Area Information :: Swansboro

Hammocks Beach State Park

Hammocks Beach State Park is made of three different areas. The Mainland, 30 acres Bear Island a 980 acre unspoiled barrier island, and Huggins Island a 211 acre maritime island located at the mouth of the White Oak River in Bogue Inlet. In 1999 Huggins Island became the newest addition to the North Carolina State Park System. Huggins Islands thick, overgrown maritime forest is a stark contrast to Bear Islands wide-open, windswept sand dunes. Huggins Island is well known for its rich Natural History, but along with its varied flora and fauna, Huggins Island and its battery has played an important role in the history of Swansboro and the State of North Carolina.

Crystal Coast (Shopping)

Along North Carolina's Crystal Coast, beaches, nature and history all wait to be explored, and a new definition of vacation escape is yours to discover.

From the sands of Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle to the history and quaint accommodations of Beaufort, Morehead City and the Down East area, this unspoiled stretch of the Southern Outer Banks coast is rich with beauty, heritage and activities in, on and around the water. World-class fishing, some of the top scuba diving in the country, and the Cape Lookout National Seashore offer the perfect way to enjoy the ocean, while the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores brings wonders of the sea to shore.

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Huggins Island Battery - Cival War Trail

Union General Benjamin F. Butler's capture of Hatteras Inlet in August 1861 gave Federal Forces a foothold from which they could launch attacks up the rivers and sounds of eastern North Carolina. Confederate authorities decided to construct earthen fortifications to protect the mainland especially at Roanoke Island and on the Roanoke, Pamilico, Neuse and White Oak Rivers. This battery was constructed during the Fall. In November, Capt. Daniel Nunn occupied it with his company known as the Bladen Stars. At first considered an independent company for local defense and special service in North Carolina, the Stars were eventually designated Co. B 36th North Carolina Infantry Regiment (2nd North Carolina Artillery). The company mustered 4 officers and 64 men in January 1862. On February 19, 1862,after Union General Amrbose E. Burnside's expedition captured Roanoke Island, Munn withdrew the company from Huggins Island. The guns and ordinances were transported to Morehead City and then to New Bern where they fell into Burnside's hands when he occupied the town March 14. In August 1862, the Federals mounted a small Army-Navy expedition against the Salt Works on the White Oak River at Swansboro. General Thomas G. Stevenson led seven companies of the 24th Massachusetts Infantry and a detachment of the 1st New York Marine Artillery on the raid. Seven light army steamers and the Navy Gunboat Ellis transported the force past Huggins Island and the abandoned position. Today, this battery is the only unspoiled Confederate earthen fortification on the North Carolina coast.