As an original 13th colony, North Carolina offers a rich and unique history. On the coast, we think Pleasure Island has a rich history within itself. First is the name Pleasure Island itself. With a battle between marketing and local opinion, this name has a lot of controversies. Second is the USS North Carolina. This battleship was the first of its kind and saw a lot of action during its active years protecting our country. The third is the Battle of Moores Creek. This revolutionary war battle showed the patriots had a chance of beating the British empire. This is just a small snippet of what history took place here. Read more about all these historical scenes below!
“Pleasure Island”
When the Intracoastal Waterway was built in 1930, the area started to grow, and the line between the communities began to blur, they began to lose their individual identities. In the 1970s the local chamber of commerce, realtors, and local businessmen decided that the Island needed an overarching name for the island for marketing purposes. They came up with “Pleasure Island.” It started to show on road maps the term became so well known.
However, this name was not long-lived because the locals hated the name. They found it kind of sleazy especially the residents of Carolina and Kure Beach whose identities were still strong at that time. Carolina Beach went as far as putting it onto a ballot and had a vote on whether to adopt the name. The voters overwhelmingly voted against the name. Now it no longer appears on official maps and long-time residents don’t use the name. However, The Chamber of Commerce still uses the name, and it is used as a convenient name for the “resort” area of the island.
The First Battleship
Launched on June 13, 1940, USS North Carolina was the first battleship to be built in 16 years and one of the first fast Battleships. The battleship was first commissioned on April 9, 1941. The ship's company included 144 commissioned officers and 2,195 enlisted men.
During World War II, USS North Carolina participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific area of operations and earned 15 battle stars. The USS North Carolina established the primary role of fast battleships as protection of aircraft carriers when it saved the carrier Enterprise during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August of 1942.
The Battleship's legacy is when it was claimed on Japanese radio that the battleship had sunk. They were just a lot of close calls and near missed. However, on September 15, 1942, a Japanese torpedo slammed into the ship’s hull. The crew's quick action allowed the battleship to keep up with the fleet.
The ship was decommissioned on June 27, 1947. It was placed in the Inactive Reserve Fleet in Bayonne, New Jersey, for the next 14 years. When it was announced the ship was impending scrapped, the citizens of North Carolina raised funds to save the ship and bring her to North Carolina. Their efforts were a success and the Battleship arrived in Wilmington, North Carolina in October 1961. In 1962, the ship was dedicated as a World War II memorial to honor the veterans and the 11,000 North Carolinians who died during the war.
First Victory of the Patriots
North Carolina was deeply divided during the Revolutionary War and a fractured colony. This made it a prime target for a British invasion. The British crown took advantage of the situation and planned to send 7,000 regular British troops and 100,00 muskets and small artillery to supply the colonists that were still loyal to the British government.
Once the British Royal Governor of North Carolina, Josiah Martin, lost control of the colony and was exiled, he vowed to raise an army of 10,000 and march to the coast to link up with British Forces. However, He could only raise 1,600 loyalist soldiers. Once the news was that loyalists were assembling, the patriots began gathering forces under Colonel James Moore.
In Wilmington, the patriots threw up breastwork and prepared to fight the approaching loyalist soldiers to stop the loyalists from joining up with British forces. The loyalists couldn’t get to the coast with coverage along each access point. The loyalists decided their best chance was to cross at the bridge crossing Moores Creek. However, the patriots were one step ahead and reinforced the area.
The loyalists decided to send a courier to the patriot camp to offer them the chance to lay down their arms. They refused. The courier came back to the Loyalist camp and conveyed partial information. He stated that they were on the left side of the bank and left the east venerable for the attack. The courier did not see that they set up earthworks on the east bank. When the loyalists moved to attack the patriots moved their forces to prepare for the attack. Thinking the patriots were retreating, the loyalist started to move in but they were met with musket and cannon fire from the patriot earthwork.
After only 3 minutes of battle, the patriots were victorious making the battle of Moores Creek the first decisive patriot victory of the American Revolution. Allowing North Carolina to become the first American Colony to instruct their delegates to go to the Continental Congress and vote for independence.
Book your North Carolina Vacation Rental
There is so much history on Pleasure Island. Walk through time in North Carolina the next time you are visiting Wrightsville Beach or Carolina Beach. We have vacation homes that give you a prime position to step into these historic locations. Start your search for your next North Carolina Vacation Rental now!