This is a steel vertical-lift bridge that carries US 17/US 76/US 421 across the Cape Fear River…read morebetween Brunswick County and New Hanover County. Constructed between 1967 and 1969, it was repainted in 1986, received new decking in 1996 and a new control system in 2007. When the bridge is down and traffic is going across, it is 69 feet above the surface. When raised, it goes up to a total of 135 feet above the water. The lift span is 408 feet long. There are four lanes of vehicle traffic with a divider between each side. While I did cross the bridge a number of times going to and from Wilmington, I never did get a chance to see it raised. [Review 13965 overall, 1287 of 2020, number 2606 in North Carolina.]

This marker is alongside River Road between Wilmington and the southern North Carolina beaches…read more It's a busy road but there's a spot to stop. The marker reads, "Alfred Moore. Associate justice U.S. Supreme Court, 1799-1804. Continental Line & militia officer; attorney general. Grave 2 mi. southeast." Online, there is more information. "Alfred Moore, Revolutionary War officer and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, was born on May 21, 1755 in New Hanover County. Alfred Moore's father was a staunch opponent of British tax policies, and his opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765 caused Royal Governor William Tryon to remove him as a superior court judge." "Alfred was admitted to the bar in April 1775 just as war broke out between Great Britain and the colonies. Imbued with his father's political ideals, Moore clamored for action. In September 1775 he received a commission as a captain in the First North Carolina Continental Regiment, commanded by his uncle Colonel James Moore. He saw action first at Brunswick Town in January 1776. The following June, he served briefly in the defense of Charleston. Upon the death of his father the following year, Moore resigned his commission and returned home to manage the family estates." "At the war's conclusion, Moore began a lengthy career in public service, first as a state senator from Brunswick County, and then as attorney general of North Carolina, following the resignation of James Iredell. He resigned his position in 1791 in opposition to the Court Act of 1790, and in 1792 represented Brunswick County as a Federalist in the state assembly. In October 1799, President John Adams appointed Moore an associate justice to the United States Supreme Court upon the death of Justice James Iredell." "He died on October 15, 1810 at "Belfont," the plantation home of his son-in-law. He is buried in the graveyard of St. Phillips Church in Brunswick Town. Moore County is named for him." Moore County is just south of Greensboro North Carolina. The county seat is Carthage and its largest town is Pinehurst. [Review 14180 overall, 1502 of 2020, number 2675 in North Carolina.]

This marker near downtown Wilmington recalls the history of an escaped slave who joined the Union…read morenavy. It reads, "William B. Gould. 1837-1923. Was enslaved Bellamy plasterer. Escaped 1862 and joined Union navy. Kept detailed war diary. Lived 2 blocks north." Online, there is more information. "According to William B. Gould's death certificate, his mother was an enslaved person, Elizabeth Moore, and his father was an Englishman named Alexander Gould. William was owned by Nicholas Nixon, a prominent a peanut planter. During his youth, Gould gained skills in the building trade. Although teaching slaves to read had been outlawed in North Carolina in 1830, Gould also learned to read and write." "Around 1860, Gould began to work as a plasterer and mason on the Bellamy Mansion, on which construction began in 1859. The building would serve as the home of the family of Dr. John D. Bellamy, a Wilmington physician and merchant. James F. Post of New Jersey was the lead architect on the project. Gould created elaborate plasterwork throughout the main level of the mansion. He signed his initials, WBG, into the back of two sections of decorative plaster, one of which is on display at the Bellamy Mansion Museum today. The Bellamy Mansion is the only construction project on which Gould is confirmed to have worked. Bellamy is known to have hired Gould out, so it is probable that he worked on other construction assignments as well." "On September 21, 1862, Gould and seven other enslaved men escaped from Wilmington via the Cape Fear River and headed for the Union-occupied zone of the North Carolina coast. Six days later they were picked up by the USS Cambridge and recorded as "eight contrabands from Wilmington." Gould and his fellow escapees enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He began documenting his experiences on September 27, the day that he encountered the crewmen of the Cambridge. He kept the journal for three years; the last entry was dated September 29, 1865." "His is one of only three known diaries written by African American sailors during the Civil War, and is the only one penned by a former slave. Gould's diary was written in a spare style, as might be expected given the demanding routine of life aboard a naval vessel, which usually left little time for long reflective entries. Frequently entries include comments on the weather and various incidents of interest, sometimes serious and sometimes comic in nature, as well as brief descriptions of contacts with over Union naval vessels, encounters with the enemy, the pickup of other escaped slaves, references to letters from family of friends, notations to visitors of the ships, and, in the case of the European stint of the voyage, details of ports of call. Other entries briefly comment on the conduct of the war, such as Gould's April 16, 1864, expression of frustration regarding the failure of the U.S. government to retaliate for the recent massacre of black and white U.S. soldiers by Confederate troops at Fort Pillow, Tennessee." [Review 14493 overall, 1819 of 2020, number 2744 in North Carolina.]

Located in front of the New Hanover County Courthouse at the corner of Third and Princess, this…read moremarker points out a hero of Wilmington. It reads, "Johnston Blakeley, 1781-1814. Captain, United States Navy. After victories in War of 1812, he and his sloop Wasp were lost at sea. His home was 2 blocks west." Online, there is more information. "Johnston Blakeley, North Carolina's most noted naval hero of the War of 1812, was born in October 1781 in Seaford, County Down, Ireland. At the age of two he and his family emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina. Soon after, his mother and an infant died. Johnston and his father, John Blakeley, moved to Wilmington. Blakely attended school in Flatbush, New York, until the death of his father in 1796." "On February 5, 1800, Johnston Blakely was issued an appointment to the President, a new frigate being prepared for a cruise in the West Indies. He was later assigned to the USS John Adams, under Captain John Rodgers. Rodgers, recognizing his potential, chose to keep Blakeley with him during the Barbary War (1801-1805), and promoted him to acting lieutenant. Continuing his service in the Navy, he saw his commission as a lieutenant confirmed by the Senate in 1807. Blakeley assumed command of the Enterprise as acting commandant in March 1811." "The Wasp set sail on May 1, 1814, with a crew of 173 men and orders to harass British merchant ships in the English Channel. The ship's successes were many and the tales of Blakeley's escapades lightened the hearts of war-weary Americans. Blakeley was described as "a brave and discreet officer" and his ship as "one of the most successful of our cruisers." On November 3, 1814, Blakely was awarded a gold medal for his victory over the HMS Reindeer and on the 24th of the month he was promoted to captain. He never learned of his promotion, however--the Wasp was lost at sea, never heard from again. The ship is believed to have been sunk in an Atlantic storm, since no British ship reported destroying the prized vessel." Captain Blakeley, I salute you. Thank you for your service to our country. [Review 14299 overall, 1623 of 2020, number 2695 in North Carolina.]

One of the most important documents of the United States and one of the very few people who signed…read moreit was born here. This marker points out his home. It reads, "William Hooper. One of North Carolina's three signers of the Declaration of Independence. Home was here." Online, "William Hooper, one of North Carolina's three signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Boston on June 17, 1742. He was the eldest child of William Hooper, Sr., rector of Boston's Trinity Church, and his wife Mary, the daughter of a prominent Boston merchant. At age eight he entered Boston Latin School, the nation's oldest public academy. Seven years later Hooper entered Harvard University, where he graduated in 1760 with an A. B. and eventually obtained an A. M. three years later." "In 1774, Hooper became a founding member of the first Committee of Correspondence formed in North Carolina. On April 26, 1774, he wrote to his friend James Iredell that it would not be long before the colonies "will build an empire on the ruins of Great Britain." When Boston's port was closed the following June, Hooper organized two shiploads of provisions to be sent to Massachusetts." "At the First Provincial Congress in North Carolina in August 1774, Hooper was elected as one of the colony's first three delegates to the Continental Congress along with Richard Caswell and Joseph Hewes. He remained in the Congress when war broke out in April 1775. The following February he left briefly to move his widowed mother from Cambridge, Massachusetts to North Carolina. In May 1776, Hooper joined John Penn and Hewes at the Third Continental Congress. With Hewes, Hooper served on the Marine Committee, and although absent when the Declaration of Independence was voted on, signed his name to the document on August 2. The following December he joined Hewes and Thomas Burke in devising the North Carolina state seal." His signature on the Declaration is the first in the second column, in line with the famous John Hancock. [Review 13998 overall, 1320 of 2020, number 2638 in North Carolina.]

This place was cool. Got to take a tour and the staff was very friendly!read more

As my brother served on the Kearsarge (the much more modern one), and Wilmington is the home of the…read moreUSS North Carolina, this was particularly cool. The marker reads, "John A. Winslow. Capt. U.S.S. "Kearsarge," which sank Confederate raider "Alabama," 1864, rear admiral United States Navy, 1870-1873. Birthplace was one block west." Online, there is more information. "A naval officer of some repute during the Civil War, John Ancrum Winslow (1811-1873) was born in Wilmington. He enrolled as a midshipman as early as 1827 and served in the Mexican War. As enthusiastic abolitionist, his allegiances were not in doubt with the outbreak of the sectional struggle in 1861." "As an officer in the Union Navy, he commanded the USS Kearsarge in 1863-1864. He was ordered to pursue the CSS Alabama and blockaded that vessel in the harbor of Cherbourg, France, June 14-19, 1864. Captain Raphael Semmes of the Alabama engaged Winslow's vessel and, after ninety minutes of fighting, raised the white flag of surrender. The victory was made all the more glorious by virtue of its European setting. The recipient of wide acclaim, Winslow was promoted to commodore and to rear admiral after the war. He died in Massachusetts." [Review 14517 overall, 14 of 2021, number 2762 in North Carolina.]

I normally don't rate TSA checkpoints, but this airport and TSA is so freaking awesome! I wish all…read moreTSA officers had the type of friendliness that these officers had. They also knew how to get you through the screening process without making you feel like a moron! Great job and I look forward to a return visit!

For a TSA check point this one is organized staffed by friendly agents (that greet and smile:0)…read more Thankful to have an airport like this in my home town.