March 23- April 26, 1862 - Siege of Fort Macon

March 23- April 26, 1862

Siege of Fort Macon 

Fort Macon and related coastal areas of Atlantic Beach, NC

Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside: Union Brigadier General John G. Parke (4th and 5th Rhode Island Infantry, 8th Connecticut Infantry, and 11th Connecticut Infantry)

vs.

A small Confederate force under the command of Colonel Moses J. White of the 10th North Carolina Regiment

* More from the Burnside Expedition of 1862: he comes here right after getting Hatteras, and victories at Elizabeth City and New Bern. Here Parker surrounds the fort; White surrenders: this is an early and significant Union victory, at a time when they were lacking. And relatively bloodless - only one Union guy and seven Confederates died. The Union occupied the fort and ended up controlling coastal North Carolina for the remainder of the war. However, little comes of that, as Burnside was then recalled for the Peninsula Campaign in VA, and it pains me to admit that Wilmington,NC continued to operate as a port until late in the war.   

* If like me, you visit a lot of Civil War forts, you hear a lot about how the old ones all became instantly useless once more powerful cannons were invented. Here at Fort Macon, for only the second time in recorded history, siege cannons were successfully used against a fort, which really called into question the whole concept and design of the fort. If you're curious, like me, about number one: the first major combat use of rifled siege guns against a fort was the bombardment of Fort Pulaski, Georgia, by Union forces from April 10–11, 1862, just a couple weeks earlier; in less than 30 hours, rifled cannon breaching fire shattered the fort's 7.5-foot-thick masonry walls, proving that traditional, coastal, fortifications were obsolete.

* Speaking of firsts, Fort Macon was North Carolina's first ever functioning state park, openined in 1936.

First, on the mainland...

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=225764

Union occupied the town March 22, 1862, & used this area in staging the Fort Macon campaign. Union camps remained in vicinity until 1865.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31254

Siege of Fort Macon

Prelude: 

On February 8, 1862, Union General Ambrose E. Burnside captured Roanoke Island, key to the important Sound Region of Northeastern North Carolina. On February 10, Elizabeth City fell followed by strategic New Bern on March 14. Washington was taken on March 20. The Union forces were now ready to attack Fort Macon, the strategic fort some 5 miles southeast of this point, which protected the deepwater harbor of Beaufort.

Union Advance: 

General John C. Parke's 3rd Division advanced (A) against the fort by way of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad (B) from New Bern. After some difficulty experienced in moving their artillery, the Union force arrived at Carolina City, a former Confederate camp, on March 21. Morehead City was occupied on March 22; Beaufort on March 26. A request for surrender was sent to Colonel Moses J. White. Fort Macon's commander, on March 23. This request was quickly refused. On March 29 Union forces landed unopposed on Bogue Banks at the mouth of Hoop Hole Creek (C). Siege mortars and other artillery were soon brought over the Sound from Carolina City.

The Confederates in Fort Macon soon exchanged cannon fire with the Union Fleet (D), commanded by Captain Samuel Lockwood. A company of infantry (E) was sent to contest the Union advance (F).

Contact: 

On April 8 contact was established between the opposing forces. The Confederates were driven (G) into the fort after several days of heavy skirmishing. Fort Macon was now completely invested by the Union forces.

Union artillery was placed into position in 3 batteries (H), between 1680 and 1280 yards from the fort. Two of these batteries contained mortars; the third was composed of Parrott guns. These positions were protected by sand dune gun emplacements. The Confederates having no mortars, attempted to substitute 6 old carronades, placed at 40 degree elevations. This effort failed due to a lack of sufficient ammunition for the guns.

On April 25 the Union guns began to bombard the fort. This attack was aided by the Union Fleet. The fleet was soon forced to withdraw, however, due to heavy seas and to the accuracy of Confederate fire.

At 4:30 P.M. on April 25, after a heavy Union cannonade, the Confederates displayed a flag of truce. A cease-fire was arranged, which was followed by the surrender of the fort on April 26 at 9:30 A.M.

The capture of Fort Macon is important because the Union forces now held control over the entire Northeastern North Carolina coastal area. The Union Navy had obtained an excellent deepwater supply base (Beaufort Harbor) on the coast of North Carolina.

Troops Engaged:

Union: 4th and 5th R.I. Inf.; 9th N.J. Inf.; 8th Conn. Inf.; 1st U.S. Art. (1 co.); 3rd N.Y. Art. (1 co.).

General John G. Parke commanding.

Confederate: 10th N.C. Regt (Art. - 4 cos.); 20th N.C. Regt. (Art. - 1 co.).

Colonel Moses J. White commanding.

 

Erected 1962 by Archives and Highway Departments, Confederate Centennial Commission. 

(Marker Number CC-3.)

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Before visiting the Fort itself, here's the spot where Hoop Pole Creek creeps furthest inland, and the Union brought their siege cannons up this way. The historical marker is in the parking lot of a shopping center, at a trailhead into a nature preserve.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=77046

Hoop Pole Creek

Ferrying Troops and Equipment at High Tide

— Burnside Expedition —

In March 1862, Union Gen. John G. Parke’s brigade of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’ Coastal Division advanced from New Bern to capture Beaufort Harbor and Fort Macon. During March 22-26, Parke’s forces took possession of Carolina City, Morehead City[,] and Beaufort. Fort Macon’s Confederate garrison refused to surrender, forcing Parke to begin siege operations against the fort.

On March 29, a detachment of the 4th Rhode Island Infantry crossed Bogue Sound from Carolina City and established an outpost camp on Bogue Banks here at Hoop Pole Creek, five miles from Fort Macon. This camp became the base from which Parke conducted the siege. Over the next two weeks a total of 22 companies of Union infantry and artillery crossed over to the camp from Carolina City. Three batteries of siege cannons and mortars and their ammunition were also ferried across the sound to the camp, using old barges, scows and one light-draft stern-wheel steamer. Bogue Sound and Hoop Pole Creek were so shallow that Parke could only ferry over his troops and equipment at high tide.

Once unloaded from the vessels, the heavy artillery had to be manhandled through the muddy salt marsh and sand to reach the camp. From Hoop Pole Creek, the artillery was then dragged almost four miles up the beach and set up in artillery emplacements from which to fire on Fort Macon. On April 25, Parke’s forces bombarded Fort Macon for eleven hours, forcing the Confederates to surrender the following day.

My farthest-from-home point for this trip. 

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Hoophole Creek

Union forces led by General John G. Parke landed here March 29, 1862, during the Fort Macon campaign.

Erected 1986 by Division of Archives and History. (Marker Number C-62.)

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I travelled from Baltimore > Fort Macon "only" seven hours away, but I went to the aforementioned Elizabeth City and Washington first, along with all of New Bern and its battlefield park. So the sun was pretty low while I was exploring Fort Macon, to say nothing of me later exploring Beaufort, which the Confederates abandoned to Parke, in the dark. 

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Union artillery was placed in this area during the siege of Fort Macon, March 23 - April 26, 1862.

It was in the 60s, but there was still some snow on the ground from their big storm [Feb. 2026].

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31278

Built by U.S. Corps of Engineers, 1826-34. Good example of brick fort. Seized by Confederates, April 14, 1861. Scene of battle, April 25, 1862.

 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31451

Fort Macon

Guardian of Beaufort Harbor

— Burnside Expedition —

This fort, guarding the entrance to Beaufort Harbor, was built between 1826 and 1834 as one of a series of seacoast fortifications for national defense. Local secessionist militia forces seized the fort on April 14, 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War.

In March 1862, Union Gen. John G. Parke's brigade of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Coastal Division captured Carolina City, Morehead City, and Beaufort. Confederate Col. Moses J. White, commanding Fort Macon's 403-man garrison, refused three Union surrender demands. Park established 22 companies of U.S. infantry and artillery at Hoop Pole Creek, five miles west of Fort Macon, and besieged the fort. Parke's troops constructed emplacements for two mortar batteries and one rifled cannon battery about ¾ mile from the fort. Four U.S. Navy gunboats offshore assisted in the siege, along with floating batteries positioned northeast of the fort.

On April 25, the Union batteries and gunboats bombarded Fort Macon for eleven hours. By afternoon, the powerful rifled cannons had breached the fort's walls and endangered its magazines. The Confederates ran up the white flag at 4:30 p.m., and White formally surrendered to Parke's forces the following morning. Seven Confederates were killed and eighteen wounded, while the Federals lost one killed and two wounded. U.S. forces occupied the fort and Beaufort Hotel for the remainder of the war.

They ain't kidding about that Caution: this fort had some genuinely precarious ledges and almost entirely unmanned when I visited. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=77064

This cannon is a replica of a 30-pounder Parrott Rifle, one of the most widely used siege cannons in the War Between the States. Invented by Robert P. Parrott in 1861, the 30-pounder Parrott Rifle quickly became one of the Union Army’s standard siege cannons.

The Siege of Fort Macon

During the siege of Fort Macon in 1862, Union forces used batteries of siege cannons to bombard the fort. One of these was a battery of three 30-pounder Parrott Rifles, commanded by Captain Lewis O. Morris, Company C, 1st U.S. Artillery. The battery was placed in position over three-fourths of a mile from the fort, along with two additional batteries of 8-inch and 10-inch siege mortars.

The Bombardment

On April 25, 1862, the three Union batteries bombarded Fort Macon for eleven hours. With their great accuracy, the Parrott Rifles were very destructive to the fort, knocking out many of the fort’s walls. Repeated hits by the Parrotts cracked the walls and ceiling of one of the forts gunpowder magazines. Defending Confederates had no choice but to surrender or risk being blown up by their own gunpowder in the endangered magazine. Union forces took possession of the fort the next morning.

Historic Achievement

The bombardment of Fort Macon was the second time in history that rifled siege guns were used against a fort in combat. Because rifled cannons such as the Parrott had the power to destroy brick and stone walls, forts now became obsolete as a way of military defense.

Specifications for 30-pounder Parrott Rifle

Length of Barrel 11 feet

Weight of Barrel 4200 pounds

Weight of Gun Carriage 2350 pounds

Weight of Ammunition

Bolt (Solid Shot) 30 pounds

Shell 29 pounds

Gunpowder Charge 3¼ pounds

Range 2.7 miles

(at 15 degrees elevation)

Robert P. Parrott invented a system of rifled artillery for the Union Army during the War Between the States. “Parrott Rifles” were made in different calibers from 10-pounder to 300-pounder sea coast cannons. They are characterized by the thick iron band reinforcing the cannon’s breech

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31457

This cistern, built in 1897, collected and stored drinking water for Fort Macon's caretaker. Cisterns such as this one have been used by coastal residents for years. Moisture and rain shed from the roof through pipes into the cistern, where it could be retrieved with buckets or a hand pump.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31479

Fort Macon was constructed between 1826 and 1834. This fort was used in the War Between the States (1861-1865), the Spanish American War (1898) and World War II (1941-1945). Fort Macon also served as a military prison from 1862-1877.

Fort Macon was acquired by the state of North Carolina in 1924. This was the second property purchased by the state for the purpose of establishing a state parks system. Fort Macon State Park was formally opened on May 1, 1936, as North Carolina's first functioning state park.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31502

This replica Hot Shot Furnace stands on the foundation of Fort Macon's original Hot Shot Furnace, built in 1836. Hot Shot Furnaces were used in forts to heat non-explosive cannonballs red hot for use against the unarmored wooden enemy warships of the period. Once heated to red heat in the furnace (about 1077°), the cannonballs were loaded into cannons and fired into enemy warships to set them afire.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31490

These are the only known surviving cannons of Fort Macon's original armament. Used in the fort 1862 to 1902. Similar to mortars used by the Union Army against the fort in the 1862 bombardment.

Weight of Barrel ................. 1968 Pounds

Weight of Gun Carriage (Bed) .... 1830 Pounds

Gunpowder Charge ................... 4 Pounds

Weight of Exploding shell ......... 88 Pounds

Bursting Charge of Shell ........... 3 Pounds

Range ............................ 2100 Yards

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31535

This cannon is a replica of a smoothbore Model 1841 Navy 32-pounder which stood here during the War Between the States. Cannons of this caliber comprised almost half of Ft. Macon's armament. The 32-pounder is so named because it fired round iron cannonball weighing 32 pounds.

Weight of Cannon Barrel ..........4700 Pounds

Weight of Barbette Gun Carriage....4200 Pounds

Weight of Projectile ................32 Pounds

Gunpowder Charge .....................6 Pounds

Range (at 5°) .............1756 yards (1 Mile)

Normal Gun Crew .........................5 Men

Sponsored by Fort Macon Civil War Roundtable. Dedicated to officers and men from the Confederate and Union forces who served during the War Between the States in coastal North Carolina.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=225891

Early in the War Between the States, Confederate soldiers at Fort Macon obtained a large number of cannons from the Gosport Navy yard at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1861 to defend the fort. Among these were six 32-pounder carronades, which were stubby naval broadside cannons that fired a 32-pound cannonball.

Used For Flanking Defense

These carronades were originally mounted in the four rooms called counterfire galleries under the fort's outer wall. From these room the carronades could be used for flanking defense. They could fire into any attacking enemy soldiers that climbed down into the sunken area known as the Ditch between the fort’s outer and inner walls.

The Need For Mortars

During the siege of Fort Macon in April, 1862, the fort had no mortars with which to lob exploding shells into the trenches and emplacements of attacking Union forces. Mortars are the only type of artillery capable of firing shells in a high arc to drop behind hidden enemy emplacements from above. The fort was therefore at a serious disadvantage defend itself from attack.

"Mortar Battery"

In desperation, Confederates in the fort remounted the six 32-pounder carronades in a row here. They were angled back at a forty-degree elevation to fire shells into the air as an improvised “mortar battery." In this way, they were used against Union forces during the siege and bombardment of Fort Macon.

A Unique Use

Carronades were not made for this type of high angle firing, so their use as mortars had only limited effectiveness during the siege. However, their use in this manner was significant. It was one of few times during the War Between the States that carronades were ever used in a land battle. This is also the only time during the war carronades were ever used as mortars.

Carronade Return to Fort Macon

This is an original carronade that was cast in 1820 and served until the 1840s aboard the U.S.S. Columbus. Afterward, it remained for many years at the Norfolk Navy Yard. In 2011, the US Navy History and Heritage Command loaned this carronade to Fort Macon State Park for display. It arrived 150 years after the six original carronades were brought to Fort Macon from the same Navy Yard in 1861.

 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31575

The earthen mound in front of you was built to shield a battery of two 10-inch siege mortars mounted here in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. The underground gallery below was made into a magazine to store ammunition for the mortar battery.

SALLY FORTH

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=77086

Bogue Banks Lighthouse

In order to promote safe navigation of shipping through Beaufort Inlet past numerous shoals and sand bars, the US Lighthouse Board established the Bogue Banks Lighthouse and a navigational beacon on the eastern end of Bogue Banks near Fort Macon in 1855. Built under the supervision of the Army Engineer Department about 200 yards northwest of Fort Macon, the Bogue Banks Lighthouse was a 50-foot high brick lighthouse with a beacon that shone twelve and a half nautical miles through a fourth order Fresnel lens.

In addition to the lighthouse, a navigational beacon was built on the south slope of the fort on a 30-foot wooden tower. The beacon had a sixth order Fresnel lens and was visible 10.6 nautical miles. Both lights provided a range by which mariners were able to take navigational bearings to pass safely through the channel of Beaufort Inlet.

Casualties of War

The two lights were in service for seven years until 1862. During the siege of Fort Macon in the War Between the States, Confederate soldiers of the fort’s garrison toppled both towers to the ground because they stood in the way of the fort’s cannons for the impending battle. No traces of either structure remain today.

Fresnel Lenses

French engineer Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827) invented a system of lenses for lighthouses that became an industry standard in Europe and North America. The lenses resembled beehives and consisted of dozens of glass prisms arranged to bend and focus the light of old lanterns into projecting beams of light visible for miles. The lenses were arranged into different sizes, or orders, from the massive first order lens over eight feet tall for coastal lighthouses, down to small sixth order lens, seventeen inches tall, for harbor lights.

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The Military Post of Fort Macon in the Nineteenth Century

If you could go back in time to the years of the last half of the Nineteenth Century you would find this area looked quite a bit different than it does today. The area around Fort Macon was cleared of any vegetation. The fort itself was only one building of a small military city that once existed here. Scattered around the fort were a number of quarters, buildings and support structures that enabled it to function as a military post. These building included officer quarters, laundress quarters, a storehouse, stables, a hospital, and a railroad extending down to the wharf. Also included were wells, a bake house, a blacksmith’s shop, a boat house and the “sink,” which served as the privy for the fort’s garrison. During 1855 to 1862, a 50-foot brick lighthouse and a 30-foot beacon also stood near the fort until they were destroyed during the War Between the States.

Of all these structures, only the fort remains today. Most of these structures were wood frame buildings that did not fare well in the coastal environment as the years passed. The last of them were sold as removed in the early 1900s after Fort Macon was abandoned.

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Can you believe I didn't go here? It was on the other side of a divided highway...and I usually collect experiences, not collectibles. 

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Sources / Recommended reading:

https://thesouthernblueprint.com/2025/02/02/fort-macon-north-carolinas-coastal-stronghold-and-its-many-lives/

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=nc004

https://civilwartraveler.blog/2024/10/08/the-siege-of-fort-macon-from-new-bern-to-fort-macon/

https://civilwartraveler.blog/2024/10/10/the-bombardment-and-surrender-of-fort-macon-april-25-26-1862/

https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2016/03/23/siege-fort-macon-1862