| Summary |
The purpose of this study is to examine the situation in the Albemarle Sound region of North Carolina from 1862-1864, to evaluate the major en counters in that area, and to interpret the results of these engagements. Logistically, North Carolina was extremely important to the Confederate States of America. Vast amounts of supplies and ammunition passed through her ports throughout the Civil War. However, North Carolina's full logistic potential was never utilized; because in 1862 a joint Union military and naval expedition under General Ambrose E. Burnside and Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough captured the entire northeastern section of the state. Confederate General Benjamin Huger contributed to Burnside's relatively easy initial victory at Roanoke Island by not sending additional troops to fortify the area. This example of negligence was only the first in a series of negligent mistakes made by Confederate and Union army officers during the war in the Albemarle region. Using Roanoke Island as a base, Union naval forces, aided by the army, made strikes at Confederate positions in Albemarle Sound. Commander Stephen C. Rowan's naval victory over Flag Officer William F. Lynch's "mosquito fleet" at Elizabeth City in February, 1862, opened the sound area to Union dominance. During the remainder of 1862, Union military and naval expeditions were sent throughout the region to capture or disperse any Con federate troops still remaining there. The entire Albemarle Sound region remained under Union control until 1864. In 1864, the Confederates built the ironclad ram Albemarle in a corn field at Edward's Ferry, approximately sixty miles up the Roanoke River from Plymouth, North Carolina. The construction of the ram was uninterrupted by Union forces. Generals Benjamin F. Butler and John G. Foster did not believe that the ram was a threat to Union supremacy in the area and did not even attempt to destroy the vessel during construction. Consequently, Commander James Cooke brought the ram downstream in April, 1864, and joined General Robert F. Hoke in an attack on Union forces at Plymouth. The resulting Confederate victory was the first and last significant Confederate success during the war in the Albemarle Sound area. The victory was short lived, however, as Albemarle was seriously damaged in an engagement with Captain Melancthon Smith's flotilla May 5, 1864. After this fight, Albemarle remained idle at Plymouth until her destruction by Lieutenant William B. Cushing on October 27, 1864. Without the ram, the Confederate position at Plymouth was virtually defenseless. Commander W. H. Macomb took advantage of this situation and led a small flotilla to Plymouth late in 1864. Plymouth was recaptured, once again giving the Union complete control of the Albemarle region. Throughout the Civil War, except for a brief period in 1864, Union forces held complete control over the Albemarle Sound region of North Carolina. In so doing, the Union strengthened its blockade on the South and limited the amount of logistical support that North Carolina could provide the Confederacy. |
