Hotel De ’Afrique & USS Minnesota Monument

This heritage site is a part of the American Battlefield Trust's Road to Freedom: North Tour Guide app, which showcases sites integral to the Black experience during the Civil War era. Download the FREE app now.

During the Civil War, African Americans used water routes to escape slavery and set up freedmen communities along the shores of the Outer Banks and even the Great Dismal Swamp. Hotel De ’Afrique was one of the first settlements along Roanoke Island.

In 1861, men came with their families to work as laborers, watermen, and soldiers. The Battle on Hatteras Inlet sequentially helped them. The battle took place on August 28-29, 1861, between the Confederacy and Union who fought to apprehend Forts Hatteras and Clark and to control access to the Pamlico Sound. The black gun crew of the USS Minnesota fought side by side with white soldiers to defeat the Confederate army. The word spread swiftly upon their victory now that they had access to the water supply, enslaved people moved to Hatteras Island with their families; by February 1862, 40 fugitive families lived there. Some of the men served in the Union army.

One of the barracks was given to families for lodging and was named Hotel De ’Afrique which was located near the beach at Hatteras Inlet. The first time the hotel was recognized to the public was in a Harper’s Weekly article where Civil War artist Edward Graves Champney referred to the “hotel” as a shanty. Pictures of these said huts were featured in Leslie's’ Illustrated Newspaper in November of 1861. A storm in 1862 damaged the structure so a new campsite with 10-12 barracks was built. Despite the changes that were made, not all white people were excited about the idea of equality of the races. Drunk soldiers caused unrest, which resulted in violence and the death of Old Gallaway, Colonel Nagle’s colored servant.

Hotel De ’Afrique is now recognized as the “first safe place for people escaping slavery in North Carolina during the Civil War era,” and is recognized as being a part of the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

The Battle on Hatteras Inlet took place on August 28-29, 1861, between the Confederacy and Union who fought to apprehend Forts Hatteras and Clark and to control access to the Pamlico Sound. The black gun crew of the USS Minnesota fought side by side with white soldiers to defeat the Confederate army. The word spread swiftly upon their victory now that they had access to the water supply, enslaved people moved to Hatteras Island with their families; by February 15, 1862, 40 fugitive families lived there.