On January 15, 1865, Ft. Fisher becomes the last major Confederate seaport to fall to the Union’s Anaconda Plan to strangle the rebel’s supply lines. The fort, known as the “Gibraltar of the South,” guards the city of Wilmington, Delaware and the Cape Fear outlet. Its giant sand and earthen mounds are able to withstand even the heaviest cannon fire, but its garrison dwindles to only 8,000 men when the Union attacks with 60 ships under Admiral Porter and 9,000 infantry led by General Alfred Terry. The fort is surrendered by General William Whiting, wounded in the battle and soon dying in prison.
Ft. Fisher interior
