by James Sprunt

Derelicts:
An account of ships lost at sea in general commerce traffic and a brief history of blockade runners stranded along the North Carolina coast
1861 - 1865

(ISBN 0-9723240-9-7 • $17.95 • 200 pgs
• Trim Size 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 • Trade Paperback • Illustrated )

There is a reason sailors call the waters off the North Carolina coast “Cape Fear” and “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” In this reprint of a book first published in 1920, celebrated North Carolina historian James Sprunt tells the stories of the ships and men that met their doom in the pitiless depths off Tar Heel beaches. Illustrated for the first time,this account of the dangerous blockade running trade - which the author knew from firsthand experience - is a riveting tale that has the power to thrill even today.

(ISBN 0-9723240-3-8 • $24.95 • 214 pgs
• Trim Size 8 1/2 x 11 glossy
• Trade Paperback • Illustrated in Color / B&W)

With hundreds of rare pictures, Wilmington: Lost But Not Forgotten captures the many architectural gems that North Carolina’s Port City has lost from the colonial period to the present day. Some were lost to natural disasters like fires and hurricanes. Others fell victim to the “progress” of Urban Renewal or the sometimes short-sightedness of private developers. Regardless of how or why these buildings were torn down and lost, they represent pages ripped from the community’s collective history. Preservationist Beverly Tetterton has assembled a collection of lost places that serve as cautionary tales for modern planners and citizens. As we move into the future, preserving the unique character of Wilmington’s past is a lesson worth learning.

by James L. Walker, Jr.

Rebel Gibraltar:
Fort Fisher and Wilmington, C.S.A.

(ISBN 0-9723240-7-0 • $32.00 • 432 pgs
• Trim Size 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 • Trade Paperback • Illustrated )

Called the “Gibraltar of the South,” Fort Fisher was the huge earthen fortification that was the linchpin of the Cape Fear defense system in the Civil War. While other books have done excellent jobs of telling the story of the capture of Fort Fisher and Wilmington, James L. Walker, Jr.’s book is the first to cover the fort and the city it protected over the course of the entire war. Copiously illustrated with period photographs and maps by noted mapmaker Mark A. Moore, this is the story of the men in gray who slugged it out on the Cape Fear beaches to protect the lifeblood of the Confederacy coming in on swift and daring blockade runners, and their ultimate defeat in 1865.

(ISBN 0-9723240-4-6 • $19.95 • 264 pgs • Trim Size 8 1/2 x 11
• Trade Paperback • Illustrated)

In 1848, New York journalist Benson J. Lossing took a two-year trip through the original thirteen states to preserve the stories of the American Revolution. Two years later, he published his mammoth history of the war, and it is still one of the best popular histories ever done on or nation’s first crucible by fire. Basically, if a Brit and an American stood on opposite sides of a stream and threw rocks at each other, Lossing has the story recorded here! This volume covers the war as it occured in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

by Franda D. Pedlow
and Jack E. Fryar, Jr.

The Story of Brunswick Town & Fort Anderson

(ISBN 0-9723240-6-2 • $12.95 • 115 pgs • Trim Size 6 x 9
• Trade Paperback • Illustrated)

In 1725, Maurice Moore and his brothers began selling plots of land in Brunswick, the first permanent port on the Cape Fear. It was raided by Spanish privateers, burned and looted by the British, was home to two of North Carolina’s Royal Governors, and the residence of many of the Cape Fear’s most prominent founding fathers. In the Civil War, it was the site of Fort Anderson, the massive earthen fort that was the last installation guarding the vital port at Wilmington. This is the story of Brunswick and Fort Anderson and the state historic site that preserves their memories.

(ISBN 0-9723240-1-1 • $17.95 • 139 pgs
• Trim Size 8 1/2 x 11 • Trade Paperback • Illustrated in Color / B&W)

The ONLY guide book you’ll need to see the best historic sites and attractions in North Carolina’s five southeastern coastal counties. Covering New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Columbus and Bladen Counties, this book is chock full of color and historic photos of the places where history was made in the Lower Cape Fear. Over 300 images, plus write-ups on each site that go way beyond the usual tourist brochure. It also has contact info, hours of operation, ferry schedules, a calendar of yearly special events, festivals and reenactments - all presented in an easy to use, color-keyed format that makes it a must-have for visitors and locals alike!

by Jack E. Fryar, Jr.

The Coastal Chronicles Volume I

(ISBN 0-9723240-0-3 • Trade Paperback • $17.95 • Illustrated)

For more than four centuries, the Cape Fear and coastal North Carolina has been witness to some of the most dramatic events in American history. Pirates, plantations, Civil War forts and battles, redcoat occupiers during the American Revolution, Spanish raiders, con men (and women), headless ghosts, deadly duels, gun runners, Stamp Act resisters, lady spies, killer storms and yellow fever - it all happened along the North Carolina coast. In this book, we tell the true, factually accurate stories of our past like a fiction writer or storyteller would - so that it’s entertaining as well as informative!

by Jack E. Fryar, Jr.

The Coastal Chronicles Volume II

(ISBN 0-9723240-2-X • Trade Paperback • $17.95 • Illustrated)

Volume I was such a success that we put together more stories from the colorful past of the Cape Fear and North Carolina coast! In this volume, you’ll read the true stories of Blackbeard, the Battle at Moores Creek, the Wilmington Riots of 1898, the only time the U.S. Marine Corps has ever been refused a beach, the British raid on Beaufort, running the Union blockade during the Civil War, King Hancock’s bloody warpath and much more!

Designed for parents, teachers, home schoolers, or anyone else looking
for a fun, informative way to start teaching children about the rich,
colorful history of the Tar Heel State. These books use historic
photographs and illustrations, original artwork, and simple but engaging
narrative to introduce youngsters to history in a fun way!

by Jack E. Fryar, Jr.

The Battles for Fort Fisher

(ISBN 0-9786248-0-7 • 36 pgs • Trade Paperback • $10.95 • Illustrated)

By late in the Civil War, Robert E. Lee’s army depended on the port at Wilmington to provide it with almost everything. Lee plainly said that if Wilmington fell, he could not keep his army in the field. The leaders of the Union army and navy knew it, too. That’s why on Christmas Eve, 1864, they launched a massive assault on Fort Fisher, the huge earthen fort at the southern tip of modern New Hanover County, which guarded access to the Cape Fear River. The attack was a failure, but two weeks later the Union fleet was back. This time the battle would decide once and for all who would control the South’s most vital port. Whoever did would win the war. This is the story of those two pivotal Civil War battles and the men who fought them, lavishly illustrated with color pictures and photographs. It is an ideal way to introduce young readers to the drama of America’s bloodiest war as it happened along the North Carolina coast!

by Jack E. Fryar, Jr.

“King George and Broadswords!”
The Battle at Widow Moores Creek

(ISBN 0-9786248-1-5 • 36 pgs
• Trade Paperback • $11.95)

In 1776, America was a country at war with itself. British soldiers had shot colonial militia at Lexington and Concord, only to be shot in return by Massachusetts farmers and Minutemen on the long march back to Boston. In North Carolina, people were divided between those who wanted to remain loyal to King George III, and those who were ready to break away from Great Britain to form their own nation. North Carolina’s Royal Governor, Josiah Martin, had fled from New Bern’s fabulous Tryon Palace to the safety of a British warship anchored in the Cape Fear River. From there, he made a plan to put down the rebellion in the South with an army of Highlanders. Patriots who wanted a break with England wanted to stop that army. In February 1776, the two sides came together in a brief, fierce clash at a small creek in modern Pender County. It would be the first patriot victory against the British in the South, and the battle’s outcome would shake governments on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This is the story of that clash.