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Hatteras Inlet Batteries Island Fort
Other Names: Forts Clark and Hatteras Battle
of Hatteras Inlet Forts Batteries
Location: Dare County
Campaign: Blockade of the Carolina Coast (August-December 1861)
Date(s): August 28-29, 1861
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler [US]; Col.
William F. Martin [CS]
Forces Engaged: 9th and 20th New York regiments (est. 2,000)
[US]; Hatteras Island Garrison (900) [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 773 total (US 3; CS 770)
Description: On August 26, an amphibious expedition led by Maj.
Gen. Benjamin Butler and Flag-Officer Silas Stringham, embarked from Fort Monroe to capture Hatteras Inlet, an important haven
for blockade-runners. On the 28th, while the navy bombarded Forts Clark and Hatteras, Union troops came ashore and attacked
the rear of the Confederate batteries. On August 29, Col. William F. Martin surrendered the Confederate garrison of 670. The
Federals lost only one man. Butler returned to Fort Monroe, leaving the captured forts garrisoned. This movement was part
of Union efforts to seize coastal enclaves from which to enforce the blockade. The blockade of North Carolina's coast was a
strategic objective in Gen. Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan.
Result(s): Union victory
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.
The Civil War Batters the Outer BanksThe Outer Banks of North Carolina were the setting for important conflicts during the Civil War. Union victories at
Hatteras Inlet and Roanoke Island early in the war placed the area under Federal control and extended their blockade of the southern coast.
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The federal campaign began on August 27, 1861, with an amphibious assault by Commodore
Silas Stringham and General Benjamin Butler on two small and lightly defended forts at Cape Hatteras. The Confederate government
had placed a higher priority on the conflicts in Virginia, and thus had made little effort to outfit and maintain these forts.
The poorly-trained and poorly-equipped Confederate militia and recruits manning them were also plagued by thirst and mosquitoes.
The Federals took both forts in less than 48 hours, and not one Union soldier was killed. The entire Pamlico Sound north to Roanoke Island was now open to Union activity, and for the Confederates the great highway linking coastal
shipping to the rivers of interior North Carolina was beginning to close.
A few months later, the Union assembled another fleet, this time for an attack on
Roanoke Island. Since the fall of the Hatteras forts, the Richmond government had done little to strengthen the defense of
Roanoke Island. There were three small earthen forts on the island, with a fourth position west of the island across Croatan
Sound (north of the current Manns Harbor Bridge). Because the Confederate general staff was expecting a Union attack from
the north, most of their artillery pieces were pointed in that direction and could not be turned to face an attack from the
south- Pamlico Sound. Due to the Confederate government's commitment to the defense of Richmond, only 1400 soldiers were made
available to hold the strategically important island.
After struggling south from Annapolis, Maryland, through a series of winter storms,
Union General Ambrose Burnside led a fleet of 67 ships and 13,000 men through Hatteras Inlet and dropped anchor off the western
shore of Roanoke Island on February 5, 1862. He landed 4000 soldiers at Ashby Harbor and after slogging through the swamps
assaulted the Confederates' makeshift position near today's intersection of U.S. 64 and N.C. 345. On Croatan Sound, the South's
five-vessel "Mosquito Fleet" harried the Union ships as best it could, but it was badly battered and quickly driven north
out of range.
The island's inexperienced defenders fought tenaciously behind their earthen fortifications
but were eventually outflanked and overwhelmed by Burnside's veterans. Few on either side were killed, and the Union forces
eventually captured the entire Southern defense contingent.
The "Mosquito Fleet" temporarily escaped to
the north, but was destroyed a few days later in a battle near Elizabeth City (Battle of Elizabeth City). The Union now controlled North Carolina's sounds and access to the state's interior shipping routes. It was a devastating
loss. The Federal campaigns on the Outer Banks helped accomplish President Lincoln's goal of a blockade of the Confederacy's
coastline, and helped foster cooperation and coordination between the Union's Army and Navy. Today, only one of the Confederate
defensive sites is accessible to visitors. Remnants of the ramparts near the U.S. 64-N.C. 345 intersection can be seen and
parking is available about 100 yards south of the intersection.
The three island forts, either worn down over the years or washed away into Croatan
Sound, are commemorated by historic plaques and street names throughout Roanoke Island.
Capture of the Forts at Cape Hatteras Inlet, August 28, 1861
Pictures Artist Alfred R. Waud Paitings Art
Sources: National Park Service; Fort Raleigh National Historic Site; Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; New Bern Historical Society; North Carolina Civil War Tourism Council, Inc;
North Carolina Museum of History.
Recommended
Reading: The
Civil War on the Outer Banks: A History of the Late Rebellion Along the Coast of North Carolina from Carteret to Currituck
With Comments on Prewar Conditions and an Account of (Hardcover: 243 pages). Description: The ports at Beaufort, Wilmington, New Bern and Ocracoke, part of the Outer Banks (a chain of barrier islands that
sweeps down the North Carolina coast from the Virginia Capes to Oregon Inlet), were strategically vital for the import
of war materiel and the export of cash producing crops. ...Includes battle accounts of each North Carolina coastal fort and
battery. From official records, contemporary newspaper accounts, personal journals of the soldiers, and many unpublished manuscripts
and memoirs, this is a full accounting of the Civil War along the North Carolina
coast.
Recommended Reading: Portrait of the Past : The Civil War on Hatteras Island North Carolina
(Portrait of the Past) (Hardcover). Description: Hatteras Island has achieved a well-deserved reputation as a summer getaway
and a wildlife refuge on North Carolina's coast. However,
most visitors are unaware of the crucial role that Hatteras played in the Civil War. The book offers a new view of Hatteras's
history, interweaving historical facts, archival drawings, and current photography of how the island looks today. In addition,
the book reveals the largely unknown journals of Edwin Graves Champney, a Union soldier who was stationed on Hatteras from
1862 to 1863. Champney's prose and artistic talents, along with the quotes of soldier Charles F. Johnson of the Ninth New
York, shed new light on the experiences of Civil War soldiers stationed on the Outer Banks during that time. It follows the
crucial maritime battles along the Outer Banks and the famous Burnside Expedition. This is a fascinating history of how one
of America's most treasured islands played
a significant part in the Civil War and is a must for any reader. Continued below…
About the Author: Author: Drew
Pullen is a graduate of Houghton College and a former history teacher.
He currently manages the Hatteras and Ocracoke offices of the East Carolina Bank. As an amateur historian, he has written
several articles on the Civil War for local newspapers. His wife Jo Anne is from a local Hatteras family and her great-great
grandfather was stationed at Fort Hatteras
during the Civil War. Drew continues to research Civil War action in eastern North
Carolina for future books.
Recommended Reading:
American Civil War Fortifications (1): Coastal brick and stone forts
(Fortress). Description: The 50 years before the American Civil War saw a boom in the construction of coastal forts in the
United States of America. These stone
and brick forts stretched from New England to the Florida Keys, and as far as the Mississippi River.
At the start of the war some were located in the secessionist states, and many fell into Confederate hands. Although a handful
of key sites remained in Union hands throughout the war, the remainder had to be won back through bombardment or assault.
This book examines the design, construction and operational history of those fortifications, such as Fort
Sumter, Fort Morgan
and Fort Pulaski,
which played a crucial part in the course of the Civil War.
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: 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.
Recommended Reading: Seacoast Fortifications of the United States:
An Introductory History. Reader’s Review: In the thirty years since this book was published, one
always hoped another would equal or surpass it. None has, or perhaps ever will. It is a marvelous history of the Forts along
the American Seacoast, both Atlantic and Pacific, and even the Philippines.
…Any Fort enthusiast must read this book. The author captures so much information, so many views, so much perspective
in so few pages, the book is breathtaking. It is easily the finest book on its chosen subject, which is why it never goes
out of print. “If forts interest you, read it, period.” The photographs from the author's collection, the army's
files, the National Archives, etc., make it an invaluable edition. But the text, the clear delineation of the periods of fort building since 1794 in the US, and the differentiation of the periods, are so worth while. Ray manages to
be both terse, and pithy. It is a great tribute to any author to say that. “This is a MUST read for anyone interested
in the subject, even one only interested in their own local Fort, and how it relates to the defense plans of the United States
when it was built.” “[T]here is NO better book to read on the subject.”
Battle
of Hatteras Inlet Island Batteries Forts Pictures Maps Civil Wars History Details Captured Fort Clark Hatteras Macon Garrisons
Battery North Carolina Union Naval Blockade Coast North Carolina
American Civil War: Union and Confederate Navies
Burnside's North Carolina Expedition
Operations
Against Plymouth
CSS Albemarle: Her Characteristics and Service
Goldsboro Expedition
Operations against Fort Fisher
and Wilmington
American Civil War Generals Appointed by North Carolina
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