a largely superior
force at night when the covering fire Of
the federal navy could not distinguish
between friend and foe.
The plans of Fort Fisher were Colo
mel Lambs, and as the work progressed
We're approved by Generals French.
Raines, Longstreet, Beauregarde and
Whiting. 1t was styledaby federal enI
gineers 'the Malakoff of the south.4 Tt
was built solely with the view of re-
sisting the fire of a fleet, and it stood
uninjured, except as to armament, two
of the fercest bombardments the world
has ever witnessed. The two faces to
the works were $3.50 yards long. The
land face was 6S2 yards long, and the
sea face 1898 yeards Dong.
THE FORT FISHER FIGHT.
General Whiting. in his official report
of the taking of Fort Fisher on the
night of the 18th of January, 1866, after
an assault of unprecedented fury, both
by sea and land, lasting from Friday
morning until Sunday night, says:
"On Thursday night the enemy's feet
was reported off the fort. On Friday
morning the fleet opened very heavily.
On Friday and Saturday, during the
furious bombardment of the fort, the
enemy was allowed to land without
molestation and to throw up a light
line Of field works from Battery Ram
seur to the river, thus securing his posi-
! ton from molestation and making the
fate of Fort Fisher, under the circum-
stances, but a question of time.
Son Sunday the fire on the fort
reached a pitch of fury to which no
language can do justice. 1t was con-
centrated on the land face and front.
In short time nearly every gun was
dismounted or disabled. At 3 o'clock
the enemy's land force, which had been
gradually and slowly advancing, formed
in two columns for assault. The garri-
son. during the fierce bombardment, was
not able to stand on the parapets, and
many of the reinforcements were obliged
to be kept Il great distance from the
fort As the enemy slackened his fire
to allow the assault to take place, the
men hastily manned the ramparts and
generally repulsed the right column Of
assault. A portion of the troops on the
left hand also repulsed the first rush to
the left of the works. The greater por-
ton of the garrison being, however,
engaged ON the right, and not being able
to man the entire work, the enemy sue
ceeded in making a Judgement on the
left flank, planting two of his regimental
flags in the traverses. From this point
we could not dislodge him. though we
forced him to take down his flag from
the fire of our most distant guns, our
own traverses protecting him from such