August 2011: Civil War on the Outer Banks |
Books that tell stories of the Civil War,
Life Saving Stations on Hatteras Island
by GeeGee Rosell
When we think of the Civil War, Hatteras Island is not usually the first location that comes to mind. And yet Hatteras was crucial to many of the campaigns.
Little known facts come to light withing the well-illustrated pages of "Civil War on Hatteras Island" by Drew PUllen and Bob Drapala. Drawing on the journals of Union soldier Edwin Graves Champney and the notes of 9th New York Volunteers Charles E. Johnson, Hatteras Island becomes the land of mosquito laden marshes and brutal heat on the open beach. the daily lives of the soldiers are recorded here.
Along with the occupation of the island itself, much maritime action occurred along the shores of Hatters. The ownership of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse played a large role in the success of the delivery of troops and supplies along the coast. Not the barber pole structure that stands today, the light in the 1860s was octagonal and bicolor. The lens was the Fresnel.
In 1861 the Confederate army ordered the lens removed so the Union couldn't use the light for navigations. The lens was transported and supposedly stored for safekeeping.
Subsequently declared lost, it was not until 2002 that Kevin Duffus, historian and author of "The Lost Light" solved the mystery.
Historically accurate, yet reading like the best mystery story, "The Lost Light" is a fascinationg read detailing wartime chaos and the morass of bureaucratic paperwork.
A lovely piece of fiction set in the era of post Civil War reconstruction, "Outer Banks House" by Diann Ducharme, is an evocative story of the first house built on the oceanfront in Nags Head.
After the end of the Civil War, plantation owners on the mainland were without the help of the slaves who had cared for their wives and families. In earlier years the planters themselves had journeyed to the island off the coast to duck hunt. thinking that it might be a way to escape the heat, they sent their wives and children to the coast for the summer.
Originally lodging in hotels on the sound side, the idea formed to build houses on pilings to catch the ocean breezes. thus began the OUter banks vacation tradition.
The United States Life Saving Service has a long and valiant history on Hatteras Island. The rescue teams were first organized in 1848, formally names in 1878 and are the forerunner of the Coast Guard of 1915.
The station on Pea Island, Station 17, which is no longer standing, was the scene of some of the most historic and heroic rescues in the entire service. Two books memorialize this station and its crew, who were known as surfmen.
"Fire on the Beach" by David Wright and David Zoby, is a well-researched and well-written account of the only all-black, self-segregated crew of Life Savers.
Performing feats of selfless bravery at a time when our country was uncertain, at best, about the moral nature of folks who had formerly been considered property, "Fire on the Beach" presents an inspiring portrait of one group of men who went above and beyond. It is now available as the documentary "Rescue Warriors." This story is also told in a book for younger readers, "Storm Warriors" by Elisa Carbone.
