Wilmington, NC

WILMINGTON, p. v., seat of justice of New Hanover co., N. C., situated on Cape Fear river, 35 miles from the sea, 148 miles southeasterly from Raleigh, and 365 miles from Washington.... Two islands divide the river into three channels opposite the town. They afford the finest rice-fields in the state. The great body of the exports and imports of North Carolina pass through this port, and it is the terminus of the Washington and Wilmington chain of railroads. The population in 1810, was about 2,000; in 1830, 2,700; in 1840, 4,744; in 1850, 7,264. (Fanning's, 1853)

Place Unit Type
City or Town
Containing Unit
New Hanover County, NC

Wilmington, North Carolina (Fanning's, 1853)

Gazetteer/Almanac
WILMINGTON, p. v., seat of justice of New Hanover co., N. C., situated on Cape Fear river, 35 miles from the sea, 148 miles southeasterly from Raleigh, and 365 miles from Washington. A large shoal at the mouth of the harbor, in a great measure destroys the effect of its other natural advantages. Two islands divide the river into three channels opposite the town. They afford the finest rice-fields in the state. The great body of the exports and imports of North Carolina pass through this port, and it is the terminus of the Washington and Wilmington chain of railroads. The population in 1810, was about 2,000; in 1830, 2,700; in 1840, 4,744; in 1850, 7,264.
Fanning's Illustrated Gazetteer of the United States.... (New York: Phelps, Fanning & Co., 1853), 392.
Date Type
Famous former blockade runner, now a U.S. Navy patrol vessel, sunk in a collision off North Carolina Crime/Disasters
In North Carolina, Governor Ellis orders his state militia to occupy key federal forts Battles/Soldiers
Of Cape Hatteras, a Union transport ship burns and sinks, with at least five hundred men, women, and children lost Crime/Disasters
U.S. Revenue officers clash with smugglers in the waters of Wilmington, North Carolina. Crime/Disasters
U.S.S. Florida captures the blockade runner Calypso off the North Carolina coast. Battles/Soldiers
Birthplace of
Burial Place of
Name Type
Fort Fisher, NC Location or Site
Date Title
Charleston (SC) Mercury, “A Runaway Slave from Georgia Captured,” January 3, 1859
Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “The President’s Visit,” June 6, 1859
New York Herald,“Attempt of a Slave to Escape,” August 20, 1859
Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Secession Flag At Wilmington,” January 7, 1861
How to Cite This Page: "Wilmington, NC," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/14995.