Fort Huger, Marker B-2
Posted by: 
drmellow
N 35° 55.629 W 075° 43.402
18S E 434744 N 3976110
Principal Confederate fort on Roanoke Island. Mounted twelve guns. Surrendered Feb. 8, 1862. Earthworks are 100 yards south.
Waymark Code: WMXXN
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 11/06/2006
Views: 109
Text on marker:
Fort Huger
Principal Confederate fort on Roanoke Island. Mounted twelve guns. Surrendered Feb. 8, 1862. Earthworks are 100 yards south.
This historical marker is located at the US 64/264 boat access ramp at Croatan Sound bridge. It was erected in 1961.
The Wikipedia article on Roanoke Island contains the following information about the Battle of Roanoke Island:
During the American Civil War, the island was first fortified by the Confederacy. The Battle of Roanoke Island (February 7–8, 1862) was an incident in the North Carolina Expedition of January to July 1862, when Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside landed an amphibious force and took Confederate forts on the island. Afterwards, the three Confederate forts on the island were renamed for the Union generals who had commanded the winning forces: Fort Huger became Fort Reno; Fort Blanchard became Fort Parke; and Fort Bartow became Fort Foster. Roanoke Island remained under Union occupation for the duration of the war.
The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources also has an essay on Fort Huger, which contains the following information:
During late January, 1862, a Federal land-sea expedition assembled at Hatteras Inlet to take Roanoke Island and capture control of the North Carolina sound region. The force was under the joint command of General Ambrose Burnside and navy Flag-Officer Louis Goldsborough. After several delays due to bad weather, the Union fleet, consisting of numerous troop transports and more than 20 war vessels, arrived at the southern end of Roanoke Island.
On February 7, 1862, Federal ships began a bombardment of the three Confederate earthen forts (the others were Fort Bartow and Fort Blanchard) on the west side of Roanoke Island. Fort Huger was the northernmost and largest of the forts with twelve guns mounted in its sand parapets. The forts were designed to protect the mainland from Federal invasion and to complement obstructions placed in the channel. Forts Huger and Blanchard were not actively engaged in the Battle of Roanoke Island and were ineffective in the battle because the Union fleet maintained a safe distance relative to the range of the cannons placed at those forts.
The first shot of the battle was fired from Fort Bartow’s guns and it was subsequently bombarded by the Federal forces. The Confederate fleet, under Captain W. F. Lynch, waited to engage the Federals behind a line of obstructions placed in Croatan Sound to retard the Federal advance. However, the Confederates, after a sharp engagement which was ended only by darkness, were forced to retire due to lack of ammunition.
On February 8, 1862, the Federal fleet again bombarded various positions on Roanoke Island including the earthen forts in support of General Burnside’s land offensive. After the Union victory on the afternoon of February 8, a detachment of Federal ships under Commodore S. C. Rowan was sent into Albemarle Sound in pursuit of the Confederate fleet. As a consequence, Union forces were in control of most of the inland waters of northeastern North Carolina.
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