Wilmington , North Carolina in the American Civil War Wilmington , North Carolina , was a major Atlantic Ocean port city for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War . A vital lifeline for the fledgling Confederacy to trading partners in Europe , Wilmington was the last port to fall to the Union Army , which completed its blockade of the coast . Wilmington , located 30 miles upstream from the mouth of the Cape Fear River ( which flows into the Atlantic Ocean ) , was among the Confederacy ’ s more important cities . It ranked 13th in size in the CSA ( although only 100th in the pre - war United States ) with a population of 9 , 553 according to the 1860 census , making it nearly the same size as Atlanta , Georgia , at the time . Wilmington was one of the most important points of entry for supplies for the entire Confederate States . Its port traded cotton and tobacco in exchange for foreign goods , such as munitions , clothing and foodstuffs . These cargoes were transferred to railroad cars and sent from the city throughout the Confederacy . This nourished both the southern states in general and specifically General Robert E . Lee ' s forces in Virginia . The trade was based on steamer ships of British smugglers . These vessels were called blockade runners because they had to avoid the Union ' s imposed maritime barricade . The blockade runners operated indirectly from British colonies – such as Bermuda , the Bahamas , or Nova Scotia . Along with vital supplies , the blockade runners brought foreign crews , who poured money into the local economy through bars , taverns , hotels , shops , and merchants . The town soon took on an international flavor not seen before the war . In the summer of 1862 , sailors arrived who were infected with yellow fever , which was endemic in the Caribbean . An epidemic soon paralyzed the once - thriving waterfront , as well as much of the city . Nearly 1 , 000 people contracted the disease , and more than 300 died before the illness had run its course and activity resumed . After the fall of Norfolk , Virginia in May 1862 , Wilmington ’ s importance increased . It became the main Confederate port on the Atlantic Ocean . Along the Atlantic seashore , Wilmington ' s defenses were so sturdy that they were only surpassed by Charleston ' s fortifications in South Carolina . Wilmington resisted Federal occupation for a long time , mainly due to Fort Fisher . Blockade running became an organized industry . The Crenshaw Company organized shipments of cotton from the interior of the Confederacy to Wilmington for smuggling through the blockade to England . Wilmington was not captured by Union forces until February 22 , 1865 , approximately one month after the fall of Fort Fisher . The Battle of Wilmington consisted of a series of three small engagements near the Cape Fear River that led to the abandonment of the city by the Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg . Before leaving , Bragg ordered the large quantities of bales of cotton and tobacco burned to prevent their falling into Union hands . Maj . Gen . Jacob D . Cox led the first Federal troops into Wilmington , and his forces occupied the city for the rest of the war . As almost all the military action was at some distance from the city , a number of antebellum homes and other buildings have survived in downtown Wilmington .