A little known part of Civil War history will be honored today on the Outer Banks. A marker will honor a group of slaves who fled to the area in August, 1861 on their way north to freedom. About 100 slaves helped Union troops load ships and build fortifications after the capture of forts Hatteras and Clark in return for food and shelter.
"We nominated the site to designate the site as part of the Underground Rail Road Network to Freedom," said Doug Stover, a historian for the National Park Service on the Outer Banks. "We're going to dedicate a marker at the site that describes the event -- the marker will be actually right in front of the Graveyard of The Atlantic Museum in Hatteras."
Stover says the nine wooden buildings where the slaves stayed are now underwater.
