3-003-874 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The War in America: Fort Ocracoke, on Beacon Island, North Carolina, destroyed by fire on the 17th September by the Federalists, 1861. 'On the 16th September an expedition left Fortress Monroe to take and destroy the [Confederate] fort on Beacon Island, near the entrance to the Sound. It was under the command of Lieutenant Eastman, of the Pawnee, and consisted of sixty-five men from the Coast Guard, and a detachment of sailors and marines from the Pawnee, in the ship's launch. The Coast Guard were on board the Fanny, which towed the launch down. The landing was safely effected. The fort was found deserted. The remainder of the day and the next day were occupied in destroying the pieces of ordnance found in the fort, of which twenty-two were rendered unserviceable. The torch was then applied to the bombproofs and magazines, and also to the lighthouse on the island. The conflagration raged furiously all night, the light being plainly visible thirty miles distant. After having completed the destruction of the fort, the expedition returned to Fort Monroe without the loss of a man'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.