On the morning of August 28, 1861, a Union force of 318 men landed near here under the protective cover of a Federal fleet commanded by Commodore Silas Stringham. Despite losing their landing craft in heavy surf, the men advanced on Fort Clark. Earlier, Confederate troops had spiked the fort cannons and retreated to nearby Fort Hatteras amid intense shelling. Attacking from left to right were the Union warships Minnesota, Harriet Lane, Cumberland, Wabash, and Susquehanna. The action occurred about 800 yards southeast of this site. Also associated here are veterans of the 1st Regiment North Carolina Infantry and soldiers of the 17th, 32nd, or 33rd Regiments North Carolina Troops.