Wild, Wicked, Wartime Wilmington

When America went to war with itself, Wilmington was NorthCarolina's largest city. From the imposing grandeur of the BellamyMansion that overlooked a busy harbor, to the Wilmington &Weldon Railroad, which at the time boasted the longest rail line in the world,the port city was a bustling example of Southern industry. But when conflictcame, the city became a pivotal player in the Confederate government's warefforts. Paddy's Hollow boasted more than thirty saloons, while murdershappened with alarming frequency. Prostitutes offered their services to thethousands of soldiers passing through town, while civilian and military authoritiestried to keep a lid on it all. Local police were woefully inadequate tokeep the peace against rioting troops who had witnessed the horrors of placeslike Chickamauga and Gettysburg. Doctors performed heroically to save lives,fighting disease, battlefield disfigurements, and death with too little of everykind of medicine and supplies. Civilians, railroads, and military officials allcompeted for too few resources, while offshore the Union blockade of whatbecame the last open port of the Confederacy grew tighter with each passingday. Robert J. Cooke's ten years of research has resulted in a picture of Wilmingtonthat more closely resembles the Wild West's Dodge City thanit does some genteel antebellum city.