Fort Bartow (1)

Fort Bartow (1) (1861-1865) - A U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1861 on Roanoke Island, Dare County, North Carolina. Named Fort Bartow probably after Confederate Colonel Francis S. Bartow, who was killed on 21 July 1861 at the First Battle of Manassas. The fort was surrendered to Union Forces on 8 Feb 1862 and renamed Fort Foster after Brigadier General John G. Foster, (Cullum 1275). Abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war. Fort Bartow During the Bombardment. History Established in 1861 by Confederate forces as one of three earthworks forts for the defense of Roanoke Island and the adjacent mainland. Fort Bartow was located on Pork Point, with nine guns pointed to the Croatan Sound. Battle of Roanoke Island A combined Union Army-Navy expedition assembled at Hatteras Inlet in February 1862 to take Roanoke Island and seize control of the sounds around it. This force was under the joint command of Union General Ambrose E. Burnside, (Cullum 1348), and Navy Rear Admiral Louis Goldsborough. The Union force consisted of sixty ships and 13,000 men while the Confederate garrison numbered only about 3,000. On 7 Feb 1862, Union gunboats attacked all three of the Confederate forts on the sound side of Roanoke Island after being fired upon by Fort Bartow. Union troops were landed south of Fort Bartow. The Union gunboats were able to stay out of range of the fort guns and gunfire from the forts was ineffective. A naval battle ensued which lasted until darkness obscured the targets. The Confederate Navy was then forced to withdraw for lack of ammunition. Union forces were able to disembark on the undefended south side of the island and encamped there overnight. Charge of Hawkins’s Zouaves Upon the Rebel Three-Gun Battey on Roanoke Island. On the morning of 8 Feb 1862, the Union bombardment of the Island resumed and three brigades of Union troops assaulted the single three gun battery (Fort Russell) at the center of the island, quickly overrunning it and thereby gaining access to the rear of the three shoreline forts. By 5:25 pm on the afternoon of the 8th, the island defenses were surrendered to General Burnside, including all four forts and two field batteries. Union forces captured 42 guns and 1500 prisoners. Union losses included 200 killed, wounded, or missing while the Confederate losses amounted to 150. Union forces occupied the island for the duration of the war and renamed all of the forts. Current Status Fort Bartow Marker in Manteo, North Carolina. Marker only in the town of Manteo. Location: Pork Point off Burnside Road, Roanoke Island, Dare County, North Carolina. Maps & Images Lat: 35.90195 Long: -75.69672 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 0' See Also: Fort Huger (3) Fort Blanchard Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 608. Merrill, James M., The Rebel Shore, Little Brown & Company, Boston-Toronto, 1957, Public Domain (On Bill Thayer's Website), Chapter 5, page 82-99. Links: North American Forts - Fort Bartow North Carolina Markers- Fort Bartow NPS - Battle of Roanoke Island Visited: 5 Apr 2018