- Date
- December 23, 1864 – December 27, 1864
- Location
- New Hanover County, North Carolina
- Result
- Confederate victory
- Part of
- American Civil War
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
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.
From the Wikipedia article “First Battle of Fort Fisher”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Result, date and location from the article’s infobox and Wikidata.
