Fort Ocracoke Civil War Memorial

During the Civil War, nearby Beacon Island was home to a Confederate fort built on the site of a fort from the War of 1812. Construction on Fort Ocracoke began on May 20, 1861—the day North Carolina seceded from the Union.

As the history marker tells, just three months later, “after Union victories on Hatteras Island, the Confederates partly destroyed the fort and abandoned it without a fight.” Union forces finished the job, and in 1933, Beacon Island subsided into the inlet, taking Fort Ocracoke with it.

In 1998, the fort’s remains were rediscovered and identified by divers acting on a tip from an Ocracoke charter boat captain.