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Battle of Roanoke Island Fort Maps Pictures History American Civil War Coasts North Carolina Expedition
Defense Confederate Forts Battery Artillery Atlantic Ocean Union Navy Ship Blockade Harbor
Roanoke Island North Carolina Civil War
Other Names: Fort Huger
Location: Dare County
Campaign: Burnside's North Carolina Expedition (February-June 1862)
Date(s): February 7-8, 1862
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside [US]; Brig.
Gen. Henry Wise [CS]
Forces Engaged: 10,500 total (US 7,500; CS 3,000)
Estimated Casualties: 2,907 total (US 37K/214W/13M; CS 23K/58W/62M/2,500
Captured)
| Fort Huger on Roanoke Island: Historical Marker |
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| Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island |
Description: On February 7, Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside landed
7,500 men on the southwestern side of Roanoke Island in an amphibious operation launched from Fort Monroe. The next morning,
supported by gunboats, the Federals assaulted the Confederate forts (see Burnside's North Carolina Expedition) on the narrow waist of the island, driving back and out-maneuvering Brig. Gen. Henry Wise’s outnumbered command.
After losing less than 100 men, the Confederate commander on the field, Col. H. M. Shaw, surrendered about 2,500 soldiers
and 32 guns. Burnside had secured an important outpost on the Atlantic Coast, tightening the blockade. Roanoke Island was a
strategic objective in Gen. Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan.
By late spring 1862, Union soldiers occupied Hatteras Inlet and controlled the towns of Plymouth, Washington and New Bern. The loss of most of the North Carolina coast and coastal waterways was a blow both to Confederate morale and the young
nation's ability to supply its armies in the field. But aside from a few raids from those bases, the Union forces didn't
advance until Sherman entered North Carolina in March-April 1865, in what is commonly referred to as Sherman's March.
Result(s): Union victory
Recommended Reading: The Civil War on Roanoke Island North Carolina:
Portrait of the Past (Hardcover). Description: Even though the Civil War on Hatteras
Island ended with the capture of Hatteras by Union forces, the Outer Banks role in the war continued. Brigadier
General Ambrose Burnside continued his expedition into Roanoke Island in 1862, along with flag officer L. J. Goldsborough,
Colonel Rush Hawkins of the Ninth New York Zouves, and many others, causing great upheaval and dissonance to the simple lives
of the islanders. Continued below...
The pictures can almost tell the
story, but the rich historical detail in the text is absolutely fascinating. This book features drawings by James
Wells Champney, who was also stationed at Fort Macon in the
Outer Banks with the Union forces. In addition, journal entries and personal correspondence of soldiers such as Charles F.
Johnson and Capt. William Chase (of the 4th Rhode Island)
and the development of freedom's colony allow the reader a truly personal look into the soldiers' lives during these trying
times.
The Civil War Storms Roanoke Island
| Battle of Roanoke Island |
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| The Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island History |
The 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.
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.
| Map of Roanoke Island, NC |
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| Courtesy Microsoft MapPoint |
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.
| Location of Roanoke Island, North Carolina |
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| (Click to Enlarge Map) |
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. (See Battle of Roanoke Island: A History.)
Civil War Naval Map of Roanoke Island
Paintings Harper's New Monthly Magazine December 1865, Vol.
32, Issue 187, p. 575. Pictures
| Civil War Navy and the North Carolina Coast |
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| Civil War Map of Roanoke Island and the NC Coast |
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; Maps courtesy Microsoft MapPoint and Microsoft
Virtual Earth (3D).
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. 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: 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: 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: 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.
Related Studies are Burnside's North Carolina Expedition, CSS Albemarle:
Her Characteristics and Service, Goldsboro Expedition, and American Civil War Generals Appointed by North Carolina.
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