At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, the Confederate Army chose Rainbow Banks in Martin County as a site for fortifications.  These fortifications provided the upper Roanoke Valley with badly needed protection against the Union gunboats that were beginning to enter eastern North Carolina's rivers and sounds.  The 100-foot clay bluffs at the area of the river gave the Confederates a clear view of the river in both directions, and their vantage point was too high for the guns on the Union boats to reach. In addition to protecting the citizens of the area, the fort protected "The Lifeline of the Confederacy" -- a railroad bridge at Weldon that helped to supply General Lee's army with provisions -- and the building site of an ironclad vessel, the C.S.S. Albermarle, just above Hamilton.

     After learning of the fort's construction in July, 1862, the Union Army launched an expedition from recently occupied Plymouth to destroy the fort.  When the Confederate Army received an advance notice of the intended attack, forty-three Confederate soldiers mounted their horses and rode to await the three Union ships further down the river.  When the ships appeared, the two sides opened fire on one another, and the conflict continued up the river until it finally ended at Hamilton.

     Following this battle, Confederate officials committed themselves more fully to building better fortifications at Fort Branch.  By the end of October, 1862, under authority to organize labor and supervisory forces, Colonel Walter Gwynn's assembled work force began strengthening the defense of the fort.  Another attempt to destroy the fort, which occurred two weeks later, caused further delay. Upon completion, the fort was named Fort Branch in honor of General Lawrence O'Brian Branch, a local hero who'd been killed on a Maryland battlefield.

     Containing provisions for 1000 men and a total of eleven guns, activities at the fort slowed down following the April, 1864 recapture of Plymouth by the Confederate Army.  When the Union forces took Plymouth again in the fall of 1864, their plan for another attack on Fort Branch was stopped.  The Confederates had mined the river heavily, and the Union forces were forced to return to Plymouth.

     On April 10, 1865, the day after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Fort Branch was ordered evacuated.  Before leaving, the Confederates pushed all of the cannons into the river and destroyed the magazine and commissary of the fort, so that Union troops could not confiscate anything from it.

     In May of that year, the U.S. Navy searched for and retrieved three of the cannons, but it was not until 1972 that interest in the remaining cannons revived.  A restraining order kept a group of men from Alabama from carrying three more cannons away.  The court battle which followed brought the cannons into the custody of the State of North Carolina, who issued them on permanent loan to the Fort Branch Battlefield Commission.  Through the coordinated efforts of various state agencies, four more cannons were raised in 1977, thus accounting for ten of the eleven cannons.  The search continues for the missing brass cannon.

     The Fort Branch Battlefield Commission is working to preserve and restore the Fort and its heritage.  The First North Carolina Volunteers, a Civil War re-enactment group, uses Fort Branch for their winter headquarters and battle drills.  In 1987, the First Annual Battle Re-enactment was held at Fort Branch.  A battle re-enactment is held annually at the Fort the first weekend in November, offering a unique "Living History Program" to visitors.  Other special events at the fort include a Civil War Christmas the first Saturday in December and a Spring Living History Program.

     On display at Fort Branch are eight of twelve original cannons, as well as many other artifacts.  Local Indian pottery and a collection of artifacts from Hoggtown, an Eighteenth Century river community, can also be seen.  The winter headquarters of the First North Carolina Volunteers is built outside the Fort proper and is also available to the public.  Additional displays, such as a rebuilt gun emplacement are nearing completion.

     With your help, Fort Branch can be restored to its original appearance.  Once the cannons are remounted and the magazine and commissary rebuilt, Fort Branch will be the only earthwork fortification in the South to have its original artillery in place. But we cannot do it without your help. To join the fight for Fort Branch, send your contributions to the Fort Branch Battlefield Commission, Post Office Box 355, Hamilton, North Carolina 27840.

     Fort Branch is open April thru the 1st weekend of November of each year on Saturdays and Sundays from 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., or by appointment. Picnic and bathroom facilities are available.

     For information on tours and special events at Fort Branch contact the Martin County Travel & Tourism Authority.