UPDATE: Hurricane threat Forces Postponement of ‘Flags Over Hatteras’

The approach of Hurricane Irene and its possible landfall along the North Carolina coast has led organizers of the “Flags Over Hatteras” Sesquicentennial Commemoration to postpone the event until later this fall.

Leading experts on the Civil War and its impact on the United States and the world were scheduled to take part in symposiums and lectures Aug. 25-27, at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras.

The Civil War Encampment scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 27 and 28, at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has also been cancelled.

 Joseph Schwarzer, director of N.C. Maritime Museums, said that the conference is now tentatively set for early October.

“We felt that, given the possible path of Irene, that we needed to ensure the safety of our participants, and also work to batten down the hatches at our Maritime Museums on Hatteras, in Beaufort, and Southport. We are in the process of contacting our speakers about rescheduling.”

The significant Civil War battles on the Outer Banks took place in August 1861, when two Federal expeditions were sent to Hatteras Inlet. The Union attack signified many firsts in the war: the first combined Army and Navy operation, the first amphibious assault, and the first African American gun crew to fire on Confederates.