After decades of calm, Brunswick, N.C. once again entered the forefront of history in a national storm, the Civil War. In 1861 the Confederate States of America decided to build a large fort at the site as part of the river defense of Wilmington. The Cape Fear was an essential route for supplies moving by rail from Wilmington to Petersburg and Richmond for General Lee's army.
 
The Confederate army used manual labor to construct the large sand fortification originally called Fort St. Philip's. There were two batteries, each with five cannons overlooking the shipping channel and providing protection to blockade runners.
 
In February 1865, following the fall of Fort Fisher at the mouth of the river, Union forces repositioned to attack Fort Anderson. Federals attacked from the land and river. After three days of fighting, the Confederates evacuated the fort at night. Union gunboats started firing at first light, unaware Federal soldiers were breaching the walls of the fort. The infantry frantically waved sheets and blankets to stop the deadly fire from their own forces. There was a one-day fight north of the site at Town Creek before the Federals occupied Wilmington on George Washington's birthday, February 22, 1865.
 
Courtesy of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History

(9-2007) From Left: St. Philips Church - Fort Anderson/Brunswick Visitor Center. The barracks were located near the church and visitor center   Click to Enlarge

(9-2007) Enlarge Interior of Fort Anderson
 
Fort Anderson interpretive marker

(9-2007) Enlarge Interior: Battery B

(9-2007) Enlarge Interior: Ruins of St. Philips Church

(9-2007) Detail Exterior: Front of the fort along the Cape Fear River, near Battery B