Fiort Hampton Had Some Major Problems-- Part 8

Besides having the problem of garrisoning it, there were other major problems with the fort.

In August 1813, North Carolina Gov. William Hawkins visited the fort and found pressing structural problems.  It and its sister forts of the Second System had been built quickly and cheaply with little thought to structural longevity.

The guns had been mounted on low carriages, so low they they couldn't be fired over the crest of the parapet.  So, the platforms were raised so the guns could be fired over the parapet, but now the gun crews were protected only from their knees down.  Hawkins immediately ordered the carriages raised and the platforms lowered.

Another problem was that the fort was vulnerable from land side attack and the guns faced seaward.

The fort was occupied intermittently  by small detachments from an artillery company Fort hampton shared with its sister fort, Fort Johnston, at Southport.