March 10, 1865: Operating Out of New Bern

MARCH 10TH, 1865:  The Federals had long held New Bern, 80 air miles northeast of Wilmington (but some three times that by water), near where the Neuse River  abruptly narrows from a main arm of Pamlico Sound.

The city was a gateway for another supply route from the sea for General Sherman's route north to unite with General Grant.

This date, at the request of the Army, a small naval force got underway up the river to cut a pontoon bridge the Confederates were reported building below Kinston.

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Timeline, April 1863: Skirmishes and Engagements

Frtom the North Carolina Civil War sesquicentennial site.

I also found a listing of Union troops and ships involved in the actions at the N.C. Research Online site and have included it here.

Civil War events taking place in North Carolina 155 Years Ago.

APRIL--  Marcus Erwin and the Buncombe County militia flush 80 anti-Confederates from Laurel Valley.  Western part of the state.

APRIL 1--  Engagement at Rodman's Pond   (USS Commodore Hull)

APRIL 2--  Engagement at Hill's Point   (U.S. Navy)

APRIL 3--  Skirmish at White Forks   (3rd New York Cavalry)

APRIL 3--  Skirmish at Washington   (44th Massachusetts)

APRIL 4-5--  Engagement at Rosman's Pond   27th Mass, 3rd NY Cav,  USS Ceres)

APRIL 4-6--  Operations on the Pamlico    (5th Mass, 23rd Ind. Light Battery, 101st Pa, 175th Pa, USS Smithfield, USS Ceres, USS Whitehead, USS Seymour)

--Old B-Runner

USS Stars and Stripes-- Part 2: Service Off North Carolina

After commissioning, the USS Stars and Stripes was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and arrived at Hampton Roads 26 September 1861.  Two days later it towed schooners of the Great Stone Fleet to Hatteras Inlet.  It arrived October 1 and then operated in the that vicinity for the next several months.

During that time, Lt. Reed Werden was also in charge of the USS Ceres, General Putnam and Underwriter.  Because of the drafts of the Stats and Stripes and the Underwriter, Werden refused to allow these two ships to enter shallow Pamlico Sound.

On 2 November, the Stars and Stripes fought a Confederate gunboat, but neither ship was within each other's range so no damage done.

On November 5 and 6, 1861, the ships under Werden's command attempted to provide assistance to the French corvette Prony, which had run aground, but weather and Confederate activity prevented them from doing so and the ship was lost.

On 15 December, the Stars and Stripes captured the schooner Charity and sent it to New York City for adjudication.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, January 12, 1862: Roanoke Expedition Gets Underway

JANUARY 12TH, 1862:  The Union amphibious expedition to Roanoke Island, North Carolina, departed Fort Monroe under Flag Officer L.M. Goldsborough and General Burnside.  Seizure of Hatteras Inlet by the Navy the previous August allowed Federal control of Pamlico Sound, but heavily fortified Roanoke Island dominated the narrow connection between Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, the latter of which Confederates used for active blockade running.

Capture of strategic Roanoke Island, which one Confederate general termed "that post which I regard as the very key of the rear defenses of Norfolk and the navy yard," would give the Union control of Albemarle Sound and the waters penetrating deeply into North Carolina, over which passed important railroad bridges south of Norfolk.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, October 1, 1861: Capture of the Union Ship Fanny in Pamlico Sound, N.C.

OCTOBER 1ST, 1861:  Confederate naval forces, including the CSS Curlew, Raleigh, and Junaluska, under Flag Officer William F. Lynch, CSN, capture the steamer Fanny (later CSS Fanny) in Pamlico Sound with Union troops on board.

Colonel Clairborne Snead, CSA reported:  "The victory was important in more respects than one.  It was our first naval success in north Carolina and the first capture made by our arms of an armed war-vessel of the enemy, and dispelled the gloom of recent disasters.  The property captured [two rifled guns and a large amount of army stores] was considerable, much needed, and highly esteemed ....."

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago: Hatteras Inlet Secured By Stringham's Squadron

AUGUST 29TH, 1861:  Hatteras Inlet, N.C., secured as Forts Hatteras and Clark surrendered unconditionally to Flag Officer Stringham and General Butler.  The Union triumph sealed off commerce raiding and blockade running from Pamlico Sound.

Hatteras Inlet became a coal and supply depot for blockading ships.

Of this most successful joint operation Admiral David D. Porter later wrote: "This was our first naval victory of any kind, and should not be forgotten.  The Union cause was then in a depressed condition, owing to the recent reverses it had experienced (Battle of Bull Run).  The morale effect of this affair was very great, as it gave us a foothold on Southern soil and possession of the Sounds of North Carolina if we chose to occupy them.  It was a death-blow to blockade running in that vicinity, and ultimately proved one of the most important events of the war."

--Old B-Runner