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86-615: Davis, a railroad attorney and minor local figure before the war, was a pro-Union member of the Whig Party. After secession, he accepted appointments to the Confederate senate and as attorney general. He was a skilled orator who spoke publicly in March 1861 that North Carolina should secede from the United States of America principally to preserve the economic interest in chattel slavery. The statue

172-580: A Categorical Answer whether I intended to put the Act relating [to] the Stamps in force. The Town Bell was rung[,] Drums [were] beating, Colours [were] flying and [a] great concourse of People [were] gathered together." For the sake of his own life, and "to quiet the Minds of the inraged [ sic ] and furious Mobb...," Houston resigned his position at the courthouse. Governor William Tryon made attempts to mitigate

258-594: A blockade to reduce the goods received by the South. The city was captured by Union forces in the Battle of Wilmington in February 1865, about one month after the fall of Fort Fisher had closed the port. Wilmington was the last Confederate port to be captured. As nearly all the military action took place some distance from the city, numerous antebellum houses and other buildings survived the war years. In mid-August 1862, Wilmington

344-456: A bronze sculpture of two soldiers. One soldier, standing with a rifle, protects a wounded soldier holding a broken sword. It was sited on the median of a busy street near Wilmington's downtown nightlife district. The memorial has a history of being struck by vehicles and as a target for vandals. Motor vehicles have so damaged the memorial that its granite stele and pedestal have been completely replaced with new stone twice—in 1954 and in 1999. On

430-432: A cadre of White Democrats, professionals, and businessmen planned to overthrow the city government if their candidates were not elected. Two days after the election, in which a White Republican was elected mayor and both White and Black aldermen were elected, more than 1500 White men (led by Democrat Alfred M. Waddell , an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in 1896) attacked and burned the only Black-owned daily newspaper in

516-647: A city official said was less distracting to drivers. The city government did not reveal the storage location. On August 2, 2021, the City Council approved an agreement with Cape Fear 3, United Daughters of the Confederacy to permanently remove the monument from public land. Gabriel James Boney had been a soldier in Company H, 40th North Carolina Regiment during the American Civil War . He returned to Wilmington after

602-471: A claim on the statue. The claim was based on the facts that, at the time, the UDC chapter had commissioned the statue and had sought city permission to erect it on public property using private funds. The city attorney concurred. In a July 5 letter to the city, Cape Fear 3 requested that the city hold the monument in storage until Cape Fear 3 had made arrangements to take possession. With the statue already in storage,

688-556: A gang investigative unit. Less than half of Wilmington's population is religiously affiliated (47.30%), with the majority of practitioners being Christian . The two largest Christian denominations in Wilmington are Protestant: Baptists (14.66%) and Methodists (8.29%), followed by Roman Catholics (7.42%). There are also a significant number of Presbyterians (3.19%), Episcopalians (2.30%), Pentecostals (1.45%), and Lutherans (1.32%). Other Christian denominations make up 7.02%, and

774-519: A half tons and shows gilded seals of North Carolina and the former Confederate States of America . Inscriptions on the pedestal include a long, spurious encomium to Davis's alleged virtues. A decade later, the UDC hired Packer to sculpt another confederate memorial (removed, August 2021) one block south, at Third Street and Dock Street. The monument stood on a grassy traffic island in Market Street just east of its intersection with Third Street —

860-952: A major water source for the region. It was also revealed that the same plant had been discharging the chemical compound since 1980. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump designated Wilmington as the first World War II Heritage City in the country due to the city's contributions during the war. The Audubon Trolley Station , Brookwood Historic District , Carolina Heights Historic District , Carolina Place Historic District , City Hall/Thalian Hall , Delgrado School , Federal Building and Courthouse , Fort Fisher , Gabriel's Landing , James Walker Nursing School Quarters , Market Street Mansion District , Masonboro Sound Historic District , Moores Creek National Battlefield , Sunset Park Historic District , USS North Carolina (BB-55) National Historic Landmark , Westbrook-Ardmore Historic District , William Hooper School (Former) , Wilmington Historic District , and Wilmington National Cemetery are listed on

946-506: A new 6-inch curb. On June 29, a crowd rallied, demanding the city to remove the monument. In the early hours of July 4, an unknown person threw orange paint on the monument. In June, the City of Wilmington removed the statue, but not its pedestal, to "protect the public safety and to preserve important historical artifacts." Later, the pedestal was covered with a black shroud, obscuring its inscriptions. In September, Wilmington's mayor said that

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1032-512: A new name, Wilmington, in honor of Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington . Some early settlers of Wilmington came from the Albemarle and Pamlico regions, as well as from the colonies of Virginia and South Carolina , but most new settlers migrated from the northern colonies , the West Indies , and Northern Europe . Many of the early settlers were indentured servants from Northern Europe. As

1118-568: A third party and spread by mosquitoes in the city. During the Reconstruction era , former free Blacks and newly emancipated freedmen built a community in the city. About 55% of its residents were Black people. At the time, Wilmington was the largest city and the economic capital of the state. Three of the city's aldermen were Black. Black people were also in positions of justice of the peace, deputy clerk of court, street superintendent, coroners, policemen, mail clerks, and mail carriers. At

1204-504: A tourist attraction in the late 20th century. In 2003, the city was designated by the U.S. Congress as a "Coast Guard City", one of 29 cities that currently bear that designation. It was formerly the home port for the USCGC ; Diligence , a United States Coast Guard medium-endurance cutter . Wilmington was declared the first World War II Heritage City in the country in 2020. The World War II battleship USS  North Carolina , now

1290-599: A war memorial, is moored across from the downtown port area, and is open to the public for tours. Other attractions include the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science and the Children's Museum of Wilmington. The city is home to the University of North Carolina Wilmington . Wilmington is also the home of Cinespace Wilmington , the largest domestic television and movie production facility outside California. Dream Stage 10,

1376-400: A wide effort by the UDC and others, long after the failure of the Confederacy, to insert the false Lost Cause Narrative into the cultural memory, announce to nonwhites the final defeat of Reconstruction , and to support white supremacy . It took years for the women of Cape Fear 3 to realize their vision. UDC Cape Fear Chapter 3 began raising money in 1904 but fundraising was slow, despite

1462-444: Is Life Since love remembers. The motto Pro Aris Et Focis translates from Latin as "For Altars and Hearths". The motto has been used for centuries mostly by military organizations, and is often transliterated in myth as "for God and Country". ( Pro Deo et Patria is an equally ancient and more common Latin motto directly translated as "For God and Country".) In the context of Lost Cause mythology, "For Altars and Hearths"

1548-521: Is a legacy of Gabriel James Boney Born Wallace, NC 1846 – Died Wilmington, NC 1915 The inscription is a rewriting of a poem about Christmas to suit Confederate memorial needs. The poem was printed in The Canadian Monthly 's January 1876 issue, more than 40 years before planning on the monument began. The author was Anglo-Irish diplomat Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava . Dufferin had no involvement with

1634-563: Is home to the Bijou Theater, which began as a tent in 1904 and progressed to a permanent structure in 1906. It operated until 1956, making it the oldest movie theater in the state and one of the oldest, continuously running theaters in the country. In 1910, Charlotte passed Wilmington to become North Carolina's largest city. In the mid-20th century, efforts to preserve many historic building began. Due to this, many historic buildings were listed as National Register of Historic Places . Since

1720-400: Is intended to place within the public memory the falsehood that the Confederacy did not fight in the American Civil War principally for the preservation of chattel slavery. Historians suggest that similar monuments erected by the UDC are pieces of a far wider national effort by the UDC and others, decades after the surrender of the confederacy, to insert the false Lost Cause Narrative into

1806-507: Is land and 1.56 square miles (4.0 km ) (2.95%) is water. Wrightsville Beach is a common destination in the Wilmington area. Carolina Beach and Kure Beach also add to the city's attractions. Wilmington has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), with these characteristics: Wilmington boasts a large historic district encompassing nearly 300 blocks. Abandoned warehouses on downtown's northern end have been recently demolished making room for multimillion dollar projects, such as what

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1892-575: Is part of North Carolina's Research coast, adjacent to the Research Triangle Park in Durham . Also important to Wilmington's economy is tourism due to its close proximity to the ocean and vibrant nightlife. Retail areas include the Cotton Exchange of Wilmington and Independence Mall . Confederate Memorial (Wilmington, North Carolina) The Confederate Memorial was erected in 1924 by

1978-560: The Wilmington Daily Record , one of the few Black-owned newspapers in the state, which was reported to be the only one in the country. In the 1890s, a coalition of Republicans and Populists had gained state and federal offices. The Democrats were determined to reassert their control. Violence increased around elections in this period, as armed White paramilitary insurgents, known as Red Shirts , worked to suppress Black and Republican voting. White Democrats regained control of

2064-567: The 2020 census , it is the eighth-most populous city in the state . The county seat of New Hanover County, it is the principal city of the Wilmington metropolitan area , which includes New Hanover, Brunswick , and Pender counties. As of 2023, the region had an estimated population of 467,337. Wilmington's residential area lies between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean , and

2150-612: The 2020 census , there were 115,451 people, 54,673 households, and 27,131 families residing in the city. At the 2013 census estimate , there were 112,067 people and 47,003 households in the city. The population density was 2,067.8 inhabitants per square mile (798.4/km ) and there were 53,400 housing units. The racial composition of the city was: 73.5% White , 19.9% Black or African American , 6.1% Hispanic or Latino American , 1.2% Asian American , 0.5% Native American , 0.1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander . There were 34,359 households, out of which 20.4% had children under

2236-791: The American Civil War . Between 1860 and 1864, he was assigned to a diplomatic posting in Syria , and through the remainder of the 1860s served as Britain's Under-Secretary of State for India. At the time the poem was written, Dufferin was Governor-General of Canada. CHRISTMAS by the Earl of Dufferin 'Tis Christmas Day! To one another I hear men say— Alas! my brother! Its wind blows bitter, Our Christmas suns No longer glitter As former ones!— If this be so, Then let us borrow From long ago Surcease of sorrow;— Let dead Yules lend Their bright reflections, Let fond friends blend Their recollections;— Let Love revive Joy's ashen embers, For Love

2322-465: The Cape Fear River , at the confluence of its northwest and northeast branches. The settlement, founded by the first royal governor, George Burrington , was called New Carthage, and then New Liverpool; it gradually took on the name New Town or Newton. Governor Gabriel Johnston soon after established his government there for the North Carolina colony . In 1739 or 1740, the town was incorporated with

2408-480: The Eastern Siouan family. In the early 16th century, Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano , commissioned by the king of France with a French crew, was reportedly the first European to see this area, including the city's present site. The first permanent colonial settlement in the area was established in the 1720s by European settlers . In September 1732, a community was founded on land owned by John Watson on

2494-701: The Latter-Day Saints have 0.90%. Much smaller is the proportion of residents who follow Islam (0.46%), and Judaism (0.25%). A small percentage of people practice Eastern religions (0.04%). Wilmington has significant historical religious buildings, such as the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary and the Temple of Israel . Wilmington's industrial base includes electrical, medical, electronic and telecommunications equipment; clothing and apparel; food processing; paper products; nuclear fuel; and pharmaceuticals. Wilmington

2580-598: The National Register of Historic Places . Wilmington is the eastern terminus of Interstate 40 , an east-west freeway that ends 2,554 miles away at Barstow, California , where it joins I-15, the gateway to Southern California. This road passes through many major cities and state capitals along the way. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 52.97 square miles (137.2 km ), of which 51.41 square miles (133.2 km )

2666-565: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina , delivered the dedication speech. The Delgado Band was hired for $ 25 to provide musical accompaniment. Connor's dedicatory remarks contained hallmarks that many historians have ascribed to examples of revisionist Lost Cause mythology. Connor falsely described Davis's making war against the United States as "patriotism" and Davis's call for secession from

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2752-568: The 1980s, Wilmington has remained the largest film and television production area in the state; many locations in and outside the city have been used for filming . In 1990, the extension of Interstate 40 to New Hanover County was opened and officially connected the region to the Interstate Highway System . During World War II , Wilmington was the home of the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company . The shipyard

2838-550: The Union as "moderation in speech": “You shall bring your sons to this spot, tell them the story of his life, of his patriotism of his loyalty to high thinking and noble living, of his moderation in speech, his patience under defeat, of his devotion to your City and State as a perpetual illustration and an enduring example of the dignity, the worth of a high-souled, pure-hearted Christian gentleman.” The Sons of Confederate Veterans "George Davis Camp 5" celebrated George Davis's birthday at

2924-419: The age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.5% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.77. In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.4% under

3010-461: The age of 18, 17.2% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 31,099, and the median income for a family was $ 41,891. Males had a median income of $ 30,803 versus $ 23,423 for females. The per capita income for

3096-459: The city agreed to move the pedestal into storage as well. In August, the City Council approved the agreement. In a statement, the government said the effects of the vote were to permanently remove the monument from public land and avoid litigation. Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina . With a population of 115,451 as of

3182-476: The city developed as a commercial port in the colonial era. Toward the end of the 19th century, Wilmington was a majority-black, racially integrated, prosperous city – and the largest in North Carolina. It suffered what became known as the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 when white supremacists launched a coup that overthrew the legitimately elected local Fusionist government. It resulted in

3268-411: The city government had covered the stele and pedestal with a black shroud, obscuring the inscriptions. The removal of the statue was coincident with the announcement by the city government that three police officers had been fired for "brutally racist" conversations recorded on official police equipment. A few weeks later, the black canvas was covered with khaki-colored canvas, a more neutral color that

3354-557: The city had a significant community of free people of color , who developed businesses and trades. For a period up to Nat Turner 's rebellion, they had been allowed to vote, carry arms, and serve in the militia. Fears after the rebellion resulted in the state legislature passing laws to restrict the rights of free Blacks. During the Civil War , the port was the major base for Confederate and privately owned blockade runners , which delivered badly needed supplies from England. The Union mounted

3440-465: The city was $ 21,503. About 13.3% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. Wilmington has an increasing problem with gang violence, and on October 15, 2013, the WPD and NHC sheriff's department created a joint task force to combat gang violence. Just a day later the city council approved $ 142,000 in funding for

3526-528: The city's capture by the Union Army in 1865 during the US Civil War . The cornerstone of the monument was laid on October 14, 1909, during a Masonic ceremony. Within the cornerstone were placed: The monument was dedicated on April 20, 1911, by four of Davis's grandsons: M.F.H. Gouverneur Jr. , Donald McRae Jr. , George Rountree , and Robert Cowan Davis . U.S. District Court Judge Henry G. Connor of

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3612-472: The completion of I-40. The city successfully annexed the areas of Seagate in 1998 and Masonboro in 2000. The annexation of Monkey Junction was stopped in 2012 by the North Carolina House of Representatives after local backlash. In 2017, a chemical compound called GenX , discharged by a Chemours plant near Fayetteville, North Carolina , was first found to be present in the Cape Fear River ;

3698-408: The crossroads of the city. It stood within sight of Wilmington's city hall , the New Hanover County courthouse and St. James Episcopal Parish , the city's oldest Christian church. The statue faced west, toward the terminus of Market Street at the Cape Fear River , a marketplace where enslaved men, women and children were sold from the days of the city's settlement in the early 18th century until

3784-688: The death of Arthur Dobbs ), was brought to Wilmington by Captain Constantine Phipps on a barge from the Diligence , and "was received cordially by the gentlemen of the borough." He was greeted with the firing of seventeen pieces of artillery , and the New Hanover County Regiment of the North Carolina militia , who had lined the streets. This "warm welcome" was spoiled, however, after a dispute arose between Captain Phipps and captains of ships in

3870-425: The election of 1860, he supported a pro-Union, third-party candidate for president. However, his position changed during his attendance at the failed Washington Peace Conference in February 1861. On March 2, 1861, Davis gave a public speech in Wilmington on secession. In it, he declared himself a secessionist. He argued that North Carolina should secede in order to preserve slavery: "The division must be made on

3956-504: The enslaved population. Because of the unrest, Tryon moved his seat of government to New Bern instead of Wilmington. On February 18, 1766, two merchant ships arrived without stamped papers at Brunswick Town . Each ship provided signed statements from the collectors at their respective ports of origin that no were stamps available, but Captain Jacob Lobb of the British cruiser Viper seized

4042-466: The estate of veteran Gabriel James Boney , the United Daughters of the Confederacy , and a Confederate veterans association in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. In August 2021, the City of Wilmington removed it from public land and stored it, awaiting the UDC chapter to take possession. The memorial is a 40-foot, 11-ton stele of white granite and a granite pedestal. Upon the pedestal was placed

4128-409: The expulsion of opposition black and white political leaders from the city, destruction of the property and businesses of black citizens, including the city's only black newspaper, and deaths ranging from an estimated 60 to more than 300 people. By 1910, Charlotte overtook Wilmington as North Carolina's largest city. Wilmington's downtown includes a 1.75-mile (2.82 km) riverwalk, developed as

4214-801: The facility's newest sound stage, is the third-largest in the United States. It houses the largest special-effects water tank in North America. After the studio complex's opening in 1984, Wilmington became a major center of American film and television production. Numerous movies and television series —in a range of genres—have been filmed/produced in or near the city, including The Black Phone , Blue Velvet , The Conjuring , The Crow (1994), Dawson's Creek , Eastbound & Down , Halloween Kills , I Know What You Did Last Summer , Iron Man 3 , One Tree Hill , Outer Banks , Scream (2022), The Summer I Turned Pretty , Super Mario Bros. , and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . The city

4300-580: The first cornerstone was laid, and construction began on a new city hall. A grant from the Thalian Association funded the attached opera house, named Thalian Hall. In 1857, the city opened its first public school, named the Union Free School, on 6th Street between Nun and Church Streets, serving White students. Wilmington had a Black majority population before the Civil War. While most were slaves,

4386-417: The following days. This is the only such coup d'état in United States history. Whites attacked and killed an estimated 10–100 Blacks; no Whites died in the violence. As a result of the attacks, more than 2100 Blacks permanently left the city, leaving a hole among its professional and middle classes. The demographic change was so large that the city became majority White, rather than the majority Black it

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4472-432: The government said it considered the matter of the disposition of the statue closed. When the monument project was conceived, Davis was well-remembered among the city's white elite as a skilled orator. The statue depicts Davis, hand on lectern, giving a speech. In his political life before 1861, Davis was not a member of the regionally dominant Democratic Party , but a Whig . Until March 1861, he opposed secession. During

4558-420: The harbor regarding the display of their colors. The townspeople became infuriated with Phipps and threats were made against both sides. After Tryon harangued them for their actions, the townspeople gathered around the barrels of punch and ox he had brought as refreshments. The barrels were broken open, letting the punch spill into the streets; they threw the head of the ox into the pillory , and gave its body to

4644-493: The indentured servants gained their freedom and fewer could be persuaded to travel to North America because of improving conditions back home, the settlers imported an increasing number of slaves to satisfy the labor demand. By 1767, African slaves accounted for more than 62% of the population of the Lower Cape Fear region. Many worked in the port as laborers, and some in ship-related trades. Naval stores and lumber fueled

4730-504: The line of slavery. The State must go with the South." The idea for the monument was conceived by Cape Fear 3, United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in 1901 — three years after white mobs used violence to illegally remove a duly elected biracial government during the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 , five years after Davis's death and 36 years after the Confederacy's defeat . Historians have stated that similar monuments are evidence of

4816-474: The monument marked the northern entrance to an elite neighborhood—one built, beginning in the mid-18th century, by the city's wealthiest and most powerful whites. The nearest home, at 100 South Third Street, was the Elizabeth Bridgers House , a 15,000 square foot mansion constructed in 1905 for the widowed daughter-in-law of Confederate politician Robert Rufus Bridgers . A motor vehicle knocked

4902-433: The monument. Davis's descendants held a ceremony at the monument. In October, a truck belonging to Hanover Iron Works knocked the statue from its base, causing a dent to the back of the head and cracks to the neck and right shoulder. Repairs, which included re-carving the base, cost $ 25,000 and took more than a year to complete. The monument was re-erected in February 2002, 6 feet from its original site, and raised up on

4988-587: The new law, burned an effigy of one town resident who favored the act, and toasted to "Liberty, Property, and No Stamp Duty." On October 31, another crowd gathered in a symbolic funeral of "Liberty". Before the effigy was buried, though, Liberty was found to have a pulse, and celebration ensued. William Houston of Duplin County was appointed stamp receiver for Cape Fear. When Houston visited Wilmington on business, still unaware of his appointment, he recounted, "The Inhabitants immediately assembled about me & demanded

5074-686: The north and dedicated in 1911. 1861–1865 To the Soldiers of the Confederacy Erected by a Committee under the testator's Will representing the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Veterans Association and his Executor MCMXXIV Confederates blend your recollections Let memory weave its bright reflections Let love revive life's ashen embers For love is life since love remembers PRO ARIS ET FOCIS This monument

5160-505: The opposition, to no avail. On November 18, 1765, he pleaded his case directly to prominent residents of the area. They said the law restricted their rights. When the stamps arrived on November 28 on HMS Diligence , Tryon ordered them to be kept on board. Shipping on the Cape Fear River was stopped, as were the functions of the courts. Tryon, after having received his official commission as governor (a position he had assumed only after

5246-492: The pedestal is an inscription in verse. The lines are a rewriting in Confederate terms of an unrelated Canadian poem from the 1870s, " 'Tis Christmas". In 2020, the memorial became a flashpoint of demonstrations against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd . In the early morning hours of June 25, 2020, the City of Wilmington removed the statue, citing public safety and protection of historical relics. By June 30,

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5332-605: The principal designer of the Lincoln Memorial . He spent much of his youth in Wilmington and is buried there. The statue was sculpted by Francis Herman Packer , a native of Germany who lived on Long Island, New York , and was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens . A decade earlier, Packer had been hired by a United Daughters of Confederacy chapter in Wilmington to sculpt the Confederate George Davis Monument (removed, August 2021), located one block to

5418-416: The project, organizers changed the terminus to Weldon . When the railroad line was completed in 1840, it was the longest single line of railroad track in the world. The railroad also controlled a fleet of steamboats that ran between Wilmington and Charleston ; these were used both for passenger travel and freight. Regular boat lines served Fayetteville , and packet lines traveled to northern ports. The city

5504-400: The public memory, announce to nonwhites the final defeat of Reconstruction , and to support white supremacy . The monument was erected in 1924 at the northmost end of the grassy median within the 100 block of South Third Street, at its intersection with Dock Street. The intersection is one block south of the historic crossroads of the city at Third Street and Market Street. For decades,

5590-525: The region to swear never to issue stamped paper. The Westminster Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766. In the 1830s, citizens of Wilmington became eager to take advantage of railroad transportation . At this time, the shipping tonnage registered at Wilmington was 9,035. Plans were developed to build a railroad line from the capital, Raleigh , to Wilmington. When Raleigh citizens declined to subscribe in sufficient number to stock to raise money for

5676-577: The region's economy, both before and after the American Revolution . During the Revolutionary War, the British maintained a garrison at Fort Johnston near Wilmington. Due to Wilmington's commercial importance as a major port, it had a critical role in opposition to the British in the years leading up to the revolution. The city had outspoken political leaders who influenced and led the resistance movement in North Carolina. The foremost of these

5762-405: The state and ran off the new officers. They overthrew the legitimately elected municipal government. Waddell and his men forced the elected Republican city officials to resign at gunpoint and replaced them with men selected by leading White Democrats. Waddell was elected mayor by the newly seated board of aldermen that day. Prominent Black Americans and White Republicans were banished from the city in

5848-480: The state legislature and sought to impose white supremacy , but some Blacks continued to be elected to local offices. The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 (also known as the Wilmington Race Riot) occurred as a result of the racially charged political conflict that had occurred in the decades after the Civil War and efforts by White Democrats to re-establish white supremacy and overturn Black voting. In 1898,

5934-471: The threat to public safety that conditioned the memorial's dismantling continued. A majority of the Wilmington City Council told a journalist that the disposition of the city's Confederate monuments was not a high priority. The city attorney had been assigned to research ownership and other issues. During that process, Cape Fear 3, United Daughters of the Confederacy approached the city and asserted

6020-475: The time, Black people accounted for over 30% of Wilmington's skilled craftsmen, such as mechanics, carpenters, jewelers, watchmakers, painters, plasterers, plumbers, stevedores, blacksmiths, masons, and wheelwrights. In addition, they owned 10 of the city's 11 restaurants and were 90% of the city's 22 barbers. The city had more Black bootmakers/shoemakers than White ones, and half of the city's tailors were Black. Lastly, two brothers, Alexander and Frank Manly, owned

6106-588: The total amount raised to $ 5,010.34 ($ 169,906 in 2023 dollars). The statue was sculpted by Francis Herman Packer, a native of Germany who lived on Long Island, New York and was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens . The sculptor's travel was paid for by Sprunt. Packer's sculpture was cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in 1910 in Rhode Island . The statue is 8 feet tall bound bronze weighing 1,700 pounds. The stone pedestal weighs five and

6192-551: The urgency the UDC presented to the community. The minute book of the chapter shows fundraising was complete in April 1909, with the chapter having raised nearly $ 900. The rest was raised by James Sprunt , a cotton brokerage heir who as a young man had worked aboard blockade-running commercial ships and was a profiteer during the US Civil War. Sprunt provided funding he said he had gathered from friends and colleagues. His portion brought

6278-513: The vessels. In response, numerous residents from southern counties met in Wilmington. The group organized as the Sons of Liberty and pledged to block implementation of the Stamp Act. The following day, as many as a thousand men, including the mayor and aldermen of Wilmington, were led by Cornelius Harnett to Brunswick to confront Tryon. The governor was unyielding, but a mob retrieved the seized ships. They forced royal customs officers and public officials in

6364-411: The war and became a wealthy mill owner. He was elected a city alderman and later to the state General Assembly. He was active in a Confederate veteran's association in Wilmington. He never married and had no children. Upon his death in 1915, he left $ 25,000 ($ 753,000 in 2023 dollars) to be used "for a suitable memorial to the Confederate soldier." The monument was designed by Henry Bacon , who had been

6450-477: The yellow fever victims during the outbreak and claimed that the dirtiness of the city and the fumes of the dirty water left by heavy rains caused the disease. By the end of the outbreak at least 1,500 and perhaps as many as 2,000, contracted yellow fever. Of those, between 650 and 800 died, a mortality rate approximately 40 percent Walter Reed would later discover in 1900 that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes, so Wilmington's outbreak had to be introduced by

6536-715: Was Wilmington resident Cornelius Harnett , who was serving in the General Assembly at the time, and where he rallied opposition to the Sugar Act in 1764. When the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act the following year, designed to raise revenue for the Crown with a kind of tax on shipping, Wilmington was the site of an elaborate demonstration against it. On October 19, 1765, several hundred townspeople gathered in protest of

6622-566: Was a main stopover point, contributing greatly to its commerce. By mid-century, the churchyard of St. James Episcopal Church and other town cemeteries had become filled with graves. On November 16, 1853, a group of citizens, organized as "the Proprietors of the Wilmington Cemetery", was formed to develop a new cemetery . Sixty-five acres of land around Burnt Mill Creek were chosen as the site for what would be called Oakdale Cemetery . It

6708-443: Was before the coup. Following these events, the North Carolina legislature passed a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration , imposing requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests that effectively disfranchised most Black voters, following the example of Mississippi. Blacks were essentially excluded from the political system until after the enactment of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 . Wilmington

6794-409: Was covered with a shroud. By June 30, the pedestal was covered with a black shroud, which obscured the inscriptions. On August 2, 2021, the City Council voted to permanently remove the monument from public property. The city recognized ownership by Cape Fear 3, United Daughters of the Confederacy. The city will store away the statue and pedestal until the UDC is ready to take possession. In a statement,

6880-404: Was created as part of the U.S. government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program . Workers built 243 ships in Wilmington during the five years the company operated. Three prisoner-of-war (POW) camps operated in the city from February 1944 through April 1946. At their peak, the camps held 550 German prisoners. The first camp was located on the corner of Shipyard Boulevard and Carolina Beach Road; it

6966-457: Was devastated by a deadly outbreak of yellow fever . This fever outbreak was brought about by a blockade runner named Kate. Sources suggest that the runner had crew members who were sick before the ship landed, but Dr. W.T. Wragg would later write an article in the New York Journal of Medicine that there were at least five cases in the city before the ship arrived. Dr. Wragg treated many of

7052-424: Was founded in the 1730s. After going through a series of different names (New Carthage, New London, Newton), its name became Wilmington in 1740, named after Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington . The area along the river had been inhabited by various successive cultures of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. At the time of European encounter, historic Native Americans were members of tribes belonging to

7138-400: Was moved downtown to Ann Street, between 8th and 10th Avenues, when it outgrew the original location. A smaller contingent of prisoners was assigned to a third site, working in the officers' mess and doing groundskeeping at Bluethenthal Army Air Base, which is now Wilmington International Airport . Starting in the 1990s, Wilmington began to grow rapidly, partially due to the film industry and

7224-405: Was the first rural cemetery in North Carolina. The cemetery's first interment, on February 6, 1855, was six-year-old Annie deRosset. Many remains from St. James churchyard were relocated to the new cemetery. The Wilmington Gas Light Company was established in 1854. Soon after, streetlights were powered by gas made from lightwood and rosin , replacing the old street oil lamps. On December 27, 1855,

7310-603: Was the world headquarters of Pharmaceutical Product Development and current tallest building in Wilmington at 228 feet (69 m). (The building was then bought by Thermo Fisher Scientific . In 2023, it was bought by the City of Wilmington and renamed "Skyline Center". It is now the main building for city government operations. ) Other completed projects include a state-of-the-art convention center, Live Oak Bank Pavilion, Pier 33 Apartments, and The Cove houseboat community in Port City Marina. Downtown / Old Wilmington As of

7396-452: Was unveiled on April 20, 1911 In the early morning hours of June 25, 2020, the City of Wilmington removed the statue of Davis "in order to protect the public safety and to preserve important historical artifacts." The dismantling was coincident with the firing of three city police officers following the discovery of their "brutally racist" discussions on official police recording equipment. The pedestal, with its Lost Cause inscriptions,

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