Union Captures Roanoke Island-- Part 3

The joint amphibious victory at Roanoke Island, and follow-up operations in the North Carolina Sounds, cut off Norfolk, Virginia, from its main supply lines, secured the North Carolina coast, and was, as Admiral David D. Porter later noted, "a great loss to the enemy and one he deeply mourned."

The evacuation of Norfolk three months later, caused in part by the loss of Roanoke Island, was a far greater loss.  The abandonment of the great industrial navy yard and the destruction of the CSS Virginia were serious reverses that had far-reaching effects on the Confederacy's ability to resist at sea.

--Old B-Runner