First Battle of Fort Fisher 1864
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1864 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 33.9715, -77.9180 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The First Battle of Fort Fisher was a naval siege in the American Civil War, when the Union tried to capture the fort guarding Wilmington, North Carolina, the South's last major Atlantic port. Led by Major General Benjamin Butler, it lasted from December 24–27, 1864.
The Union navy first attempted to detonate a ship filled with powder in order to demolish the fort's walls but this failed; the navy then launched a two-day bombardment in order to demolish the fort and compel surrender. On the second day, the Union army started landing troops in order to begin the siege. But Butler got news of enemy reinforcements approaching, and in the worsening weather conditions, he aborted the operation, declaring the fort to be impregnable. To his embarrassment, Butler was relieved of command on January 8, 1865, and was replaced by Major General Alfred H. Terry, who led a follow-up expedition that captured the fort one week later.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article First Battle of Fort Fisher (revision 1370618644), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Second Battle of Fort Fisher 1865 · 0 km
- Battle of Cape Fear River 1718 · 13 km
- Battle of Wilmington 1865 · 23 km
- Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge 1776 · 57 km
- Siege of Fort Macon 1862 · 139 km
- Battle of White Hall 1862 · 140 km
Other battles of the American Civil War
- Siege of Suffolk 1863
- Siege of Vicksburg 1863
- Skirmish at Ashley's Mills 1863
- Skirmish near Brooklyn, Kansas 1863
- Skirmish of Sporting Hill 1863
- Action at Ashley's Station 1864
- Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams 1864
- Bahia incident 1864
- Battle of Adairsville 1864
- Battle of Albemarle Sound 1864
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles