On September 6, 1776, Patriot forces rowed across the Cape Fear River and tried to storm a small British stronghold on Bald Head Island. The raid was brief and ultimately unsuccessful. Yet two and a half centuries later, that forgotten skirmish has become the centerpiece of one of the most unusual commemorations of America's 250th birthday — a Labor Day weekend of living history, barbecue, and cannon fire staged on the very ground where it happened.
The Old Baldy Foundation and the North Carolina 4th of July Festival are joining forces to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Fort George with a two-day celebration on Bald Head Island, September 5–6, 2026. The weekend's signature event, the Fort George Block Party, unfolds Sunday on the historic grounds of Old Baldy, North Carolina's oldest standing lighthouse, with reenactments of the battle at noon and 3:30 p.m., tours of the lighthouse and museum, a Southern barbecue picnic, live music, and local craft beer and spirits.
The story behind the celebration is a reminder that the American Revolution was fought in small, muddy, half-remembered places as much as in grand set-piece battles. On September 6, 1776, Patriot forces rowed across the Cape Fear River and tried to storm a small British stronghold on Bald Head Island known as Fort George. The skirmish was brief and unsuccessful, and it faded into the footnotes of Revolutionary history — remembered locally, if at all, as a small but significant moment in the island's long story.
"It's not the biggest battle of all time as far as the American Revolution is concerned," Jake Grossman, educator and collections coordinator for the Old Baldy Foundation, told WECT. "However, it happened right on Bald Head."
That local pride is the engine behind the anniversary weekend. The reenactment is planned on the historic earthworks at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, highlighting the island's long role in coastal defense and navigation. The living-history encampment will feature portrayals of North Carolina Continental troops and the British Army, presented by North Carolina State Historic Sites.
The weekend's schedule is built around the two-day commemoration. Saturday, September 5, offers living history from 2 to 6 p.m., followed by a screening of the film "National Treasure" at 8 p.m. Sunday brings a History Hub from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Fort George Block Party from noon to 6 p.m., and the two battle reenactments. Visitors spending the full weekend can also enjoy the Old Baldy Foundation's annual Duck Race on Saturday, a beloved island tradition of family-friendly fun and fundraising.
Getting to the celebration is part of the experience. Because Bald Head Island is accessible only by boat, ticketed guests travel by private ferry from Deep Point Marina in Southport, crossing the same waters British troops would have taken 250 years ago. Tickets for the block party cost $80 for adults and $35 for youth twelve and under, including the ferry. From the island ferry terminal, guests walk a short distance to the gated event grounds at Old Baldy.
The block party itself is a distinctly North Carolina affair. Southern Smoke BBQ, helmed by pitmaster Matt Register, will serve the Southern barbecue picnic, while DJ Fray provides live music. The cash bar features Flying Machine Brewery and three local distilleries — End of Days, Cook's Mills, and Cape Fear — a taste of the region's modern craft renaissance set against a Revolutionary backdrop. Raffles and lighthouse tours round out the afternoon.
The setting is as much a character in the story as the battle itself. Old Baldy, North Carolina's oldest standing lighthouse, stands on the grounds where the block party unfolds, a quiet sentinel over the island's long history of coastal defense and navigation.
The partnership behind the event brings together two institutions steeped in the region's patriotic history: the Old Baldy Foundation and the North Carolina 4th of July Festival.
For the organizers, the timing is deliberate. As America marks its 250th year, they argue, there is no better place to reflect on the nation's beginnings than Bald Head Island, where a small, nearly forgotten battle once unfolded at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Attendance is limited, and the organizers are urging visitors from across North Carolina and beyond to plan ahead. But for those who make the ferry crossing, the weekend offers something rare: a chance to stand on the actual earthworks where history happened, to hear the crack of musket fire echo across the water, and to remember that the American Revolution was fought not only in grand set-piece battles, but in places like a sandy island at the mouth of a river.