Sailors and Marines from both the Union and the Confederacy will be the focus of “The Lights of the Great Armada: the 147th Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher” to be held January 21-22 at Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach.

The free, two-day event will highlight blockade running and the largest amphibious assault of the Civil War with a Navy and Marine living history program that includes lectures, small arms and artillery demonstrations, and as many as 80 re-enactors, according to a news release from North Carolina Historic Sites.

Guest speakers include Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., chief historian for the United States Coast Guard, Mark Wilde-Ramsing, deputy archaeologist, N.C. Office of State Archaeology, John Callahan of the American Civil War Marines Unit, and Larry Bopp and Steve Bockmiller of the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Company and Ship’s Company.

Hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday. A schedule of activities and demonstrations will be available in the visitor’s center.

Fort Fisher, the largest earthen fortification in the Confederacy, once protected the port of Wilmington and the vital blockade running trade on the Cape Fear River. After two massive bombardments the fort fell to a Union infantry assault on Jan. 15, 1865. With the capture of Fort Fisher, Wilmington’s port – “the Lifeline of the Confederacy” – was closed to foreign trade.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site is located at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd S, Kure Beach.  For more information on the site, call (910) 458-5538 or visit www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher/