In September, 1761, the most violent equinoctial gale yet known here raged along the Cape Fear coast. It continued for four days, and was very disastrous in its effects. Several houses were blown over, and all the vessels then in the river, with but a few exceptions, were driven ashore. Such was the fury of the storm that the waves forced open a new passage from the river to the ocean, which has since become one of the highways of our commerce, and which was called New Inlet, the name it now bears. Previous to the period of the gale the peninsula in which the city is situated extended entirely to the mouth of the river, unbroken by any inlet to the sea, and included Smith's Island and Bald Head.

On September 1st, 1764, the first newspaper ever published in this section of the State was issued at this place. It was called the North Carolina Gazette and Weekly Post Boy, and was edited and published by a Scotchman named Andrew Stewart.

North Carolina has truly and justly claimed precedence of the colonies in a Declaration of Independence, for at Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, on the 20th day of May, 1775, was drawn, signed and sealed, a declaration of her own independence. Yet the Cape Fear, as a section, must ever take precedence of North Carolina as a State. When, in 1765, the news was received here of the passage, by the British Parliament, of the famous American Stamp Act, it was bitterly opposed and denounced; and when, in the following year, the British sloop-of-war Diligence arrived in the Cape Fear river, laden with the stamps, she was peremptorily refused permission to land them, and all intercourse with the shore was denied her. Col. John Ashe, of New Hanover, and Col. Hugh Waddell, of Brunswick, each with his Company of hardy yeomanry behind him, stood at the quay at Brunswick to meet them. At their demand the Captain of the Diligence promised not to attempt to land the stamps. They then seized the enemy's boat, and raising a mast and a flag in it, placed it upon a cart and proceeded in triumph to Wilmington. The town was rent with acclamations of joy, and that night the houses were illuminated. At the head of the people, Colonels Ashe and Waddell the next day besieged the Governor's house, and demanded that James Houston, the Stamp Master, be delivered to them. Intimidated by their demands and threats, Governor Tryon complied, when Houston was conducted to the Market House, and, in presence of the whole people, made to swear never to execute the Act.

Early in the year 1775 it was evident to the citizens of the Cape Fear region that war with the mother country was imminent. They therefore, on June 19th of that year, organized themselves into an association, the avowed object of which was resistance, by arms if need be, to the increasing aggressions of the British government. A Committee of Safety was appointed, and every man instinctively began to prepare for the struggle that all could see was rapidly approaching. Fort Johnson, situated at the mouth of the river, at what is now Smithville, and which had been built by the Province in 1745, attracted the attention of the Committee, and thus early its capture was resolved upon. Josiah Martin, who had succeeded Tryon as Governor of the Province, becoming alarmed at the attitude of the citizens, fled to this fort for protection. Johnston was well armed and supplied, and was further protected by the guns of His Majesty's war vessel Cruiser, which lay close up to the fort. Yet, notwithstanding these facts, its capture was decided on, and on the 18th of July, nearly a year previous to the National Declaration of Independence, Col. John Ashe, at the head of a band of trusty patriots, appeared before the works and demanded its surrender. Martin at once fled to his ship, and the works were captured and destroyed under the very guns of the British vessel.

The most important event of the Revolutionary War, which can properly pertain to the Wilmington section, was the battle of Moore's Creek, which occurred about eighteen miles from the city, at a place where the county bridge crosses the above named stream. This battle was fought February 27th, 1776, between the Scotch Tories, under Brigadier-General McDonald, and a much smaller body of the patriot Whigs, under Colonels Lillington and Caswell. The Tories were on their way to this place, to effect a junction with Sir Peter Parker and Major-General Sir Henry Clinton, who arrived in the Cape Fear, with a military and naval armament, on the 18th April, 1776. They were completely routed, with the loss of many officers and men, arms, accoutrements, &c. The victory was important in that it broke up an intended British campaign in North Carolina. Sorely disappointed at the result, Clinton, despairing of obtaining a foothold in the Cape Fear section, after landing with a portion of his troops, and devastating a part of Brunswick County, re-embarked and sailed for Charleston on the 4th of June.

From the close of the Revolution is to be dated a long era of peace and prosperity for the inhabitants of the little town of Wilmington. Commerce and industrial pursuits revived, and soon wealth began to reward earnest labor. The society, too, of the Cape Fear was not one of its least charms. Men of culture and intelligence, and many of no mean order of literary merit, soon flocked to the town, and in a little while the place had achieved a reputation for its hospitality and social refinement, that clings to it to this day. The following is a list of Members of the House of Commons, in the General Assembly of the State, from 1774 to 1836 when the Borough representation was abolished by the Convention which assembled in 1835:

Years. House of Commons. 1774. Francis Clayton, 1775. Cornelius Harnett. 1776. William Hooper. 1778. William Hooper. 1779. Wm. Hooper. 1780. Wm. Hooper. 1781. Wm. Hooper. 1782. Wm. Hooper. 1783. Arch'd McLean. 1784. Arch'd McLean. 1785. Arch'd McLean. 1786. Arch'd McLean. 1787. Joshua Potts. 1788. Edward Jones. 1789. Edward Jones. 1790. Edward Jones. 1791. Edward Jones. 1792. Joshua G. Wright. 1793. J. G. Wright. 1794. J. G. Wright. 1795. J. G. Wright. 1796. J. G. Wright. 1797. J. G. Wright. 1798. J. G. Wright. 1799. J. G. Wright. 1801. J. G. Wright. 1802. J. G. Wright. 1803. J. G. Wright. 1804. J. G. Wright. 1805. J. G. Wright. 1806. J. G. Wright. 1807. J. G. Wright. 1808. J. G. Wright. 1809. J. G. Wright. 1810. Wm. W. Jones. 1811. Wm. W. Jones. 1812. Wm. W. Jones. 1813. Wm. W. Jones. 1814. Wm. W. Jones. 1815. Wm. W. Jones. 1816. Edward B. Dudley. 1817. Edward B. Dudley. 1818. Wm. B. Meares. 1819. John D. Jones. 1820. John D. Jones. 1821. John D. Jones. 1822. John D. Jones. 1823. M. W. Campbell. 1824. Robert H. Cowan. 1825. Robert H. Cowan. 1826. Joseph A. Hill. 1827. Joseph A. Hill. 1828. John Walker. 1830. Joseph A. Hill. 1831. Daniel Sherwood. 1832. Daniel Sherwood. 1833. John D. Jones. 1834. Edward B. Dudley.

The following are the Members of the General Assembly for New Hanover County, from 1777 to 1870-'71:

Years.Senate.House of Commons.1777.John Ashe,Alexander Lillington, Samuel Swann.1778.John Ashe,John Devane, Timothy Bloodworth.1779.John Devane,John A. Campbell, Timothy Bloodworth.1780.John Devane,John A. Campbell, Timothy Bloodworth.1781.John Devane,Thomas Bloodworth, Caleb Granger.1782.Caleb Granger,Timothy Bloodworth, Jas. Bloodworth.1783.John A. Campbell,Timothy Bloodworth, Jas. Bloodworth.1784.John A. Campbell,Timothy Bloodworth, Jas. Bloodworth.1785.John A. Campbell,Jas. Bloodworth, John Pugh Williams.1786.John A. Campbell,Jas. Bloodworth, John Pugh Williams.1787.John A. Campbell,Thomas Devane, Jr., Timothy Bloodworth.1788.Timothy Bloodworth,John Pugh Williams, Thomas Devane. 1789.Timothy Bloodworth,John A. Campbell, John Pugh Williams.1791.John A. Campbell,John G. Scull, Timothy Bloodworth.1792.John A. Campbell,Thomas Devane, George Moore.1793.John A. Campbell,Timothy Bloodworth, James Larkins.1794.William H. Hill,Timothy Bloodworth, James Larkins.1795.Jas. Bloodworth,David Jones, John Gambier Scull.1796.Jas. Bloodworth,Samuel Ashe, Alexander D. Moore.1797.John Hill,Samuel Ashe, Alexander D. Moore.1798.John Hill,Alex. D. Moore, James Larkins.1799.John Hill,Thomas Hill, Samuel Ashe.1800.John Hill,Alex. D. Moore, Samuel Ashe.1801.Samuel Ashe,Timothy Bloodworth, Richard Nixon.1802.Samuel Ashe,Richard Nixon, James Larkins.1803.Samuel Ashe,James Foy, Franklin T. Bloodworth.1804.John Bloodworth,Jas. Foy, F. T. Bloodworth.1805.John Hill,Richard Nixon, F. T. Bloodworth.1806.Samuel Ashe,Richard Nixon, Roger Moore.1807.Samuel Ashe,Wm. W. Jones, Hinton James.1808.F. T. Bloodworth,Wm. W. Jones, Hinton James.1809.F. T. Bloodworth,Hinton James, David Jones.1810.Thomas Devane,David Jones, Joseph Lamb.1811.William Hill,Joseph Lamb, John D. Jones1812.David Jones,Joseph Lamb, George Fennell.1813.David Jones,Geo. Fennell, Joseph Parrish.1814.David Jones,Joel Parrish, Geo. Fennell.1815.James Larkins,Geo. Fennell, Joel Parrish.1816.Richard Nixon,Owen Fillyaw, Joel Parrish.1817.Samuel Ashe,Joseph Lamb, Ed. St. George.1818.M. W. Campbell,Joseph Lamb, John Bunting.1819.George Fennell,Jos. Lamb, John Bunting.1820.George Fennell,John Walker, Abel Morgan.1821.M. W. Campbell,Abel Morgan, Eli L. Larkins.1822.Thomas Devane,Joseph Lamb, S. Sidbury.1823.Thomas Devane,Stokely Sidbury, Jos. A. Hill.1824.Thomas Devane,Jos. A. Hill, Jos. Lamb.1825.Thomas Devane,Jos. Lamb, Wm. Watts Jones.1826.Thomas Devane,John Kerr, Wm. Watts Jones.1827.Thomas Devane,John Kerr, Wm. Watts Jones.1828.Wm. B. Meares,John Kerr, Wm. S. Larkins.1829.Wm. B. Meares,Wm. S. Larkins, Patrick Murphy.1830.Wm. B. Meares,Wm. S. Larkins, Thomas Hill.1831.M. W. Campbell,Wm. S. Larkins, Wm. J. Wright.1832.Jos. H. Lamb,Thomas Hill, Louis H. Marsteller.1833.Wm. B. Meares,L. H. Marsteller, Stephen Register.1834.Owen Holmes,L. H. Marsteller, Stephen Register.1835.L. H. Marsteller,Charles Henry, John R. Walker.1836.Louis H. Marsteller,John R. Walker, Charles Henry.1838.Charles Henry,Jas. T. Miller, Evan Larkins.1840.Wm. S. Larkins,Jas. T. Miller, James Kerr.1842.Wm. S. Larkins,Jeremiah Nixon, David McIntire.1844.Owen Holmes,Jeremiah Nixon, David McIntire.1846.Wm. S. Ashe,Edward Hall, Thomas H. Williams.1848.Wm. S. Ashe,Thomas H. Williams, N. N. Nixon.1850.N. N. Nixon,Wm. Hill, J. D. Powers.1852.James Kerr,Robert Strange, Jr., John A. Corbett. 1054.Owen Fennell,Thos. H. Williams, Dugald McMillan.1856.Owen Fennell,T. H. Tate, S. A. Holmes.1858.W. S. Ashe,R. K. Bryan, Geo. J. Moore.1860.Eli W. Hall,S. J. Person, Daniel Shaw.1862.Eli W. Hall,S. J. Person, J. R. Hawes.1864.Eli W. Hall,S. J. Person, J. R. Hawes.1865.Ed. D. Hall,R. H. Cowan, J. R. Hawes.1866.Ed. D. Hall,R. H. Cowan, C. W. McClammy.1868.A. H. Galloway, (co'l)*J. C. Abbott, L. G. Estes, G. W. Price,(c)1870.C. W. McClammy,S. A. Ashe, G. Z. French,1870.G. W. Price, (col'd)G. W. Mabson, (col'd)

* G. Z. French elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the election of J. C. Abbot to the United States Senate.

The late Southern war put an end to the old time prosperity of the place, and drew a line of demarcation between Wilmington as it was and Wilmington as it is, almost as distinctly as if a new city had been built upon the site of the old one. Old time institutions were swept away by it, old theories abolished, and an entirely new one inaugurated. Pray God that it may prove as happy and as prosperous as was the old.

The first overt act of war was made on the 16th day of April, 1861, when the forts below here, then only Caswell and Johnston, were seized by order of His Excellency, John W. Ellis, Governor of the State. The troops engaged in this undertaking were all volunteer organizations from this city, and were as follows: Wilmington Light Infantry, Capt. Wm. L. DeRosset; Wilmington Rifle Guards, Capt. O. P. Meares; German Volunteers, Capt. C. Cornehlson; and the Cape Fear Light Artillery, Capt. John J. Hedrick; all under command of Col. John L. Cantwell, of 22d Regiment North Carolina Militia. On the 20th of May the Convention, which had assembled at Raleigh, passed the Ordinance of Secession, and shortly afterwards the Wilmington companies were relieved from duty at the forts. The Wilmington Light Infantry were first detached, and were sent to Federal (the Confederate) Point to build a battery there, which should command New Inlet Bar. This battery was built, and was by them called Bolles' battery, in honor of Major C. P. Bolles, the engineer who superintended its construction. During the month of June the Rifle Guards and the German Volunteers were relieved by other companies, and were sent to Wilmington to recruit their ranks, preparatory to entering into a regimental organization. In the meantime other companies were being raised here for service, the young men of the town, and those from the country around here, flocking in to answer the call for troops. They came from all directions, and were from all classes, the patriotic young men of the Cape Fear vieing with each other in the eagerness with which they took up arms at the cry of the mother State, until gradually the life and youth and strength of the place all left us to do battle in Virginia, and until, finally, old men, and women and children, department officers and men, speculators from abroad, and a few exempts into the, in the vernacular of the times, “bombproof” made up the resident population of Wilmington.

The importance of this port, as a port, was not, it seems, lost upon the Confederate Government even as early as the first year of the war. Generals Gatlin, Anderson and French were successively placed in command, yet but little was done to complete the defences of the place until the month of November, 1862, when the lamented General W. H. C. Whiting was placed in command of the Department. Then, indeed, the work began in earnest, and Whiting, who ranked as one of the best engineers in the world, threw every energy of his mind and body into the work before him. The period for inaction had passed away. The Federal Government was already casting longing eyes towards this place, and there was much to be done to make us ready to receive them. The works at Fort Fisher, which had been commenced in 1861, were vigorously urged forward to completion; Smith's Island was cleared, and foundations for forts laid there; Fort Pender, at Smithville, was built, and soon the guns of Fort Anderson, first called Fort St. Phillip—the last great work of the defences to yield to the Federal hands—frowned from the heights of old Brunswick. For more than two years General Whiting was in command of this post, and during that time he worked unceasingly to complete the chain of Cape Fear defences. In addition to the forts we have named above, other and smaller batteries were planted at every available point, and obstructions and torpedoes lined the bed of the river.

During the year 1864 Wilmington had become the great point through which intercourse could be had with the outside world, and, consequently, it ranked that year as the most important commercial depot in the entire Confederacy. The amount of business transacted here by means of the low, swift English blockade-runners was enormous, especially so when it is considered that the Federal Government kept up a close and unceasing blockade of the entire coast, by night as well as by day. This, however, proved totally inefficient, the daring blockaders, with their low, grey painted hulls, and without a light to be seen from stem to stern of the steamer, oftentimes running, during a dark night, within pistol shot of one of the grim sentinels of the coast, and bringing in those supplies so greatly needed by the Confederate government for a successful continuation of the war. It is greatly to be regretted that the statistics of the operations of these blockade runners have been lost to us, as they would furnish matter of much interest to all; but from private memoranda we have been furnished with an account, as follows, of the arrivals at this port, which is not exact, but which only approximates the actual number.

From May 20th, 1863, to December 31st, 1864 260 Prior to May 20th, 1863 15 After December 31st, 1864 10 Total 285

Notwithstanding the above facts, however, there was no demonstration made against the place until very near the close of the year 1864. On December 23d, 1864, the Federal fleet appeared in the offing opposite Fort Fisher, and that night Butler's Yankee toy, a boat containing 20,000 pounds of powder, was drifted in near the works and fired. The explosion was terrific, and is described by those who witnessed it from the fort as one of the most magnificent gratuitous displays of fire works that they had ever beheld. The concussion was very great, but no damage whatever was occasioned by it. The next day, Christmas Eve, the Federal war vessels, fifty-two in number, ranged themselves in line of battle opposite the fort, and about noon opened a most furious bombardment. This continued for five hours, when the fleet withdrew. The next day the bombardment was resumed, and, under cover of the guns of the fleet, a force was landed and an attempt made to storm the fort. The heroic defenders, however, succeeded in driving back their assailants, and the Federal forces drew off, defeated and discomfited, and having expended over twenty thousand shot and shell in the vain endeavor to subdue the fort. The next day the fleet sailed to the North.

Yet the relief was only temporary, for, on the 13th day of January 1865, the Federal fleet again and suddenly appeared before the fort in a threatening attitude. They had arrived stealthily, and “like a thief, in the night,” and early in the morning succeeded in landing a strong force. Unfortunately Hoke's division, which had been held here for the defence of the post, was at that time in Wilmington, and when they arrived at the scene, by a forced march, found the enemy entrenched entirely across the peninsula, from ocean to river. General Whiting, who was in Wilmington at the time, hurried to the fort a the first news of the appearance of the enemy. About noon of the 13th the fleet opened fire, and a bombardment even more terrific than the previous one soon ensued. The deluge of shot and shell was so terrific that it was impossible to man some of the guns, and the majority of the garrison were driven to the bomb-proofs for protection. From noon of the 13th until 3 o'clock of the afternoon of the 15th, the terrific fire was continued without intermission. At the last named hour the fire of the fleet was suddenly raised, and the land forces were discovered moving forward, in two columns, to the attack of different parts of the fort. One of these, moving up the line of sea beach, was easily repulsed, but the other, which advanced by the river front, succeeded in entering the fort. Here, for six hours, and in an almost hand to hand conflict, and fighting from terrace to terrace, was the conflict continued. The brave Whiting, and the gallant Col. Wm. Lamb, the commandant of the fort, were everywhere, cheering on the men by their presence and example, but it was in vain. Overpowered by numbers the last terrace was torn from the hands of the brave defenders, and they were forced beyond the enclosure of the fort. They retreated to the batteries on the shores of New Inlet, and at midnight, there being no means of escape at hand, General Whiting was compelled to surrender his liltte band of heroes to General Terry as prisoners of war. Both Whiting and Lamb were badly wounded in this engagement. The latter recovered, but the gallant Whiting died on Governor's Island, in New York harbor, where he was at the time confined as a prisoner of war.

The concluding portion of the tale is soon told. Fort Fisher fell, and the same night Fort Caswell and the other works at the mouth of the river were destroyed, and their garrisons withdrawn to Fort Anderson. Hoke, in the meantime, unable to succor Fort Fisher, had fallen back on the peninsula to within about four miles of Wilmington, where he strongly entrenched himself. Thus, Hoke on the left and Anderson on the right, succeeded in stemming the tide of invasion until, on the 17th of February, a portion of the Federal fleet steamed up the river and opened fire upon Fort Anderson—Schofield, in the meantime, moving up from Smithville with a land force, intending to flank the fort. This necessitated its evacuation, and on the 19th, before day, the guns were spiked and the little garrison retreated on Wilmington, reaching the place that night. They were closely pursued, and the following day, about noon, a detachment of Federal troops could be plainly seen from the city advancing along the causeway on Eagle's Island. A Whitworth piece was quickly brought up, and a shell, fired from the head of the Market House, was sent over to welcome them here. When the smoke arose they had gone, but an action ensued between their skirmishers and our own, which was witnessed by many in the city. Early on the morning of the 22d Hoke reached Wilmington, and a junction was effected with the troops from Fort Anderson. The city was then evacuated, the stores having been removed or destroyed on the previous day. The Federal troops pressed closely upon the heels of our ragged Confederates, who at last turned and thrashed them. This was in a little fight at the bridge over North East river, nine miles from the city, and was the last time that the North and the South crossed arms in the Cape Fear country. Two months afterwards the war had closed.

It will be seen by the above that the export of naval stores, both coastwise and foreign, except in one instance, has fallen off greatly during the past decade, while, on the contrary, there has been a heavy increase, say about 120 per cent., in the shipments of cotton from this port. This is due, mainly, to the fact that during the past year, and in the country supplying this city, every interest was made subservient to the culture of cotton. Even the production of turpentine was of secondary importance compared with the zeal with which cotton was planted, so that Wilmington, the greatest naval store depot in the world, only exported coastwise one and one-third barrels of spirits turpentine to the bale of cotton; that is to say, the number of bales of cotton exported was 75 per cent. of the number of barrels of spirits turpentine.