FEBRUARY 7TH-8TH, 1862: Coming just two days after the captured of Fort Henry, the Confederates suffered a second major defeat. A joint Army-Navy expedition under Flag Officer L.M. Goldsborough and Brigadier General Burnside captured Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
The Union force departed its anchorage at Hatteras Inlet on 5 February, but was delayed one day en route by foul weather. Naval bombardment of Confederate defenses, especially Fort Bartow at Pork Point -- began the morning of 7 February, continuing until dark when the action was broken off.
Confederate Flag officer Lynch, commanding Southern naval forces at Roanoke Island, paid tribute to the accuracy of the Union naval fire when he reported: "The soldiers in the battery [Fort Bartow] sustained their position under a terrific fire.... At times the entire battery would be enveloped in the sand and dust thrown up by shot and shell.... The earthwork...was very much cut up...."
--Old B-Runner
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