Fort Branch
In the century after the war, the area grew up in trees and brush and later became a preferred place for young boys in the area to play war. Although it was known to be the site of Fort Branch, there was little interest in any official recognition.
Treasures Discovered by the "Outside World"
New attention to the site's treasures was bound to bring problems. The following summer a relative of one of the marines, along with four men from Alabama (including a professional diver), conducted an underwater search for guns at the same site. They located three cannons and some other artifacts, which they raised onto a rented salvage barge. On a July morning in 1972, a Hamilton resident informed the Winslows that some men were pulling cannons from the river. The Winslows and others knew that they did not want Martin County's history taken but, was a law being broken? They quickly consulted Superior Court Judge Elbert S. Peel, Jr. He determined that North Carolina's antiquities law was being violated and District Attorney William Griffin drew the necessary papers to stop the action. By the time the salvagers secured the guns on a truck at the landing in Hamilton, Sheriff Raymond Rawls was there to serve the freshly drawn papers. The case became a test for North Carolina's antiquities law and took two years to resolve. Officially, the guns belong to the State of North Carolina with the Department of Archives and History being the custodian. Many of the guns and artifacts are now on permanent loan to the Fort Branch Historical Society and displayed at the site.