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As the United States prepared to engage in its second major armed conflict with the British empire (the War of 1812), the defense of the country’s eastern seaboard relied heavily on a series of critical coastal fortifications that included Ft. Johnston and Ft. Hampton (near Beaufort) in North Carolina. Spring of 1812 saw the formation of a military unit known as the “Sea Fencibles,” made up of pilots from Lower Cape Fear region who resolved to serve on land or sea in whatever boats might be available when a need arose. Then, in July, North Carolina Governor William Hawkins assigned four militia companies from Bladen, Brunswick, Duplin and New Hanover counties to Ft. Johnston in order to strengthen further the Cape Fear defenses. Nevertheless, the local citizenry remained concerned about their potential susceptibility to British invasion. One such citizen to express his fears publicly was the founder of Smithville, Joshua Potts. In a letter to Governor Hawkins he stated that if the British were to attack Ft. Johnston, they “would mock at any defense that could be made from our simple ill-conceived open battery.” He went on to note that:
The great mistake has been that of laying off the town too closely around the two or three acres of land left for the use of the fort. In the event of a sanguine contest, the village would be reduced to ashes, either by the garrison or by the advancing foe.
From a view of these perplexing circumstances, one of two propositions arises—there ought to exist either a fort, and no town—or a town, and no fort.
However, the question of Ft. Johnston’s adequacy or lack thereof was not put to the test during the War of 1812, as a British invasion of the Lower Cape Fear never materialized.
The issue of Ft. Johnston’s defensive capability was to remain unresolved for another fifty years, even though troops garrisoned there were dispatched to various battle fields on a number of occasions (e.g., the Second Seminole War in 1836 and the Mexican-American War in 1846). Moreover, the military importance of Ft. Johnston was significantly reduced in 1838 with the completion of the larger and more impressive Ft. Caswell, just two miles from Smithville. Nevertheless, Ft. Johnston continued to be one of the most desirable postings in the U.S. Army throughout this era, largely because of the very cordial relationship that existed between the citizens of Smithville and, to a lesser extent, Wilmington and the soldiers stationed at Ft. Johnston.
Since the Fort’s inception a number of marriages had taken place between officers from the Fort and the daughters of prominent Smithville and Wilmington families. In addition, Fort Johnston’s soldiers participated actively in the economic, social and religious life of Smithville. For example, they assumed a leading role in the development of the congregation and the building itself of
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (originally known as the Chapel of the Cross). Town-fort congeniality continued even into the 1850s, in large part because the preponderance of North Carolinians were opposed to the dissolution of the Union. All of this was really the “calm before the storm,” however, and sentiments were to change dramatically as the nation drifted closer and closer to the Civil War. (The Civil War is also known in the South as the “War of Northern Aggression,” the “War of Northern Invasion”, and [particularly in Charleston] as the “Recent Unpleasantness.”
On January 1, 1861 Governor John Willis Ellis was inaugurated for his second term. Shortly after the “swearing in” ceremony was completed, the Governor was approached by a delegation from Wilmington seeking his permission to allow them to seize Ft. Johnston. Although he may well have been sympathetic to the Wilmingtonians’ request, he declined permission since North Carolina was still part of the Union. Not to be denied, Maj. John J. Hedrick and a band of “Cape Fear Minute Men” sailed down to Smithville on January 8. Once there, Capt. Stephen D. Thurston and his “Smithville Guards” joined them. They proceeded to the residence of Sgt. James Reilly, who was acting as the (sole) caretaker of Ft. Johnston, and demanded that he surrender the Fort and the keys to its magazine. Faced with the inevitable, Sgt. Reilly reluctantly did as he was directed, but only after receiving receipts for the surrendered materials. The next day he sent the
following official account of his actions to Adjt. Gen. Samuel Cooper in Washington:
I have the honor to report herewith that this post has been taken possession of this morning at 4 o’clock a.m. by a party of the citizens of Smithville, N.C. They came to my door at the time above stated and demanded the keys of the magazine of me. I told them I would not give up the keys to any person with my life. They replied that it was no use to be obstinate, for they had the magazine already in their possession, and that they had a party of twenty men around it, and were determined to keep it; if not by fair means, they would break it open. I considered a while and seen it was no use to persevere, for they were determined to have what ordinance stores there was at the post. I then told them that if they would sign receipts to me for the ordnance and ordnance stores of the post, I would give it up to them. (There was no alternative left me but to act as I did.) They replied that they would do so.
When the rebels informed the Governor of their actions, he immediately demanded that the seized fortifications (Ft. Caswell had also been taken after the capture of Ft. Johnston) be returned to the proper authorities. On January 14 the rebels evacuated Fts. Johnston and Caswell in response to the Governor’s directive, but the Federal reoccupation (in the person of Sgt. Reilly in the case of Ft. Johnston) was to be short-lived. The day after the fall of Ft. Sumter in Charleston, S.C. (April 15, 1861) Governor Ellis ordered the recapture of Fts. Johnston and Caswell, thereby bringing the lower Cape Fear region into the Civil War a month before North Carolina formally seceded.
Having twice surrendered Ft. Johnston to the rebels, Sgt. Reilly resigned from the United States Ordinance Corps and joined forces with his captors. He eventually rose to the rank of Major in the Confederate Army and served with distinction in a number of engagements including the defense of Ft. Fisher. ........................end
