History Comes Alive with Dr. Chris Fonvielle~Each month a different topic~ August 24 & September 21

Learn About the History of the Cape Fear area 

Join us for a cruise full of the history of the Wilmington and Cape Fear Area. Dr. Chris Fonvielle, our local history expert, is on board to bring you back in time. Each month he will cover a different topic starting with the early explorers, Giovanni de Verrazano being the first known European explorer to arrive in the area. Then we go to the Revolutionary War in the late 1700s and finish with the Civil War and the Battle of Wilmington in 1865.

On our August 24th cruise, Dr. Chris will discuss that in 1864 how Wilmington was the most important city in the Confederacy. He will also tell fascinating stories of Cape Fear locals during the troublesome time like the great escape of William B. Gould and other enslaved African Americans during the horrific yellow fever epidemic in 1862 and much more.

On September 21, Dr. Chris will discuss “The Day of Blood: Race and Revolt in 1898”

Join Dr. Chris Fonvielle Jr., Professor Emeritus in the Dept. of History at UNCW, for the sixth in a series of local history-themed tours for Wilmington Water Tours. on Sunday, September 21, 2025, from 10:00 to noon. Dr. Fonvielle will talk about issues that affected Cape Fearians in the post-Civil War years and to the end of the nineteenth century. Wilmington experienced turmoil as a result of the U.S. Army occupation and unexpected arrival of thousands of released Union prisoners-of-war and homeless refugees. As conditions deteriorated, citizens and displaced persons alike suffered. African Americans, however, relocated to Wilmington in droves as they came to see the city as a Mecca for economic and political opportunities. But growing racial tensions led to confrontations and eventually the Riot of 1898, which uprooted the Black community and dramatically affected race relations for decades to come. Wilmington maintained its status as North Carolina’s most populated city and busiest seaport in the second half of the nineteenth century. Maritime businesses grew as shippers and merchants exploited the cotton trade with Europe that had been so vital to the Confederate war effort.