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Battle of Plymouth: A Civil War History
| Civil War Battle of Plymouth |
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| (Plymouth, North Carolina) |
Confederates under Gen. Robert F. Hoke, aided by the ram "Albemarle,"
took the town, April 17-20, 1864.
At 4 P.M. on April 17, 1864, an advanced Union patrol on the Washington
Road was captured by Confederate cavalry. A company of the 12th N. Y. Cavalry attacked the Confederates, but was repulsed.
Soon a large force of Confederate infantry appeared on the Washington Road, and at the same time Fort Gray, two miles above
Plymouth on the river bank, was attacked by advanced Confederate infantry. During the evening, skirmishing continued from
the Washington Road to the Acre Road. Union General Henry W. Wessells’ garrison of about 3,000, which had held Plymouth
since December, 1862, was under attack by General Robert F. Hoke’s Division of over 5,000 men. (See: Battle of Plymouth and Operations against Plymouth.)
| Civil War Redoubt |
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| (Historical Marker) |
Union forces under the command
of Union General Henry W. Wessells’ garrison of about 3,000 troops held Plymouth after its federal occupation in December
1862. The 85th Redoubt, also known as Fort Wessells and and Fort Williams, was an earthen fort
built by the 85th New York Regiment to maintain Union control
of the region as part of a larger set of earthworks that ringed the town. Armed with one 32 pound and one 6 pound cannon,
the fort was strategically placed and stood southwest of the main works. Although the earthworks protected the town from both
land and sea attacks, Confederates sought to retake the town in April 1864 and attacked the earthworks from all quarters
during the Battle of Plymouth.
At 5:30 A.M. on April 18, a heavy Confederate artillery fire was directed against Fort Gray. Both Fort Gray
and Battery Worth in Plymouth returned the fire. Soon a Union gunboat, the Bombshell, was disabled by the Confederate barrage.
| Confederate General Hoke |
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| The Final Assault |
At 6:30 P.M. on the 18th the Confederates advanced their line and began
an infantry assault upon the Union position; but this attack was abandoned at 8 P.M. The 85th Redoubt was then attacked and
captured at 11 P.M.
At 3 A.M. on April 19, the Confederates again attacked Fort Gray. Soon the Confederate iron-clad ram Albemarle,
aiding the army, passed undetected down the river.
Early on the morning of the 19th, the formidable CSS Albemarle advanced into the battle. The ironclad had left its final construction
docks in Hamilton, maneuvered through channel obstructions, and easily withstood glancing blows of Union cannon from
Fort Gray outside of Plymouth before engaging ships in the Roanoke near the town.
| Confederate Ironclad Albemarle |
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| (Historical Marker) |
The Albemarle successfully engaged and sank one Union gunboat and
another left in retreat after suffering damage and the loss of naval commander Charles W. Flusser. The Albemarle then bombarded
the Union earthworks throughout the night. The Albemarle engaged the Southfield and the Miami at
3:30 A.M., sinking the former and driving the latter away. The Albemarle then began to shell the Union defenses.
On April 19 the Confederates opened fire on the Union line from the 85th
Redoubt. Fort Williams and Battery Worth returned the fire. Heavy skirmishing continued all day. At 6:30 P.M. the Confederates
crossed Coneby Creek in an unexpected advance. Their infantry were now in an important position east of Plymouth.
| Confederate General Ransom |
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| (Historical Marker) |
At 5 A.M. on April 20, the Confederates under General Matt W. Ransom assaulted
the Union line east of Plymouth, while General Hoke, with two brigades, demonstrated against the Union right. After capturing
the Union defenses east of Plymouth, the Confederates halted their advance and re-formed. Union infantry counter-attacked,
but were repulsed by a renewed Confederate advance. In spite of determined resistance by the garrison of Fort Williams, the
town was surrendered by General Wessells at 10 A.M.
The capture of Plymouth by the Confederates was significant because it returned
two rich eastern North Carolina counties to the Confederacy; it supplied “immense
ordnance stores” to the Southern war effort; and the Roanoke River was reopened to Confederate commerce and military
operations.
| Confederate Civil War Flag |
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| (Civil War Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina) |
*A native of Lincolnton, General Robert F. Hoke rose to the rank of major
general during the Civil War. This is a second national pattern Confederate flag adopted on May 1, 1863 and used until replaced
on March 4, 1865. Because of its large white field this pattern flag was nicknamed the "stainless banner." This flag most
certainly marked Hoke's headquarters during his brilliant victory at Plymouth, North Carolina on April 20, 1864. This flag
was donated to the state sometime after Hoke's death in 1912.
(References listed at bottom of page.)
Recommended
Reading: Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina
(April 17-20, 1864): The Last Confederate Victory, by Juanita Patience Moss. Description: Are you familiar with the Battle of Plymouth? Not Plymouth, Massachusetts,
but how about Plymouth,
North Carolina? If you have never
heard of it, you are in the company of many others, even those who consider themselves avid Civil War buffs. The Battle of
Plymouth took place April 17-20, 1864, during the “Operations against Plymouth,”
and even though the engagement was one year before Lee surrendered to Grant, the sounds of America’s costliest and bloodiest conflict would yield havoc on
North Carolina’s
coastal communities. Continued below…
In
this fascinating book, you will read about the second largest battle in North Carolina and it was fought at a small North Carolina coastal town named Plymouth, where the
Confederates tasted their last victory. Intense action transpired during those four days, and the atmosphere was filled with
surprise, fate, intrigue, bravery, ingenuity, hope, daring, dedication, gallantry, victory, disappointment, and defeat. The
battle witnessed the likes of Cooke, Cushing, Flusser, Hoke, and Wessells, and the formidable CSS Albemarle, an ironclad warship
that was not built in the traditional shipyard, but rather in a Southern cornfield. The battle epitomized the brothers’
war, with North Carolina Federal regiments fighting their North Carolina Confederate brethren; it also witnessed African American
regiments (USCT) in the thick of the fight. The combined Union and Confederate casualties were just shy of 3,000, and the author offers an informative,
enlightening, and interesting view of the “Last Confederate Victory." Although a bit repetitive, it is a worthy addition because
it is the only full-length text dedicated to the battle. It is a welcome
addition to North Carolina and school
libraries, and to the buff that enjoys reading about the lesser-known Civil War
battles and it troops (Union and Confederate) that
fought valiantly. Three stars.
Recommended
Reading: The
Civil War in Coastal North Carolina (175 pages) (North Carolina Division of Archives and History). Description: From the drama of blockade-running to graphic descriptions of battles on the state's islands and
sounds, this book portrays the explosive events that took place in North Carolina's coastal region during the Civil War.
Topics discussed include the strategic importance of coastal North Carolina,
Federal occupation of coastal areas, blockade-running, and the impact of war on civilians along the Tar Heel coast.
Recommended
Reading: Ironclads and Columbiads:
The Coast (The Civil War in North Carolina)
(456 pages). Description: Ironclads
and Columbiads covers some of the most important battles and campaigns in the state. In January 1862, Union forces
began in earnest to occupy crucial points on the North Carolina
coast. Within six months, Union army and naval forces effectively controlled coastal North Carolina
from the Virginia line south to present-day Morehead
City. Union setbacks in Virginia, however, led to the withdrawal of many
federal soldiers from North Carolina, leaving only enough Union troops to hold a few coastal strongholds—the vital ports
and railroad junctions. The South during the Civil War, moreover, hotly contested the North’s ability to maintain its
grip on these key coastal strongholds.
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War in North Carolina. Description:
Numerous battles and skirmishes were fought in North Carolina
during the Civil War, and the campaigns and battles themselves were crucial in the grand strategy of the conflict and involved
some of the most famous generals of the war. John Barrett presents the complete story of military engagements across the state,
including the classical pitched battle of Bentonville--involving Generals Joe Johnston and William Sherman--the siege of Fort Fisher, the amphibious
campaigns on the coast, and cavalry sweeps such as General George Stoneman's Raid.
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War in the Carolinas (Hardcover). Description: Dan Morrill relates the
experience of two quite different states bound together in the defense of the Confederacy, using letters, diaries, memoirs,
and reports. He shows how the innovative operations of the Union army and navy
along the coast and in the bays and rivers of the Carolinas affected the general course of
the war as well as the daily lives of all Carolinians. He demonstrates the "total war" for North Carolina's vital coastal railroads and ports. In the latter
part of the war, he describes how Sherman's operation cut
out the heart of the last stronghold of the South. Continued below...
The author
offers fascinating sketches of major and minor personalities, including the new president and state governors, Generals Lee,
Beauregard, Pickett, Sherman, D.H. Hill, and Joseph E. Johnston. Rebels and abolitionists, pacifists and unionists, slaves
and freed men and women, all influential, all placed in their context with clear-eyed precision. If he were wielding a needle
instead of a pen, his tapestry would offer us a complete picture of a people at war. Midwest Book Review: The Civil War in the Carolinas by civil war expert and historian
Dan Morrill (History Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical
Society) is a dramatically presented and extensively researched survey and analysis of the impact the American Civil War had
upon the states of North Carolina and South Carolina, and the people who called these states their home. A meticulous, scholarly,
and thoroughly engaging examination of the details of history and the sweeping change that the war wrought for everyone, The
Civil War In The Carolinas is a welcome and informative addition to American Civil War Studies reference collections.
Recommended
Reading: Storm over Carolina: The Confederate Navy's Struggle for Eastern
North Carolina. Description: The struggle for control of the eastern waters of North Carolina
during the War Between the States was a bitter, painful, and sometimes humiliating one for the Confederate navy. No better
example exists of the classic adage, "Too little, too late." Burdened by the lack of adequate warships, construction
facilities, and even ammunition, the South's naval arm fought bravely and even recklessly to stem the tide of the Federal
invasion of North Carolina from the raging Atlantic. Storm Over Carolina is the account of the Southern navy's struggle in North Carolina waters and it is a saga of crushing defeats interspersed with moments of
brilliant and even spectacular victories. It is also the story of dogged Southern determination and incredible perseverance
in the face of overwhelming odds. Continued below...
For most of
the Civil War, the navigable portions of the Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, Chowan, and Pasquotank rivers were
occupied by Federal forces. The Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, as well as most of the coastal towns and counties, were also
under Union control. With the building of the river ironclads, the Confederate navy at last could strike a telling blow against
the invaders, but they were slowly overtaken by events elsewhere. With the war grinding to a close, the last Confederate vessel
in North Carolina waters was destroyed. William T. Sherman
was approaching from the south, Wilmington was lost, and the
Confederacy reeled as if from a mortal blow. For the Confederate navy, and even more so for the besieged citizens of eastern
North Carolina, these were stormy days indeed. Storm Over Carolina describes their story, their struggle, their history.
References: John G. Barrett, The Civil War in North Carolina (1963); Daniel
W. Barefoot, General Robert F. Hoke: Lee's Modest Warrior (1996); William R. Trotter, The Civil War in North Carolina: Ironclads
and Columbiads (1989); Robert G. Elliott, Ironclad of the Roanoke: Gilbert Elliott's Albemarle (1994); Clayton Charles Marlow,
Matt W. Ransom: Confederate General from North Carolina (1996); Port O’ Plymouth Museum; North Carolina Museum of History.
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