Fort Fisher Museum - Fort Fisher Historic Site
project type: museums
Historic Fort Fisher, strategically located where the Cape Fear River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, was originally built to protect this important crossroads of commerce and transportation during the Civil War. Fort Fisher defended the Atlantic route of munitions and arms for the Confederacy, and protected the river against entry to the port of Wilmington. The fall of Fort Fisher in the winter of 1864 gave the Union access to the South-Atlantic waterways, to inland shipping lanes, and to the city of Wilmington. The loss of the Battle of Fort Fisher effectively sealed the fate of the Confederacy. During Word War II, the US Army stationed gunnery batteries at Fort Fisher to help protect the South Atlantic and to guard against enemy ships passing into the Cape Fear.
The Exhibits
The exhibit sequence at the Fort Fisher Museum is divided into four
discrete visitor experiences.
Entry
The Entry/Atrium serves to orient the visitor to the site, offers wayfinding and interpretation about the remains of the Fort, and displays general information about the region and the North Carolina Historic Sites programs.
The Civil War Gallery
The Civil War gallery utilizes models, recreated environments and dioramas, archival photography, oral history presentations, period uniforms and extensive military memorabilia to interpret the role of the Fort. Emphasis is placed on the difficulty involved in building the Fort, it’s strategic importance to the cause of the Confederacy, the extraordinary lengths the South employed to protect it, and the rapid decline in the fortunes of the Confederacy after the fall of the Fort. The centerpiece of the exhibit space is a large fiber-optic model that documents troop movements and encounters throughout the War, illuminates maritime fleet engagements, and describes the variety of military strategies employed by both the North and the South during the battles for possession of the Fort.
World War II Gallery
A separate gallery interprets the role of Fort Fisher during World War II. Archival photographs, artifacts, memorabilia, historic flags, and period uniforms all work in unison to seamlessly depict the presence of the Fort during this military action.
Underwater Archeology Gallery
The final gallery of the Museum is designed as a flexible space that utilizes easily altered casework and graphic panels. The Museum will use this gallery for traveling shows, exhibits on loan from other Museums, and to display, on a rotating basis, the extensive artifact collection from the Underwater Archeology Division of North Carolina Cultural Resources.