Fort Fisher to Bladen — the Long Way Around

Wright Singletary, my great-grandfather, entered Confederate service as a private at the age of 30, and served as a cook at Fort Fisher. During the battle on January 15, 1865, he took some dramatic action with hot water when Union troops entered the fort. Wright was captured and transferred by ship to Elmira Prison Camp in New York. Wright’s brother, Calvin, was also imprisoned at Elmira, but did not survive, and is buried at the National Cemetery. Wright was released from prison at the end of the war and sent to Fayetteville by train. From there, he walked home to Bladen County. Wright married Lucy Nance, and they had one son, Dawson. Wright worked on the family farm. He passed away in 1926 at the age of 93. His Civil War uniform hung in an outbuilding on the farm.