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Wilmington Came Alive!
Your entire family would have enjoyed the 142nd anniversary of "Battle of Forks Road" of the Civil War. This free public program, a Living History Weekend, took place on the Cameron Art Museum grounds, located at 3201 S. 17th Street, corner of 17th & Independence,.
Speakers included a welcome by Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and presentations by historians Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr., John H. Haley and Dr. Frank W. Smith. Fonvielle is the author of The Wilmington Campaign, the definitive book of the Confederate defensive revetments built in late 1864 and used during the Battle of Forks Road on February 20, 1865. Haley is Professor Emeritus, UNCW, African-American, Race Relations. Smith is founding Director of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum.
The site is where major General Robert F. Hoke made his last stand against Union soldiers comprised primarily of U.S. Colored Troops. This significant skirmish followed the fall of Fort Fisher, which led to the fall of Wilmington and the final surrender by the Confederate armies.
Events: viewed Film, "Raising the Hunley", Artillery/Small Arms Demonstrations, March of the Troops, Wreath Laying Ceremony, Fashion Show, Clay Demonstrations, Basket Weaving, "Battle of Forks Rd" Tactical Demonstration and: Film - "Fight for Freedom", 30 min. documentary on the US Colored Troops during the Civil War, with an introduction and Q&A with Dr. Frank Smith, Director, African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation and Museum, Washington, DC. Co-sponsored by the Cultural Heritage Museum, made possible through a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
2008 promises to be even better with the addition of the USCT Symposium and a special "Living History" production with the best storytellers in the East. The return of the ever-popular "Heritage Visionary Leadership Awards Banquet". Seminars and workshops will feature topics on "Black Sailors in Union Navy", "Women's roles in the Civil War", 145th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation", Wilmington 1898 - end of USCT's Golden Age", the fall of Wilmington & Fort Fisher and "Campaign of the Carolinas" --- February 22-24, 2008. | |
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