FORT OREGON (1861-1865) was a Confederate earthwork at Oregon Inlet, on the southern
tip of Pea Island. It was abandoned before Federal seizure in 1861. The exact site has
washed away. The Coast Guard is now located near the location. FORT HATTERAS (1861-1865) was a Confederate earthwork captured in 1861 by combined
Army-Navy forces. It was a 12-gun fort larger than Fort Clark once located on the
Pamlico Sound side of Hatteras Inlet, 0.75 miles west of Fort Clark. There are no remains
today, but it was built of sand walls six feet high and 25 feet thick, covered by sod and
wooden planks. FORT CLARK (1861-1865) was a Confederate 7-gun redoubt captured by the Union in 1861.
Camp Wool (1862-1865) was established nearby. The site of the fort is on the Atlantic
side of Hatteras Inlet, two miles south of the Ocracoke Island ferry docks. FORT OCRACOKE (1861-1865) was a Confederate 9-gun redoubt located in Ocracoke Inlet.
It was abandoned before Federal seizure in 1861. It was destroyed and the Union built the 12-gun
Fort Morgan as a prison stockade and hospital. Originally located here was Fort
Granville (1749-1764), a small wooden fort to protect the area from the Spanish. It was later
used again during the Revolution and War of 1812. The actual site of the fort was on Beacon Island,
now washed away. Underwater excavations began in 1998.
PLANNED TEMPORARY DEFENSES of HATTERAS INLET
BATTERY CAPE HATTERAS was planned at the site of Fort Clark in 1942. The Navy
had established a mine-protected safe harbor for merchant ships off Cape Hatteras. But
because suitable high ground could not be located for the four 155mm GPF guns and their
Panama-type mounts, the anchorage and minefield were discontinued later that same year.
However, the Navy maintained a small base at Ocracoke.
