This marker is alongside River Road between Wilmington and the Caswell/Oak Island beaches. It is in…read moregood condition and there is a grassy area where you can stop. Probably not legally, but I was only here for a minute. The marker reads, "Major General Howe was the commander of Southern Department of the Continental Line, 1776-78, and North Carolina's highest ranking officer. Lived 4 1/2 miles east." Online, there is more information. "Robert Howe, Continental army general, was born in 1732 in New Hanover County. Howe inherited a considerable fortune from his parents and grandparents, owning several large plantations in the New Hanover and Bladen counties. He served in several minor public posts in Bladen County, including as a militia captain and magistrate in the 1750s and 1760s. After Brunswick County formed, Howe was elected to the colonial assembly, a post he held for six consecutive terms. He also served as a militia officer for Brunswick County, and commanded Fort Johnston from 1769 to 1773. During the War of the Regulation, Howe commanded that artillery of Governor William Tryon at the Battle of Alamance." "At the outbreak of the Revolution, Howe served as a member of the Wilmington Committee of Safety and led the local militia that took control of Fort Johnston. On September 1, 1775, Howe was appointed colonel of the 2nd North Carolina Continental regiment. After the death of James Moore in 1777, Howe was appointed to succeed him as commander of the Southern Department and was promoted to major general on October 20, 1777." "Howe returned home in 1783 at the war's end, intent on resuming his life as a planter. In 1786 he was elected to the House of Commons, however he died on December 14, while traveling to the meeting of the body. He was the highest-ranking officer from North Carolina to serve in the American Revolution." [Review 14233 overall, 1556 of 2020, number 2676 in North Carolina.]

This marker near downtown Wilmington recalls the history of an escaped slave who joined the Union…read morenavy. It reads, "William B. Gould. 1837-1923. Was enslaved Bellamy plasterer. Escaped 1862 and joined Union navy. Kept detailed war diary. Lived 2 blocks north." Online, there is more information. "According to William B. Gould's death certificate, his mother was an enslaved person, Elizabeth Moore, and his father was an Englishman named Alexander Gould. William was owned by Nicholas Nixon, a prominent a peanut planter. During his youth, Gould gained skills in the building trade. Although teaching slaves to read had been outlawed in North Carolina in 1830, Gould also learned to read and write." "Around 1860, Gould began to work as a plasterer and mason on the Bellamy Mansion, on which construction began in 1859. The building would serve as the home of the family of Dr. John D. Bellamy, a Wilmington physician and merchant. James F. Post of New Jersey was the lead architect on the project. Gould created elaborate plasterwork throughout the main level of the mansion. He signed his initials, WBG, into the back of two sections of decorative plaster, one of which is on display at the Bellamy Mansion Museum today. The Bellamy Mansion is the only construction project on which Gould is confirmed to have worked. Bellamy is known to have hired Gould out, so it is probable that he worked on other construction assignments as well." "On September 21, 1862, Gould and seven other enslaved men escaped from Wilmington via the Cape Fear River and headed for the Union-occupied zone of the North Carolina coast. Six days later they were picked up by the USS Cambridge and recorded as "eight contrabands from Wilmington." Gould and his fellow escapees enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He began documenting his experiences on September 27, the day that he encountered the crewmen of the Cambridge. He kept the journal for three years; the last entry was dated September 29, 1865." "His is one of only three known diaries written by African American sailors during the Civil War, and is the only one penned by a former slave. Gould's diary was written in a spare style, as might be expected given the demanding routine of life aboard a naval vessel, which usually left little time for long reflective entries. Frequently entries include comments on the weather and various incidents of interest, sometimes serious and sometimes comic in nature, as well as brief descriptions of contacts with over Union naval vessels, encounters with the enemy, the pickup of other escaped slaves, references to letters from family of friends, notations to visitors of the ships, and, in the case of the European stint of the voyage, details of ports of call. Other entries briefly comment on the conduct of the war, such as Gould's April 16, 1864, expression of frustration regarding the failure of the U.S. government to retaliate for the recent massacre of black and white U.S. soldiers by Confederate troops at Fort Pillow, Tennessee." [Review 14493 overall, 1819 of 2020, number 2744 in North Carolina.]

This marker is located near the end of the Third Street median, adjacent to the removed Confederate…read moremonument. The marker points out the history of a religious leader in the city. The marker reads, "Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, 1886-1921. Installed as vicar apostolic of North Carolina (1868-72) at St. Thomas Church 1/2 block west." Online, there is more information. "Among the most important Roman Catholic leaders in North Carolina history, James Gibbons (1834-1921) was the first Vicar-Apostolic in the state. Born in Baltimore, Gibbons returned to his parents' native Ireland for his education. He served as a chaplain in Baltimore during the Civil War. At age thirty-four, he became a bishop and was assigned to serve the Diocese of North Carolina. He arrived in Wilmington in October 1868 and took up residence in the rectory of St. Thomas Church on Dock Street between Second and Third Streets." "While in Wilmington Gibbons worked on his best-known work, Faith of Our Fathers, published in 1876. Gibbons brought to the city the Sisters of Mercy, who opened a school for girls. He traveled regularly during his years in North Carolina. The number of church members was so small at that time that it was said that he knew all adult Catholics in North Carolina personally and could call them by name." "n 1872 Gibbons left Wilmington to become Bishop of Richmond and in 1877 became archbishop in Baltimore. In 1886 he was made a cardinal. He is considered the founder of Catholic University in Washington, D.C., which lay within his jurisdiction. He is buried in Baltimore." [Review 14586 overall, 85 of 2021, number 2797 in North Carolina.]

Not far from Town Creek Park, this marker points out the birthplace of North Carolina's 49th…read moreGovernor. The marker reads, "Daniel L. Russell, 1845-1908. Governor, 1897-1901; Superior Court judge, 1868-1874; member of Congress, 1879-1881. Born two miles northeast." "Daniel Lindsay Russell, Jr. (1845-1908) was elected to office by the uneasy "Fusion" alliance of Republicans and Populists in the bitter and racially charged election of 1896. Russell was nineteen when he was elected in 1864 to the first of two terms in the state House. With the advent of Radical Reconstruction, Russell sided with the new Republican regime and won election as a Superior Court judge, remaining in that position for six years. While Russell maintained a law office in Wilmington, his residence was in Brunswick County from which he was returned to the legislature in 1876. Two years later he entered the Third District Congressional race and served a single term." "By the early 1890s agrarian unrest and economic depression split the state's Democratic Party. The schism widened, giving the Republicans a long awaited opportunity. An alliance with Populists resulted in victories in 1896 that removed control of the legislature from the Democrats and placed Republican Russell in the governor's office." [Review 13994 overall, 1316 of 2020, number 2634 in North Carolina.]

This historical marker denotes a local citizen who was born here and educated here then went on to…read moredo great things for the people and the State of North Carolina. The marker reads, "Thomas F. Wood, 1841-1892. Organizer & Secretary-Treasurer of State Board of Health, 1877-1892. Founded North Carolina Medical Journal in 1878. Home was 1 block west." Online, there is more information. "Thomas Fanning Wood, born in Wilmington, attended public schools in that city and upon completion went to work in a drugstore. He studied medicine with several local physicians, a common way of gaining a medical education at the time. Wood's volunteer service for the Confederate army gave him the opportunity to attend classes at the Medical College of Virginia while serving as a hospital steward in Richmond. While in service he passed a medical exam and in 1863 was appointed an assistant surgeon." "After the war Wood returned to Wilmington where he established a private practice. There was a devastating smallpox epidemic in Wilmington from 1865 to 1866, during which time Wood ran a hospital for indigent blacks stricken with the disease. His experiences there led him to promote Edward Jenner's smallpox inoculation in North Carolina. Wood recognized the need for state involvement in public health issues and would be engaged in that form of politics for the rest of his life." "The General Assembly passed a bill establishing the North Carolina Board of Health in 1877 and increased its authority and funding in 1879 and again in 1885. Wood was elected secretary-treasurer of the initial board in 1877 and held that position until his death in 1892. The successful launching of the board was due in large part to the efforts of Wood, who wrote as many as 200 letters per month on behalf of the organization. In 1878 he co-founded the North Carolina Medical Journal, the publication of the North Carolina Medical Society. He was the principal editor of the journal for the remainder of his life. He was active as a public health administrator in many organizations and his contributions to medical literature are significant." [Review 14560 overall, 58 of 2021, number 2795 in North Carolina.]

This marker notes an important event during the Colonial Era. There is a small spot to stop here if…read moreyou wish and the marker is in excellent condition. It reads, "Stamp Act. Armed citizens led a protest in Feb. 1766 at Brunswick, seat of royal power, 2 miles southeast." The spot is the nearby Brunswick Town historic site, https://www.yelp.com/biz/brunswick-town-fort-anderson-state-historic-site-winnabow?hrid=-SdScFPXQAgnBgruEnXR1w Online, "As England was having difficulty maintaining order in the colonies, Parliament turned to economic measures such as the Stamp Act of 1765. The law placed taxes on most forms of paper in the colonies, including newspapers, letters, pamphlets, and wills. While Parliament intended to defray costs incurred from stationing British troops in the colonies at critical sites such as Boston, the imposition of the tax drove many colonies to the brink of rebellion." "A collective shudder raced through the colonies at the news of the approval of the Stamp Act. On October 19 1765, angry mobs collected in the streets and alleys of Wilmington to burn the likeness of "a certain honorable gentleman," most likely the state tax collector, William Houston." "A series of events unraveled in North Carolina that illustrated the colony's stern resistance to the tax. In February of 1766, Speaker John Ashe, Cornelius Harnett, James Moore, and Col. Hugh Waddell, led several hundred citizens through Brunswick, arresting key royal officials and forcing the comptroller to resign. Other similar acts of defiance in North Carolina and elsewhere took their toll on British resolve. Within a few months, the colonies learned that Parliament had repealed the Stamp Act." I knew that there was rebellion in Boston, of course. I did not know that there was so in North Carolina so this was interesting to learn. [Review 14027 overall, 1349 of 2020, number 2666 in North Carolina.]

This is the right spot for this marker and refers to a spot about 7 miles upriver from the…read moreBrunswick Town historic site. This marker is across the street from a convenience store so there's a spot to stop. The marker reads, "Center of a colony from Barbados led by John Vassall, 1664. Abandoned by 1667. Was located 2 miles East on Town Creek." Online, "Sir John Colleton of Barbados, one of the eight Lords Proprietors, played a role in securing the Carolina Charter of 1663. John Vassall, a Barbadian merchant, in 1663 organized the "Corporation of Barbadian Adventurers" with Colleton as their chief advocate in England. The company selected William Hilton to make an exploratory voyage to Carolina. Hilton left Barbados on August 10, 1663, sailed to Port Royal and then up to coast to Cape Fear. He spent several weeks exploring and scouting the location for a colony. Hilton returned to Barbados in January 1664." " A rift developed within the company with some urging immediate settlement and with others holding out for the negotiation of better terms with the Lords Proprietors. John Vassall organized a rival group and sought rights from the Proprietors. Vassall sailed to Cape Fear in May 1664 and selected a settlement site for Charles Town on a high bluff on the west site of the Cape Fear River north of Town Creek. He erected a fortified compound with several buildings. Within two years about 800 people were living in the colony. Many chose to settle along the branches of the river, seeking out the higher ground, some as far as sixty miles from Charles Town." "Problems from within and from the outside led to its failure. These included stress, internal complaints and bickering, and fighting with nearby Indians. In London the government was distracted by fire, plague, and other domestic and foreign crises. In 1666 Sir John Colleton died removing from the scene their patron. The settlers drifted away from Charles Town beginning in the fall of 1666. By early 1667 John Vassall, who had invested much of his personal fortune to keep the colony in place, reported that it was abandoned. A second "Charles Town" backed by many of the same Barbadians arose on the Ashley River in 1670. This in time developed into present-day city of Charleston, South Carolina." [Review 13983 overall, 1305 of 2020, number 2623 in North Carolina.]

As my brother served on the Kearsarge (the much more modern one), and Wilmington is the home of the…read moreUSS North Carolina, this was particularly cool. The marker reads, "John A. Winslow. Capt. U.S.S. "Kearsarge," which sank Confederate raider "Alabama," 1864, rear admiral United States Navy, 1870-1873. Birthplace was one block west." Online, there is more information. "A naval officer of some repute during the Civil War, John Ancrum Winslow (1811-1873) was born in Wilmington. He enrolled as a midshipman as early as 1827 and served in the Mexican War. As enthusiastic abolitionist, his allegiances were not in doubt with the outbreak of the sectional struggle in 1861." "As an officer in the Union Navy, he commanded the USS Kearsarge in 1863-1864. He was ordered to pursue the CSS Alabama and blockaded that vessel in the harbor of Cherbourg, France, June 14-19, 1864. Captain Raphael Semmes of the Alabama engaged Winslow's vessel and, after ninety minutes of fighting, raised the white flag of surrender. The victory was made all the more glorious by virtue of its European setting. The recipient of wide acclaim, Winslow was promoted to commodore and to rear admiral after the war. He died in Massachusetts." [Review 14517 overall, 14 of 2021, number 2762 in North Carolina.]