The war years found Fort Macon occupied by troops from New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and "Volunteer" North Carolinians of the Union Army. Commanders ranged in rank from 1st Lieutenant to Colonel. In addition to the Garrison troops, military prisoners were also confined at Fort Macon beginning in 1863.
On July 7, 1865, in the Nation's Capitol, four graves would be dug, four prisoners brought in and four hanged - executed for their roles in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The other four convicted conspirators were to be taken for confinement to Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas off Key West, Florida. The preceding day, at Fort Macon Lieutenant Colonel Walter Poor of the 14th US Colored Artillery finished his report and prepared to dispatch it across Bogue Sound. He had only just taken command and his inspection of the installation could not have pleased him. Conditions of the physical facilities were certainly neither in a state of Military readiness nor "wholesome" - either for his garrison or for the prisoners they were guarding. His predecessor, Captain Ira B. Sampson of the 2nd Massachusetts Artillery, had left him with 119 confinees.
July 6,1865
Asst. Adj Gen., District of Beaufort, NC
Captain:
In obedience to the order of Brevet Major Gen. Paine I have the honor to make the following report of the condition of this Fort.
The glacis is in tolerably good condition. The sod upon the greater barbion being firm and hard. From the nature of the sod it is easily injured and in many places is somewhat cut up. This can be remedied late in the Fall or early in the Spring when the fall of rain is abundant by spreading a thin coat of manure over the ground and sowing grass seed. The outwork or covered-way is in fair condition although large weeds have been permitted to grow so luxuriously that their shade has completely killed the grass. These weeds have been cut down and the grass on all the slopes has been trimmed in order to preserve the sod as much as possible.
None of the Guns in this portion of the fortification are numbered. The Carriages and Chassis all need painting. Many of them are so old and so badly cracked and warped as to be almost worthless. Some are quite rotten. The Traverse Circles, and Pintle Blocks being for the most part made of masonry are in good condition. The wooden ones, three in number, are wholly out of repair and nearly useless. The Sleepers as well as the planks of the platforms are rotten and worn and the pintle blocks and traverse circles are all in the same condition. These wooden platforms and traverse circles are used for 8 and 10 inch Columbiads mounted on center pintle carriages. In my opinion it would be dangerous to fire these guns even with blank cartridges. The mortar platforms, three in number, are in the same condition.
The Stairways to the plank casements or casoniers (sic) are all dark, damp and unwholesome. The bridges across the ditch are out of repair many of the plank being rotten and pieces of the railing broken. These can be easily repaired if the Quartermaster's Department will furnish the lumber. The walls of the Fort, inside and out, have been painted several times. Each time apparently with a different color. This paint was cracked and peeled off in many places showing here a patch of blue, there a patch of yellow, and in an other place a piece of brown - giving the whole a very unsightly appearance. This paint is necessary to preserve the bricks from the corroding effect of the sea air. When the bricks are exposed they crumble at the touch.
Foundations of the work have sunken irregularly and the walls in many places are badly cracked and shattered. The southwest face was severly injured at the time of its capture by Major General Burnside. This has been repaired as far as possible but in some places the walls cracked so badly that in some places they must always be weak. The repairs exhibit a mass of blotches that should be covered by paint.
The Guns in the inner work have been numbered and the carriages are as a general thing in a better state of repair than those in the covered-way or outwork. Many of them however are cracked or decayed and are ill fitted for hard service. Here as well as in the work most of the Traverse Circles and Pintle Blocks are of masonry and are in good condition. The wooden ones are all more or less decayed and are in my opinion unsafe and unservicable. These are used for the heaviest guns in the Fort - "big" 8 and 10 inch Columbiads.
The exterior slope of the parapet is in bad condition. Weeds have been permitted to grow so rank that they have shaded the grass and in many places the sod has been trodden and broken up. Wherever the sod has been broken the wind has drawn away the loose sand and increased the injury. It will be difficult to repair this damage until the wet season sets in. The weeds have been cut, the grass trimmed and no one is permitted to go upon the parapet except on duty. Good sod cannot be obtained near the Fort. As soon as there is sufficient moisture to prevent manure from drying up it can be put in complete repair. The top of the rampart is not in complete repair, the surface being irregular and uneven.
(Taken from the records of the National Archives)
A LETTER FROM ANOTHER COMMANDING OFFICER -
It is impracticable for me to convey a just idea of the discomforts of this Station to which the enlisted men are subjected during the warm weather: in their damp confined quarters, there is no air, outside on the glacis or elsewhere, there is no shade to rest in, and no shelter from the direct or reflected heat, with saturated clothing and the poorest beef for food, and tepid water. There is no escape or recreation in the Vicinity.
As to myself, I will say, I have never before been subjected to so many deprivations of the necessities of life.
John Rodgers, Capt. Sept 13, 1875
John Rodgers was an 1861 graduate of the Military Academy. He served primarily in the west (Louisiana) during the War and arrived at Fort Macon in November of 1872. He was only one of many Commanders of the garrisons there but one might note that his tenure of some four plus years (until January 1877) provided him ample time to assess and report on conditions physical, structural and psychological. He was not alone.
We have read and heard much of the "peace dividend" that will accrue now that the war on Communism has been won. In the aftermath of the American Civil War, as with many conflicts that Americans have fought, the Armed Forces were not only reduced in numbers but were subjected to lower Congressional Appropriations. During the year of 1995 we will commemorate the 130th anniversary of the end of the Civil War here in North Carolina. It is appropriate to look back at our most popular visitor attraction and recall the years of neglect suffered by the Fort and the travail of her garrisons.