Jan. 1, 1864-- Part 2: Great Blockade Running At Wilmington

On 2 January, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles again proposed an attack on the fortifications protecting Wilmington, "the only port by which any supplies whatever  reach the rebels...."

He suggested to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton that a joint expedition be taken against Fort Caswell:  "The result of such operation is to enable vessels to lie inside, as in the case with Charleston, thus closing the port effectually."

However, major general Henry W. Halleck advised Stanton that campaigns to which the Army was committed in Louisiana and Texas would not permit the men for the suggested assault to be spared.  Thus, although the Navy increasingly felt the need to close Wilmington, the port remained a haven for blockade runners for another year.

The First Battle o Fort Fisher took place almost a year later.

--Old B-Runner