The Lost Light: A Civil War History Of Extinguished Southern Sentinels And Hidden Lighthouse Lenses: The Mystery Of The Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens

by Kevin P. Duffus

In September 2002, after 3 years of research, Raleigh author and filmmaker, Kevin Duffus, solved the long-standing mystery of the missing, first-order Fresnel lens from the 1803 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The first-order optic was removed from the top of the first Hatteras tower in 1861, in a desperate act to prevent the beacon from aiding the Union Navy’s blockade. In its wake, the Hatteras lens left a trail of destruction, defiance and recrimination—careers were lost, towns were threatened, and the steamboat that transported the lighthouse contraband was captured and sunk. The apparatus, produced in France of more than 1,000 crown-crystal prisms and one of the earliest commissioned for a U.S. lighthouse, was eventually hidden in "a good storehouse," in Granville County, NC, 200 miles from the Cape. So began an intriguing mystery that endured for 140 years—what became of the 6,000-pound, 12-foot tall, bronze and crystal Fresnel lens from the original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, hidden during the Civil War? Considered by lighthouse historians to be the "holy grail" of American lighthouses, the storied apparatus vanished into obscurity, a mystery made of myths, urban legends and a sea of faded and fire-damaged documents. According to Lighthouse Digest, the whereabouts of the Cape Hatteras lens had remained "one of the great-unsolved mysteries of American lighthouse history." Kevin Duffus tells an intriguing and inspiring story of perseverance, passion, imagination and luck during his three-year pursuit and research for the long lost Henry-Lepaute first-order Fresnel lens from the 1803 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. But Duffus discovered more than the storied Hatteras lens—he compiled a staggering volume of research that for the first time, accurately portrays the desperate efforts of Confederate officials to darken the southern coastline and to hamper Lincoln’s blockade of southern ports. His new research proves that contrary to previous published histories, Southern lighthouse lenses were not vandalized or "shot out of the tops of lighthouses by retreating Confederate soldiers," but that most were carefully and professionally dismantled, gently packed and secretly transported to secure locations. Throughout the war, Federal troops searched customs houses, warehouses and military depots in search of North Carolina’s missing two-dozen lighthouse lenses without success.

Genres: History, American Civil War, American History

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2003

Reviews

[Jon Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased my copy of this book at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, NC when visiting the Outer Banks in November 2021. The giant Fresnel lens from the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, the object that is the subject of this book, is on display at the museum. The book gives a detailed history of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, which is interesting in and of itself, and traces the strange and perilous journey of the lighthouse's Fresnel lens during and after the Civil War. The Confederate government ordered the light extinguished early in the war, so that it would not aid navigation of blockading Union warships; then the lens was disassembled and removed from the lighthouse. It was secreted away and moved from place to place in North Carolina several times during the war to keep it out of the hands of the invading Federals. In telling the convoluted story of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse lens, Duffus weaves together threads of history of the US Lighthouse Bureau, various Civil War military campaigns in the Carolinas, the artisans in France who originally built and later repaired the lens, and even the 1853 "Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations" in New York City. Four out of five stars.

[Josh Liller · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Civil War broke out more than a hundred lighthouses in the South went dark - almost every lighthouse from Virginia to Texas. Their lamps were extinguished and, in most cases, the Fresnel lenses were removed. This is the story of the North Carolina lighthouses, particularly the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The fate of its lens became one of the lasting mysteries of the war.

The author is to be commended for his extensive research, including pouring through records in the National Archives. Even better, through careful reading of reports and correspondence he was able to solve the mystery. He also weaves together the story of the other NC lighthouses and their removed lenses, and ties events in with the Burnside expedition and Sherman's march into NC at the end of the war. The book has endnotes, a bibliography, and index.

My only issue with this book is the editing. There are many instances of what seemed like unnecessary repetition between quotes and the author's words. Some of this may be due to the author's transition from being a filmmaker to a first time writer. There is also at least once instance where several citations seem to have been forgotten; the endnotes are numbered sequentially, but several pages go by with several quotes used yet not citation. There is at least one newer edition of this book than the one I read so some of this may be cleaned up.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the American Civil War, lighthouses, or North Carolina history.

[Daniel Fell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing book about the historical importance of lighthouses in America and specifically the mysteries surrounding of the Cape Hatteras Fresnel light before, during and following the Civil War. Extensively researched, and updated even further in this third edition of the book, the author's personal passion and family history make the book all the more poignant.

[Bruce Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting history of the Cape Hatteras missing Fresnel Lens

[Mary Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on a little known aspect of Civil War history. If you enjoy history and/or lighthouses or visiting the Cape Hatteras area, it is a good read.

[Ellen Behrens · Rating 3 out of 5]

While in Buxton, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks this past May, we stopped into Buxton Books where we knew we'd find an awesome selection of local titles -- and we did. So many, in fact, that we asked the owner for some suggestions. One of the books she recommended was Kevin P. Duffus' "The Lost Light: A Civil War Mystery."

We've read other books about the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, have visited it so often it feels like another home (my husband used to run up the steps every day back when it admission was free and fewer people crowded the park). So we were skeptical the book would tell us anything new.

Were we wrong!

Duffus has been researching and adding updates to his book for many years -- the first edition was published in 2002 -- each time adding a new layer, shining a light (if you will) on the amazing history of the light.

What could be interesting about a lighthouse? Sure, we all know the lighthouse itself was moved farther from the lapping waves of the Atlantic in about 1999. What most of us don't know is that the Fresnel lens and its pedestal were removed from the lighthouse during the Civil War in a strategic effort by the Southern Rebels to darken the shore, preventing ships from ferrying needed supplies along the coast.

Suddenly the lighthouse keepers -- men (and perhaps women) all around the southern and Gulf coasts who had been charged by the US Government to take meticulous care of these necessary beacons -- were commanded to not only extinguish those life-saving lights but to dismantle them and move them, to hide them from the enemy.

Seems simple. But this was the mid-1800s, the country was a mess, things got lost, including a very heavy, very valuable lighthouse lens.

Patient, persistent research -- fueled by huge doses of curiosity -- led Duffus to thousands of pieces of information which he carefully reconstructed into a story we can appreciate for its detail and accuracy.

Though I enjoyed the added chapters which updated the saga from earlier editions, I did sometimes feel the book needed a bit of cleanup: laborious repetition of names and titles when they weren't needed and omitted when they would have been helpful, for example. But despite making the narrative clunky in spots, they were manageable and didn't detract from the overall experience.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse lovers and Civil War aficianados will love this story about a little-known aspect of the war which required hard-to-find funds and the efforts of many individuals.

[David R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful discovery. Duffus directs our attention to a subject I of which I was previously unaware, and makes it compelling. The mystery? in 1861 confederates removed the then-high tech fresnel apparatus from lighthouses to endanger Federal military shipping. The premier lens, from the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras, seemingly vanished from history. Duffus' explanation is satisfactory and surprising. Along the way he provides a fine grounding in lighthouses.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting historical book about the demise of Southern lighthouses during the Civil War. It had fascinating descriptions of the demolition of lighthouses and removal of their lenses to safe places inland. And the section on the Yankee march on Raleigh was really cool - the soldiers slept all over the place including the lands around "Dorthea Dix Home for the Insane."

[Donna Suchomelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent choice for those interested in lighthouse or Civil War history. Most of the book read like a novel, until it veered off into a pure historical account of the different battles during the war in North Carolina. It was a slower read, but I did enjoy it.

[Ryan Winston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Signed first edition!

[Jeff Parry]

I know where the lens is! ;-}