Commerce and Conflict: Exploring North Carolina’s Maritime Heritage

-

During the American Civil War, blockade runners played an invaluable role in keeping Confederate forces supplied with munitions and other goods. Members of North Carolina’s Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) are rediscovering some of these important pieces of history. The Agnes E. Fry, a relatively intact vessel that sank in 1864 near Oak Island, provides a unique opportunity to glimpse our maritime past. The Condor, which sank two months before the Agnes E. Fry while attempting to reach the port of Wilmington, is the world’s best preserved blockade runner and North Carolina’s first true Heritage Dive Site. Please join us as John “Billy Ray” Morris and Greg Stratton tell the story of these two ships and the important work done by the UAB to research and preserve North Carolina’s maritime heritage.