Our next meeting will be Thursday, 9 September 2010 at St. Andrew's On-the-Sound (Airlie Rd.) Social Hour at 6:30 p.m., meeting at 7:30 p.m.

Please join us for our meeting at which Mr. Jeff Bockert will once again "Kick-off" our season! Mr. Bockert is no stranger to our group; he has spoken to our group before and will speak about "The Uniforms of Fort Fisher."
A native of California, Mr. Bockert currently serves as the Civil War Specialist for the North Carolina Division of Historic Sites based in Goldsboro, N.C. Jeff has worked in the historic site and museum field for over fifteen years and prior to arriving in Goldsboro, managed the President James K. Polk Birthplace near Charlotte, N.C. He has also worked for the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and as Associate Curator of the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington. He has taught history at Brunswick Community College and Wingate University. He is also the author of several works on presidential and military history. Jeff received both his undergraduate degree in American History and his master’s degree in History from UNC-Wilmington. Join us and find out just what those soldiers manning the forts at the mouth of the river were wearing and how they obtained their uniforms.

Speaking of Fort Fisher, the state recently held meetings on "The Future of fort Fisher", at both the Arboretum and at Carolina Beach. Did you know that of the 264 total acres of Fort Fisher, only 38 are owned by the state, the rest leased from the Army at Sunny Point? Looking towards the future, staff members and the public held informal talks on what was felt it was needed or desired at the site. Divided into five segments, the program covered 1- preservation; 2- Site development; 3- Operations; 4- Programming; 5- Community involvement. Public comments were sought and some of the subjects broached were: the lack of space at the Visitor’s Center; the reconstruction of the fort’s landface, the palisade fence and perhaps even a bombproof (such were the hopes in the 1960s also!) An outdoor presentation site was mentioned, as well as updating a database on the soldiers (both Union and Confederate) that fought there. With the realization that preservation of the site was all-important, security was a concern; outdated trail markers and historical plaques that require updating were brought up also. If you were not able to attend either of the meetings, you can still let your voice be heard by e-mailing your comments to: comments@coolspring.com, or mail them to: Cool Spring Center, 399 W. Page Hager Rd., Cleveland, N.C., 27013.

New Bern: A Maritime Cityis the theme for the annual conference to be held in that city from September 30 to October 2 Thursday-Saturday). Visit our link for more information, but here’s a teaser: Maritime Arts in New Bern (Nancy Packer); New Bern and Craven County to 1860 with an Emphasis on Maritime History (Dr. Alan Watson); Privateering along the Carolina Coast (Josh Howard); Barbour Boats (Dr. Paul Fontenoy); The Civil War at Sea in North Carolina(Dr. Craig Symonds); Latest From the Lab: Update on Artifacts Recovered [from] the QAR (Sarah Watkins-Kenney); Excitement Comes to Kingston: The USS Underwriter and the Officers of the CSS Neuse (Andrew Duppstatd).