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Above: Loren F. Marcroft at St. Philip’s
Church, circa 1943. Photograph
donated to the Cape Fear Museum of
History and Science by his wife, Barbara
“Bobbie” Marcroft. Left: The remains of
Russellborough, the home of governors
Arthur Dobbs and William Tryon, circa
1966. Courtesy of the Cape Fear Museum
of History and Science, Wilmington, NC.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
troops under the command of General
Jacob Cox marched on the fort from
Smithville. They arrived on February 18
and set up camp only 600 yards from
the southern wall. The flotilla intensified
their bombardment to coincide with the
arrival of Cox’s division, and more than
3,000 shells were fired into the fort that
day. Cox split his force into two brigades,
one remained at the front of the fort; the
other flanked Orton Pond to attack the
rear at dawn.
In a show of bravado, Cox paraded his
men onto the field before the southern wall
and a Federal band played to rally the troops
and demoralize the Confederates inside. Not
to be outdone, a Confederate band in Fort
Anderson began to play to bolster the troops
on the walls. Shells flew, shots were fired and
the bands played all day.
The intense shelling broke the back
of the Confederate command and they
decided to abondon the fort. Late in
the night on February 18 or early in the
morning of February 19, they packed up
the essentials and fled. On the morning
of the 19th, Federal troops poured in from
behind only to find the fort deserted.
In early 1865, following the end of
the Civil War, Brunswick Town/Fort
Anderson became a refugee camp for
recently freed slaves. These freemen were
told they had until early summer to be
self-sufficient. By mid-May, everyone
had left the town.
The following year, two men from
the Revenue Cutter Service (now the
Coast Guard) went into Fort Anderson on
a souvenir hunt. They entered one of the
magazines, lit a lantern, threw the match
on the powder-strewn floor and blew
themselves up.
After that, Brunswick Town was largely
forgotten and avoided.