History with ‘Hud’: 160 years since Battle of Forks Road was fought on Cameron Art Museum grounds
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Cape Fear’s most famous Civil War battle took place at Fort Fisher in January of 1865. But another important battle was fought miles away on the grounds of the present Day Cameron Art Museum.
This month marks 160 years since the Battle of Forks Road, which saw United States Colored Troops and other northern Union forces going up against Confederate troops.
Following the fall of Fort Fisher a month earlier, northern forces began cautiously advancing towards Wilmington on both sides of the river.
Confederate Major General Robert F. Hoke wanted to make sure advancing Union forces didn’t reach Greensboro to join General William T. Sherman in ravaging the Carolinas.
As Hoke and his army moved in, a confederate force of 6,000 troops were also approaching Wilmington from South Carolina. Hoke decided to set up a strong defense and wait for the reinforcements, earning him the title, “The Stonewall of Forks Road”.
By February 20, 1865, northern forces arrived and greatly outnumbered the 3,000 dug in confederates, with around 8,500 men. The group repeatedly sent five U.S. Colored Troop regiments comprising of 1,600 black troops in near-suicidal assaults for two days. They came no closer to Hoke’s breastworks than 150 yards, getting blasted with rifle and cannon fire.
As a result they suffered more than 50 casualties, with one officer being among the dead.
The next day saw Hoke’s confederate forces entrenched lines continuing to resist a series of additional assault sending USCT back to their trenches due to the terrain and setup of the troops. As northern forces approached Wilmington and gained a foothold on Eagles Island, Hoke retreated from Wilmington on February 22nd after 34 hours of battle.
Losses for the Union men were serious, but those who could, marched victoriously to Wilmington. Since many of the soldiers were local, both black and white residents of Wilmington were overjoyed. Three of their troops would be awarded the medal of honor.
The battle was all but forgotten for the next century, until it was uncovered in the 1980s by two friends who walked the land together frequently. They quickly discovered something big had happened there.
A builder arrived in 1981 with plans to put more houses around Forks Road but the Forks Road Preservation Movement quickly was formed, with the community fighting to preserve the land.
The grounds were owned by the Cameron family who would eventually donate the land for the Cameron Art Museum, with the stipulation the remnants of the confederate fieldworks and story of the battle’s history be left as they were.
In the 21st century, money was set aside for a sculpture to be constructed recognizing the battle and the United State Colored Troop which fought there. An up-and-coming black sculptor, Stephen Hayes, was chosen to create a monument featuring nine members of the United States Colored Troops marching into battle. The sculptures, entitled ‘Boundless”, were installed in 2021 to commemorate their fight for freedom.
Today visitors to the Cameron Art Museum are treated to the story of the United States Colored Troops and the Battle of Forks Road, which are both built into museum programming. People can walk the grounds and see the statues as a reminder of the history which stands feet away from a popular art museum.
Meteorologist Matthew Huddleston (‘Hud’) has always had two major loves – weather and history. While you can watch him talk about weather each morning on WWAY, he looks forward to bringing you a little piece of history each Thursday on WWAY’s website.
To read other History with ‘Hud’ segments, click HERE.
