FORT MACON  The Fort Macon Ramparts --- Friends of Fort Macon

Time and the EVENTS OF HISTORY  have taken their toll. The fort received punishing bombardment from Union artillery and warships during the Civil War, was reactivated as a coastal defense base in World War II, and has endured 168 years of exposure to the harsh coastal weather of the Atlantic Ocean. Even so, the Fort continues with many social and historical events.

Click on 2008 HAPPENINGS  to view the many scheduled activities.

The FRIENDS OF FORT MACON , an all volunteer tax exempt organization (click here for bylaws) currently with 1414 members, have as their mission the support of the Fort through the following activities by:

• Providing guides for the Fort and Nature tour programs.
• Assisting in celebrations and special events held in the park.
• Procuring enough cannon to make the ramparts of the Fort resemble their appearance in 1862.
• Restoration of the Kitchen Facilities including: Bakehouse in Casemate 12, Commissary Storeroom in Casemate 24 and the Kitchen in Casemate 23. (Completed in 2003)
  
• Assisting in the development and construction of additional educational exhibits.
• Providing information about the Fort through newsletters and the Internet.
• Encouraging state authorities to fund a long-deferred Coastal Educational Visitor Center.
  
• Current priority: the funding of the reconstruction of an Officers Quarters circa 1869.

Besides reading about the Fort's History and viewing the Guide you can learn more about the Fort and its activities from the following articles which have appeared in the past in Fort Macon Ramparts, the newsletter of the Friends of Fort Macon that is published three times a year.

• Jeannie's Letters
  
• The Mystery of the Fort Macon Flag
• Cannon Mystery Uncovered
• Hot Shot Furnaces
• World War II Comes To Fort Macon
• The Rise And Fall Of Ambrose Burnside
• Armament Of Fort Macon
• Yankees Reoccupy Fort Macon
• The Chicamacomico Races
• Josiah Pender and the Capture of Fort Macon
• Fort Macon as a Shelter for Buffaloes
• The Ante-Bellum Period at Fort Macon
• Blackbeard's Visit to Beaufort Inlet
• The Confederate Seizure of Fort Macon
• Son of Fort Macon Soldier Invents Flying Machine
• Soldier, Planter, Judge A story about Walter NcKenzie Clark.
• Fort Macon and the Spanish-American War Part I
• Fort Macon and the Spanish-American War Part II
• Remembering the Batle of Bentonville
• Nathaniel Macon, Planter, Patriot and Politician
• For Union or Secession?
• The Road to Fort Macon
• The Confederate Defense of Fort Macon - Part I
• The Confederate Defense of Fort Macon - Part II
• Fort Macon as a Military Prison and a Federal Penitentiary
• Fort Macon and the Big Union Snake
• A Young Person"s Guide to Fort Macon
• Did Forward Observers Win the Battle of Fort Macon?
• Robert  E. Lee at Fort Macon
• Robert  E. Lee at Fort Macon - Part II
  
• Thomas Jefferson and the Roots of Southern Secession
• Defending and Attacking Fort Macon
• The Life of Colonel Moses James White
  
• Officers' Quarters
• Bogue Banks Lighthouse
• Erosion Control at Fort Macon - Part One
• Erosion Control at Fort Macon - Part Two
• Black Witch Moth
• Clapper Rail
• Outside the Walls
• Coues Report
• Coastal Education Center
• Ivory Billed Woodpecker Re-Discovered
• Medicinal Plants available to the Fort's Physician    NEW!
• World War II Battery Command Bunker    NEW!
  

Discovered in the waters off of Fort Macon is a wreck believed to be Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge. On a good diving day you can see the recovery ship(s) at work from the ramparts of the Fort.

The Fort is located in Fort Macon State Park. It has nature trails, a sun bathing and swimming beach, picnic shelters and abundant fishing.

If you have additional questions or wish to schedule a group visit to the Fort, its nature trails or the beaches: contact the park office at Fort Macon State Park, P.O.Box 127, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512, Telephone: (252) 726-3775, or Email

If you're interested in the preservation of the memory, the spirit and the physical condition of Historic Fort Macon, we invite you to become a member of the Friends of Fort Macon. Annual dues are $10.00 per year for individuals or families. Please send your request for membership along with your check to Friends of Fort Macon, P.O.Box 651, Beaufort, NC 28516-0651. We may also be contacted via Email

This page last updated 16 April 2007.