Confederates Building Warships On NC Rivers

SEPTEMBER 17TH, 1863-- Reports of Confederate vessels being built on North Carolina Rivers was a source of great concern for the Union Navy. Secretary Welles wrote Secretary of War Stanton suggesting Union troops attack reported sites.

He was especially concerned with an ironclad, the CSS Albemarle and a possible floating battery being built on the Roanoke River. Should they be completed and get down the river, Welles wrote, "Our possession of the sounds would be jeopardized."

--Old B-Runner