Fort Ocracoke Monument
Ocracoke
View complete article and references at Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina at: https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/247
Description: This large black granite marker commemorates Fort Ocracoke and the Confederate soldiers who fought there. The front bears an image of the burning and abandoned fort and an inscription commemorating the now submerged remains of the fort. The inscription is continued on the rear face.
Inscription:
Front: THE REMNANTS OF FORT OCRACOKE ARE SUBMERGED IN OCRACOKE INLET, 2 MILES TO THE / WEST-SOUTHWEST, TOWARDS PORTSMOUTH ISLAND. THE LAST OF POSSIBLY FOUR FORTS ON / BEACON ISLAND, THE MOSTLY EARTHEN FORT OCRACOKE WAS CONSTRUCTED BY MAINLAND CONFEDERATE VOLUNTEERS, BEGINNING ON MAY 20, 1861, THE DAY NORTH CAROLINA SECEDED / FROM THE UNION AND JOINED THE CONFEDERACY. / AFTER UNION VICTORIES ON HATTERAS ISLAND IN AUGUST, 1861, THE CONFEDERATES PARTLY / DESTROYED THE FORT AND ABANDONED IT WITHOUT A FIGHT. MAINLAND UNION FORCES / COMPLETED THE DESTRUCTION IN SEPTEMBER, 1861. BEACON ISLAND WAS CONSUMED BY / THE WATERS OF OCRACOKE INLET IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE FORT'S / REMAINS WERE DISCOVERED AND IDENTIFIED BY MEMBERS OF SURFACE INTERVAL DIVING CO. / IN AUGUST, 1998, ACTING ON A TIP FROM OCRACOKE CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN, DONALD AUSTIN
Rear: "IN MEMORY OF VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR FROM OCRACOKE & PORTSMOUTH ISLANDS OCRACOKE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS of the 17th, 19th, 32nd & 33rd NC INF & Other Units / Holloway Ballance / William Redding Ballance / William B. Bragg / Fabius Fenilton Dailey / Isaac Littleton Farrow / Wilson Tilmon Farrow, Jr. / Josephus Fulcher, Jr. / Benjamin Joseph Garrish, Sr. / Robert W. Gaskill, Sr. / William B. Gaskill / George Jansen Gaskins / Robert C. Gaskins / Alonzo Howard / James Hatton Howard / Robert Howard / Thomas G. Howard / * George W. Jackson / Henderson Francis Jackson / James G. Jackson / Benjamin F. O'Neal / Christopher Thomas O'Neal, III / Christopher Thomas O'Neal, Jr. / Francis W. O'Neal / Tilmon W. O'Neal, Sr. / Simon H. O'Neal / John C.(R) Simpson / William Joseph Simpson / Andrew Somers Spencer, Sr. / Elijah Styron / Dallas Wahab / James Howard Wahab, Sr. / George W. Williams / Tilmond Farrow Williams / * George W. Jackson / John F. O'Neal / Alpheus W. Simpson / Note: * - different people
Front: THE REMNANTS OF FORT OCRACOKE ARE SUBMERGED IN OCRACOKE INLET, 2 MILES TO THE / WEST-SOUTHWEST, TOWARDS PORTSMOUTH ISLAND. THE LAST OF POSSIBLY FOUR FORTS ON / BEACON ISLAND, THE MOSTLY EARTHEN FORT OCRACOKE WAS CONSTRUCTED BY MAINLAND CONFEDERATE VOLUNTEERS, BEGINNING ON MAY 20, 1861, THE DAY NORTH CAROLINA SECEDED / FROM THE UNION AND JOINED THE CONFEDERACY. / AFTER UNION VICTORIES ON HATTERAS ISLAND IN AUGUST, 1861, THE CONFEDERATES PARTLY / DESTROYED THE FORT AND ABANDONED IT WITHOUT A FIGHT. MAINLAND UNION FORCES / COMPLETED THE DESTRUCTION IN SEPTEMBER, 1861. BEACON ISLAND WAS CONSUMED BY / THE WATERS OF OCRACOKE INLET IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE FORT'S / REMAINS WERE DISCOVERED AND IDENTIFIED BY MEMBERS OF SURFACE INTERVAL DIVING CO. / IN AUGUST, 1998, ACTING ON A TIP FROM OCRACOKE CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN, DONALD AUSTIN
Rear: "IN MEMORY OF VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR FROM OCRACOKE & PORTSMOUTH ISLANDS OCRACOKE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS of the 17th, 19th, 32nd & 33rd NC INF & Other Units / Holloway Ballance / William Redding Ballance / William B. Bragg / Fabius Fenilton Dailey / Isaac Littleton Farrow / Wilson Tilmon Farrow, Jr. / Josephus Fulcher, Jr. / Benjamin Joseph Garrish, Sr. / Robert W. Gaskill, Sr. / William B. Gaskill / George Jansen Gaskins / Robert C. Gaskins / Alonzo Howard / James Hatton Howard / Robert Howard / Thomas G. Howard / * George W. Jackson / Henderson Francis Jackson / James G. Jackson / Benjamin F. O'Neal / Christopher Thomas O'Neal, III / Christopher Thomas O'Neal, Jr. / Francis W. O'Neal / Tilmon W. O'Neal, Sr. / Simon H. O'Neal / John C.(R) Simpson / William Joseph Simpson / Andrew Somers Spencer, Sr. / Elijah Styron / Dallas Wahab / James Howard Wahab, Sr. / George W. Williams / Tilmond Farrow Williams / * George W. Jackson / John F. O'Neal / Alpheus W. Simpson / Note: * - different people
Dedication date: 7/9/2000
Materials & Techniques: Black Granite
Subject notes: This marker commemorates Fort Ocracoke, the remnants of which are submerged in the Ocracoke Inlet. Fort Ocracoke was built by volunteers beginning on May 20, 1861, the day North Carolina seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy. One side of the marker lists the men from Ocracoke and Portsmouth islands who served in the Civil War. The other side of the marker describes the importance of Fort Ocracoke.
Location: The monument is located on a grassy patch behind the National Park Service Visitor Center next to the boat ramp.
City: Ocracoke
County: Hyde
Subjects: Civil War
Latitude:
35.10618
Longitude:
-75.96859
References:
Additional Resources:
Smith, Robert K., and Earl W. O'Neal. 2015. The history of Fort Ocracoke in Pamlico Sound.
Origin - location:
11 July 2014 | Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina