The soil is sandy.

Back a little the peninsula is very heavily wooded, and covered with fresh-water swamps.

The fort ran across this peninsula, about five hundred yards in width, and extended along the sea coast about thirteen hundred yards.

The fort had an armament of 21 guns and 3 mortars on the land side, and 24 guns on the sea front.

At that time it was only garrisoned by four companies of infantry, one light battery and the gunners at the heavy guns less than seven hundred men with a reserve of less than a thousand men five miles up the peninsula.
General Whiting of the Confederate army was in command, and General Bragg was in command of the force at Wilmington.