Fort Hancock

North Carolinians recognized early during the American Revolution that the bay at Cape Lookout was an excellent harbor.  Without fortifications, it was considered a vulnerable a target for invasion as a safe port by the British. When the French privateer Captain Denis de Cottineau steered his frigate Ferdinand into the harbor in February 1778 he, too, noticed the site's potential. In fact, as he fled the British warship Emerald, de Cottineau believed that the whaler's cabins along the shore were the makings of a rude fort. The commander of the Emerald was apparently deceived, as well, since he chose not to purse his quarry into Cape Lookout Bight. Since the Ferdinand required extensive repairs, de Cottineau decided to construct a small fort to protect his vessel and its cargo.

De Cottineau was in America with a cargo of supplies to aid the fight for American independence. Also on board the Ferdinand was Luis-Antione Jean-Baptiste, le Chevalier de Cambray, who was a captain of artillery with engineering skills. De Cambray surveyed the area and believed Cape Lookout offered an advantageous military position both to the state of North Carolina and to the Continental forces. Thus, in their general endeavor to aid the cause of American independence, the two men determined that a permanent fort should be constructed.

They contacted Governor Dobbs at New Bern and requested government support, which was obtained.  Then, the two Frenchmen undertook the project largely at their own expense, utilizing their crew members and "six countrymen" provided the labor. The state was having difficulty in arming the fort, so de Cottineau donated six cannons and two swivel guns, with ammunition, to the fort.  He also contributed 10 experienced gunners.  Sometime after this, additional guns were transferred from Ocracoke.

The fort was completed and garrisoned by mid-May 1778. The installation was named Fort Hancock, possibly in honor of Enoch Hancock, the man on whose land it was built. The fort never saw military action, though it was often “spotted” by British vessels, and it was dismantled in 1780.

Significant research and exploration in the 1950s failed to determine the location of the fort.  Anecdotal information obtained at the time from surviving residents of Diamond City places the fort location somewhere northwest of the Cape Lookout Light Station site, within the area where Barden Inlet exists today.