Student Body Television, UNCW’s on-campus television station, collected film footage for a Civil War biography Jan. 12 and 13 at the “137th Anniversary Program” at The Fort Fisher Historic Site.

The biography, the first ever SBTV production, was put together “to educate students and give them a better idea behind Ft. Fisher and the men behind it,” said Justin Queen, who heads all the production work at SBTV. Also present for the filming portion was the first assistant director Bill Hollister. The filming included civil war re-enactors from Ft. Fisher who dressed as both Confederate and Union Soldiers. The re-enactors used two large cannons, artillery and air rifles.

“I think the filming went really great; the re-enacters were also great about complying to the demands of the film crew,” Hollister said.

The re-enactment program is an annual event held to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle at Ft. Fisher, which took place Jan. 12, 1865. This battle was significant because the Fort was the last stronghold in the Confederacy, and supplies were transported by boat into the seaport of Wilmington. After three days of invasions by Federal ships and 3,300 Union infantry, the Confederacy lost the battle and, as a result, the seaport and the fort were captured. The Confederacy surrendered 90 days later.

SBTV is a brand new addition to the UNCW student media and is not affiliated with UNCW-TV. They will air their first news show Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. on channel 5 and plan to release the biography in the fall.

In the future, SBTV plans to work with SGA to film the SGA Presidential Debate and air it for UNCW students to view. “Once we get the right equipment, we will be filming SBTV-made movies,” Queen said. “We would like to have on campus screenings as well.” They also hope to collaborate with the other forms of media, such as The Seahawk.

Fort Fisher is located on Kure Beach and offers daily tours of the grounds where 10 percent of the Fort still stands. Tours operate Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The site is closed on Monday. Tour times change throughout the year, so call (910) 458-5538 for more information.