On January 4, 1856, a train accident on the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad occurred near Wilmington, giving rise to an enduring North Carolina legend. In the neighborhood of Hood’s Creek, about 8 miles outside of Wilmington, the locomotive on the night mail train was using steam faster than new water could be pumped into the boiler. The mechanical pump only worked when the wheels were turning, so the crew uncoupled the engine and ran it ahead to pump water without the heavy train attached.
Topics Related to Wilmington
This Memorial Day, Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Kluttz, Governor Pat McCrory and several other members of his Cabinet joined Battleship North Carolina Executive Director Captain Terry Bragg and a crowd of hundreds to pay their respects to those who have served our country throughout the years.
From an examination of torpedo warfare on the Cape Fear River in Winnabow to demonstrations of military training and camp life in Four Oaks, several historic sites and museums around North Carolina will offer programming related to the Civil War in the next week.
Did you know that the creative industry accounts for almost 320,000 jobs, or 6 percent of North Carolina’s workforce? Last week Sec. Kluttz got the chance to meet some of the people who work in and help create those jobs at the North Carolina Presenters Consortium’s (NCPC) annual meeting.
Late last month Sec. Susan Kluttz joined Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and local officials aboard the Battleship North Carolina to honor veterans for Memorial Day. The day’s activities included in memoriam remarks from Rear Admiral Steven H. Ratti, Commander of Fifth Coast Guard District and military musical arrangements by the 440th NC Army National Guard Band. The celebration was the ship’s 48th annual Memorial Day event.
Rose O’Neal Greenhow, a widowed Washington socialite turned Confederate spy, drowned near Fort Fisher.
From January 15 to February 22, 1865, Union army and naval forces engaged in the successful effort to capture Fort Fisher and take Wilmington, the South’s last significant blockade running port. Several regiments of United States Colored Troops (USCT) took part, and fought with conspicuous gallantry.
Rose O’Neal Greenhow was a widowed Washington socialite turned Confederate spy. While well known for her pro-states’ rights and slavery expansionist views, she also maintained friendly relationships with leaders from the North.