Fort Caswell (Caswell Beach, Brunswick County, North Carolina)
Caswell Beach, Brunswick County · North Carolina · Civil War
History & Significance
Designed by Brigadier General Simon Bernard, a former aide-de-camp to Napoleon, the fort was named after former governor Richard Caswell and completed in 1836 at a cost of $473,402. With over 61 gun emplacements, it guarded the mouth of the Cape Fear River in defense of Wilmington, then an important port 20 miles upriver and, at the time, the state's largest city.
Until 1861 it was usually occupied only by army caretakers. The Confederates strengthened it by constructing a massive earthwork defense to accommodate 29 heavy guns, though the fort was never directly attacked; its guns occasionally fired on Union warships blockading the Cape Fear entrance.
No fewer than six plans were devised to capture the fort, but its imposing defenses and the Frying Pan Shoals just offshore deterred them; the Union Army then diverted its attention to Fort Fisher. After a massive Union assault captured Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865, orders came to spike Fort Caswell's guns, burn the barracks, and explode the magazines.
On January 17, the magazines were ignited, exploding approximately 100,000 pounds of powder, with reports stating the blast could be heard as far as 100 miles away in Fayetteville. In 1885 Secretary of War William C. Endicott's Fortifications Board selected Fort Caswell to receive modern defenses.
The work continued from 1894 to 1904, significantly altering the original fortification. The army used the reservation until after World War I, when, in 1923, it was closed by the War Department and listed for sale as surplus property.
In 1925 it was purchased by Florida developers. With the onset of World War II, the U.S. Navy bought the reservation in 1941. Sold to the Baptist State Convention in 1949, the reservation has been used as the North Carolina Baptist Assembly.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- 19th-century coastal fortification at mouth of Cape Fear River
- Civil War Confederate defensive position overlooking Atlantic approaches
- Historic casemate design and earthwork structures
- Oak Island barrier island setting
- Limited access as active Baptist retreat center
Sources
- https://www.ncpedia.org/fort-caswell
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Caswell_Historic_District
- https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/08/fort-caswell-d-8
- https://cwnc.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/items/show/101
- https://ancientnc.web.unc.edu/colonial-heritage/by-time/civil-war/fort-caswell-brunswick-county/
Other Forts in North Carolina
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