Camp Davis Army Air Field - Civil War Fort?

USS ALASKA

Captain
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Been reading about Camp Davis Army Air Field which is now Marine Corps Outlying Field Camp Davis. The Wiki article states that "Between 1942–43, two 5,000 feet (1,500 m) paved runways were built for Camp Davis Army Air Field (AAF). Part of the runway for the airfield was built through one of the old Civil War fort's walls."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Outlying_Field_Camp_Davis

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NC/Airfields_NC_SE.htm#campdavis

https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d34.516667!4d-77.55?hl=en

For the life of me I can't figure out which 'civil war fort' they are referring to. I think the closest one is Fisher...any ideas?

Thanks,
USS ALASKA
 
Been reading about Camp Davis Army Air Field which is now Marine Corps Outlying Field Camp Davis. The Wiki article states that "Between 1942–43, two 5,000 feet (1,500 m) paved runways were built for Camp Davis Army Air Field (AAF). Part of the runway for the airfield was built through one of the old Civil War fort's walls."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Outlying_Field_Camp_Davis

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NC/Airfields_NC_SE.htm#campdavis

https://www.google.com/maps/place/34°31'00.0"N+77°33'00.0"W/@34.516667,-77.55,6110m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d34.516667!4d-77.55?hl=en

For the life of me I can't figure out which 'civil war fort' they are referring to. I think the closest one is Fisher...any ideas?

Thanks,
USS ALASKA
Much of Fort Fisher was leveled by placing an airfield through the middle of it during WWII, though it was deactivated after the war.
 
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Ah - thank you sir. I thought they were talking about the currently existing strips and they looked to me to be too far inland to have intersected Fisher.

Thanks,
USS ALASKA
Google Fort Fisher's WWII airfield and you will have your answer, it was a branch of Camp Davis' facilities.
 
Fort Fisher improvements, capital campaign on horizon
04/19/2022 by Staff Report

With funding now secured, work can move forward on new facilities at Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach. Budgeted at $25.5 million, the project includes a new interpretive center for museum exhibits, which will be almost three times larger than the 1965 building in use today, and a new conservation lab for the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office of State Archaeology. In addition, The Friends of Fort Fisher Inc., the nonprofit that supports this historic site, plans to begin a capital campaign June 11 to fund the reconstruction of the site's earthen ramparts demolished during World War II for the construction of an airstrip. Fort Fisher kept the North Carolina Port of Wilmington open to blockade-runners supplying necessary goods to Confederate armies inland until the last few months of the Civil War, when it fell after a massive federal amphibious assault Jan. 15, 1865, according to the state Historic Sites. The site also played a part during World War II. "This funding, secured in no small part through the amazing work of the Friends of Fort Fisher and our site staff, will provide a powerful opportunity to tell a more inclusive and transformative story of this land and all that it witnessed," said Michelle Lanier, director of the Division of State Historic Sites, in a statement. Historic site manager Jim Steele explained that the new interpretive center and restored earthworks will be welcome additions to Fort Fisher. "The exhibits will cover Fort Fisher history in a broad, all-inclusive manner and feature something for every visitor," Steele said in a statement. "Visitation at Fort Fisher now exceeds one million visitors a year, and it is time for facilities that can accommodate such crowds and for historical interpretation that sets new standards in museum exhibits and scholarship."


Full article can be read here - https://coastalreview.org/2022/04/fort-fisher-capital-campaign-improvements-on-horizon/

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
This Wilmington-area historical site is so popular it's getting a new visitors center
Gareth McGrath
USA TODAY NETWORK

A local Civil War site full of military significance, bloodstained with some of the most painful memories in American history, will soon be getting a modern makeover. State officials are celebrating the start of a $25.5 million project to bring the Fort Fisher Historic Site into the 21st century − well, at least the visitors center. The current visitors center, built in the mid-1960s to handle 25,000 or so visitors, will be replaced with a 22,000-square-foot facility to handle the more than 1 million visitors who stop at the historic site at the southern tip of New Hanover County. Of equal historical importance, the project will include construction of a new 10,000-foot facility for the state's Underwater Archaeology Branch, which works to save and preserve maritime artifacts from the state's rich water-based heritage, including before European colonization. The archaeologists are currently housed in a small complex just north of the fort's visitors center. Fort Fisher hosted more than 1 million visitors in 2021 − the first time the site has reached six figures. Ten years ago, the historic site drew just over 600,000 visitors, according to the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.


Full article can be read here - https://www.starnewsonline.com/stor...-site-to-get-new-visitors-center/69578530007/

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
LOCAL
Restoring history: More state funds could soon help rebuild part of Fort Fisher
Gareth McGrath
USA TODAY NETWORK

The most visited state historic site in North Carolina could soon be getting a second financial shot in the arm from Raleigh. State Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover, has introduced a bill that would provide an additional $2.9 million for renovations to the Fort Fisher Historic Site at the southern tip of New Hanover County. If approved by legislators and signed by Gov. Roy Cooper, this batch of money would be used to rebuild three of the Civil War-era fort's earthworks that housed a telegraph office, field hospital, living quarters and ammunition storage depots. Fort Fisher is located at the southern tip of New Hanover County, an area known for its storms, wind, humidity and biting flies during the hot summer months. The state funds would be matched by a $1 million donation from the Friends of Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher played a vital role during the war between the states. The Confederate fort was key to keeping Wilmington's port open as a lifeline for the South, especially after the Union blockaded and seized most of the Confederacy's other ports. Union troops twice tried to seize Fort Fisher, failing in December 1864 before eventually succeeding less than a month later. The Civil War ended soon after the fort's fall. According to Davis' bill, allowing the second phase of the fort's renovations to move forward while the first phase is already underway could allow a savings of nearly $260,000 on the estimated $3.6 million project.


Full article with pics here - https://www.starnewsonline.com/stor...ion-of-earthworks-at-fort-fisher/69986815007/

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Officials show off progress on new Fort Fisher visitor center
04/18/2023
Trista Talton

KURE BEACH – It became evident that the visitor center at Fort Fisher State Historic Site had outgrown itself some time ago. By the mid-2000s, the Civil War fort was drawing 600,000 visitors each year. "In 2021, we finally exceeded 1 million visitors," site manager Jim Steele said. That number clearly wasn't in mind when the site's visitor center was designed more than a half-century ago. The center, which been sitting since 1965 at the entrance to the historic site at the southern end of Pleasure Island in New Hanover County, was designed for 25,000 visitors a year. After more than a decade of planning and fundraising, Fort Fisher is undertaking a project that includes a new center, one three times larger than the current building, to house updated exhibits in an open, airy indoor space that will offer views of the natural, picturesque landscape nestled at the mouth of the Cape Fear River at the Atlantic Ocean.


Full article with pics can be read here - https://coastalreview.org/2023/04/officials-show-off-progress-on-new-fort-fisher-visitor-center/

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
I found this annotated photo on a website.

Ft Fisher.JPG
 
PHOTOS: Civil War and World War II artifacts recently uncovered at Fort Fisher
Ken Blevins
Wilmington StarNews

The Fort Fisher State Historic Site and the New South Associates, Inc. under the direction of the North Carolina office of State Archaeology, hosted a media day Thursday Aug. 24, 2023 at Fort Fisher State Historic site. For the past few weeks a team has been investigating a World War II airstrip where it passed through the Fort. The team of archaeologist has uncovered the remnants of a Civil War ammunition magazine and its connecting tunnels. The archaeology will prepare the site for reconstruction of a demolished portion of the Fort.


Article with lots of pics here - https://www.starnewsonline.com/pict...-fort-fisher-state-historic-site/70670648007/

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
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