Fort Clark (7)

 (1861-1865) - A U.S. Civil War Confederate Fort established in 1861 near Hatteras Inlet, Dare County, North Carolina. Captured and occupied by Union forces on 29 Aug 1861. Named Fort Clark after the governor of North Carolina, Henry Toole Clark. Abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war.

History


Constructed by Confederate forces in the early summer of 1861 along with Fort Hatteras. Built to mount five 32-pounders and two smaller guns in square redoubt about 3/4 of a mile from Fort Hatteras.

Fort Clark and Fort Hatteraswere attacked, captured and occupied by Union forces from a joint Army-Navy task force from Fort Monroe under General Benjamin F. Butler and Flag-Officer Silas Stringham. Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark surrendered about noon on 29 Aug 1861.

The Union fleet departed that same afternoon, leaving behind part of the land forces to garrison the forts and three ships to hold the guard the Inlet. Some 670 Confederate prisoners were taken away by the departing fleet.

Current Status
The identified site of Fort Clark is located two miles past the Ocracoke ferry docks on a National Park Service gated access road. A roadside marker for both Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark is located at the entrance to the Ferry terminal. Several granite monuments to the forts and the military actions in the area are located at the nearby Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.

See Also:
 * Fort Monroe
 * Fort Hatteras

Sources:
 * , page 612

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort Clark
 * Wikipedia - Fort Clark