The marker is situated at the beginning of the sand path leading to the Fort Fisher Confederate Monument, which was installed by the United Daughters of Confederacy eleven years later in 1932 just to the east of where it sits today.
HERE STOOD THE HEADQUARTERS OF FORT FISHER. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORT / BEGAN IN THE SUMMER OF 1862 UNDER THE DIRECTION OF COLONEL WILLIAM LAMB / COMMANDANT, WHO WITH GENERAL W. H. C. WHITING AND MAJOR JAMES REILLY / SERVED UNTIL THE FORT WAS CAPTURED ON JANUARY 15, 1865. EACH OF THE BOMBARD / MENTS BY THE FEDERAL FLEET OF DECEMBER 24 25, 1864, AND JANUARY 13 15, / 1865, WAS HEAVIER THAN ANY OTHER NAVAL DEMONSTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE / WORLD. IN THE JANUARY ATTACK WERE ENGAGED 58 WARSHIPS, WHICH LANDED WITH / ATTENDANT TRANSPORTS AN ARMY OF ABOUT 10,000 MEN. /
FORT FISHER PROTECTED, AGAINST FEDERAL OPPOSITION, A LARGE AND IMPORTANT / FOREIGN TRADE IN WAR SUPPLIES NECESSARY TO THE EXISTENCE OF THE CONFEDERACY.
NEAR THIS POINT STOOD A FLAG STAFF OF FORT FISHER WHICH WAS SHATTERED BY / A FEDERAL SHELL ON DECEMBER 24, 1864. A NEW STAFF WAS ERECTED AND PRIVATE / CHRISTOPHER C. BLAND, OF THE 36TH N. C. REGIMENT, VOLUNTEERED DURING THE HEAVY / BOMBARDMENT TO REPLACE THE FLAG. IT WAS AGAIN SHOT DOWN, AND BLAND ONCE MORE / CLIMBED THE STAFF AND ATTACHED THE COLORS.
ERECTED 1921
Although there is little information about the sponsorship or dedication of the marker, its installation by the New Hanover Historical Commission may be seen as a part of the evolving effort to preserve the fort and its memory and to give it permanent status as an historic site. Colonel William Lamb, who was in charge of building the fort and its commanding officer, tried unsuccessfully following the war and prior to his death in 1909 to achieve preservation of the remains of the fort and site as a national battlefield. In 1931, the U.S. Lighthouse Service transferred Battle Acre to the City of Wilmington with the requirement that it be maintained as the historic site for the fort. A flagpole flying the American flag was installed along with a number of low concrete markers at that time. The flagpole may be a commemorative element connected to the text of the 1921 marker that honors the heroism of soldiers who replaced the flagpole destroyed during heavy bombardment and, in particular, the bravery of a Private Christopher C. Bland. According to the marker, Bland climbed the pole twice after its replacement during heavy bombardment to replace the Confederate flag.
11 July 2014 | Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina