3-011-882 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The War in America: Fort Fisher, commanding the new inlet entrance to Cape Fear River - the British steamer Hansa running the blockade under the guns of the Fort, 1864. Scene in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, '...from a sketch by our special artist...who writes: "As luck would have it, we discovered a blockade-running steamer, the Hansa, under our guns at dawn, and at the same time the Yankee blockaders also became aware of her presence and opened fire, thinking, as she had already got inside the bar (the line of white breakers just seaward of her), they would destroy her before she made the inlet. To get within range they had to expose themselves to the metal of the fort, which soon drove them off, leaving the Hansa at liberty to make her way safely into the river. The distant point of the island is Cape Fear. Fort Fisher is one of the strongest coast defences I have seen...that have hitherto held an entire iron-clad fleet at bay".' From "Illustrated London News", 1864.