What is the history of Liberty ships being built in Wilmington during World War II?
In all, 126 Liberty ships were built between 1941 and 1943 at the N.C. Shipbuilding Co. yards in Wilmington, located on the east bank of the Cape Fear River slightly south of downtown, on the site of the present N.C. State Port property. After mid-1943, the shipyard switched production to the C-2 model freighter (intended for postwar commerce), amphibious/attack cargo ships (AKAs) and other vessel types. The Wilmington yards turned out a total of 243 vessels before closing in 1946. At its height, N.C. Shipbuilding employed more than 20,000 civilian workers, who flocked to Wilmington from across the Carolinas. Wilmington had been a modest shipbuilding center since at least the 1700s. (The earliest known vessel, the 10-ton sloop New Adventure, was built here around 1727.) During the Civil War, Benajmin Washington Beery and his brothers operated a shipyard on Eagles Island, constructing a number of vessels, including the Confederate ironclad CSS North Carolina. Meanwhile, James Cassidey a
