Fort Johnston is a fort located by Southport, NC, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River south of the city of Wilmington. It dates back to the colonial days. Last week, I wrote about it on my Civil War blog Saw the Elephant, http://sawtheelephant.blogspot.com.
From the May 10, 2010, MyReporter column in the Wilmington Star-News. Much of the information is gleaned from Wilson Angley's "A History of Fort Johnston on the Lower Cape Fear."
The fort was built by the colony as protection against Spanish attack. In 1744, North Carolina Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston (for whom the fort was named) ordered a fort to be constructed. However, work was progressing slowly and it was nowhere near completed when, on September 4, 1748, two Spanish privateers made their way up the Cape Fear and captured a sloop on tried to seize slaves working on the fort. They also looted Brunswick Town.
The fort was finally completed in 1749, but no longer needed for protection against the Spanish. Its new job was to prevent diseases from entering the colony and on foggy days, fired its cannons to warn ships.
More to Come. --DaCoot
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