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CH. X.]

ROANOKE ISLAND CAPTURED.

121

the vessels were collecting, that they means of reinforcements by railroad would be employed inside of the capes communication with Virginia and the of Virginia, but little anxiety had been northern part of the state. felt respecting their sea going qualities. But now, when the well known dangers of Hatteras were taken into account, there was considerable apprehension entertained, and the result proved that this apprehension was well founded.

As it was a matter of necessity to dis lodge the rebels at Roanoke, the expe dition set sail from Hatteras for that purpose, on the 5th of February. Fifteen gun boats led the way, followed at an interval of a mile by the armed transports, and side-wheel steamers.

The first day out, there was much The naval vessels, placed un- 1862. embarrassment from the fog on the der the immediate command coast, which greatly impeded progress. of Commander Rowan, were formed in Monday was clear, with a heavy wind three separate columns, and as the day and rough sea, which caused the vessels was clear and the wind favorable, the to labor very heavily; by noon, how- entire fleet of seventy vessels presented ever, most of them were inside of the a striking picture as they slowly adbar at Hatteras Inlet, their first south-vanced toward Roanoke. At sunset ern destination, in time to escape the they anchored within sight of the is unusually severe gale of Monday night land. The next day being foggy and and Tuesday. The anchorage was bad wet, nothing was undertaken beyond a and the vessels jostled together. Some reconnaissance of Croatan Sound, as the of the vessels were grounded and lost; passage is called which separates Roanothers had to be sent back to Fortress oke from the mainland. Friday, the Monroe. Weeks were spent in striving 7th, was foggy in the morning, but to secure passage through the narrow, about 10 o'clock it cleared up sufficientperplexing, and violent channel. At ly for the advance. An active bomlength, however, by patience, mutual bardment of Fort Bartow, at Pork help, and unwearied assiduity, General Point, on the upper part of the island, Burnside and Commodore Golds. ensued, doing some Golds. ensued, doing some damage to the borough saw the flotilla fairly embark enemy's works, while another portion ed on Pamlico Sound, and ready for of the gun boats was engaged in firing at the rebel vessels at long range.

action.

Meanwhile, the rebels, aware of the In the course of the afternoon the purpose of the expedition, took occa- army transports came up, and after sion to strengthen the defences, and considerable difficulty, our troops were gather a large body of North Carolina safely landed. The process was tedious and Virginia troops at Roanoke Island, and comfortless, the men having to a position which commands the chan- wade through water and mud, and nel separating the waters of Pamlico a great part of the night being thus ocand Albermarle Sounds. There was cupied; added to this, a cold rainstorm besides a fleet of gun boats, and ready made the position of our troops exceed

VOL. IV.-16.

ingly cheerless during the night. But the morning found them ready for action. General Foster promptly got his mer in order, and after marching a mile and a-half came in sight of the enemy's position. It was capitally chosen, protected on the right and left by a morass deemed impassable, and stretching across nearly the entire width of the island. A bayonet charge was undertaken by the Zouaves, which so frightened the rebels that they abandoned their guns and ran away This assured the entire defeat of the enemy, and though they made a stubborn resistance, they surrendered unconditionally, and Roanoke Island became ours, with its heavy guns and batteries, and eight steamers, each mounting two guns.

The complete success attained by our arms on this occasion was equally surprising and mortifying to the authorities at Richmond. Jefferson Davis, in his message to the Confederate Congress, Feb. 25th, expressed the hope that matters were not so bad as they appeared to be in regard to the "discomfiture at Roanoke Island and the fall of Fort Donelson." He was wait ing for further information, but at the same time confessed: "enough is known of the surrender of Roanoke Island to make us feel that it was deeply humiliating, however imperfect may have been the preparations for defence."*

The victory at Roanoke Island was

* Pollard speaks with unusual bitterness of this result, which lost to the rebels a position "only second in importance to Fortress Monroe." He details at length the urgency of the confederate General Wise for reinforcements, and the curt manner in which he was treated by J. P. Benjamin, rebel secretary of

1862.

immediately followed up by an expedition, under command of Captain Rowan, sent in pursuit of the fleet of the enemy, which had fled up the Albemarle Sound, a distance of some thirty or forty miles, into Pasquotank River, toward Elizabeth City. Captain Rowan sailed from Roanoke on the afternoon of Sunday, and arrived at the mouth of the river at night. The following morning, the 10th of February, the fleet ascended the river, and at eight o'clock came upon the enemy's gun boats, consisting of seven steamers and a schooner armed with two heavy 32-pounders, drawn up in front of the city. A brief but spirited contest ensued; the enemy set their boats on fire, and the crews escaped as best they could; the fort on Cobb's Point, mounting four guns, was abandoned; and in less than an hour the rebels were entirely defeated, and the flag-ship Delaware was moored to the wharf at Elizabeth City. After the gun boats were deserted, the rebels commenced setting fire to the principal buildings in the city, most of the people having fled. Captain Rowan, however, by prompt action, succeeded in checking this wild proceeding.

Elizabeth City was taken possession of by the Union forces the day after the engagement. On the 12th of February, Edenton, at the west end of Albemarle Sound, was visited by a por

war (no favorite with Pollard, by the way), and he lays upon Benjamin and his fast friend Davis the whole blame of the disaster, "which unlocked all North-eastern North Carolina to the enemy, and exposed Portsmouth and Norfolk to a rear approach of the most im minent danger.'-"First Year of the War," pp. 227| 234.

CH. X.]

OPERATIONS AGAINST NEWBERN.

123

1862.

tion of the flotilla; on the approach you astray, to gratify their unholy pur of which to the town, a body of flying poses. They impose upon your creduli artillery ran away with all speed. ty by telling of wicked and even diabol Eight cannon and one schooner on the ical intentions on our part; of stocks were destroyed. Two schooners, our desire to destroy your freewith 4,000 bushels of corn were captur- dom, demolish your property, liberate ed on the Sound, and six bales of cot- your slaves, injure your women, and ton taken from the custom-house such like enormities; all of which, we wharf. The next day, Lieut. Jeffers, assure you, is not only ridiculous, but proceeded with several vessels to the utterly and wilfully false." mouth of the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal, and driving away some rebels there, sunk two schooners to obstruct navigation, and burned all that remained above water. A few days after, a reconnaissance was made by Capt. Rowan up the Chowan River as far as Winton, the capital of Hereford Co. Information had been given that there were several hundred Union men there who desired protection; but when the Perry approached Winton, it was greeted with volleys of musketry from the high bank on the shore. The town was shelled in retaliation, and the buildings destroyed.

The governor of North Carolina, H. T. Clark, also issued a proclamation, Feb. 22d; but it was couched in the usual violent aid extravagant language of southern officials, and charged “avarice and ambition" upon the government and supporters of the Union, as well as "a spirit of vengeful wickedness without a parallel in history," etc. In the present, as in other cases, the contrast is very marked, and every dispas sionate reader cannot but be struck with it, and the conclusions to which it necessarily leads.

In consequence of the favorable results of the expedition thus far, Gen. On the 18th of February, Commo- Burnside turned his attention to andore Goldsborough and Gen. Burnside, other portion of the state. Washingissued a joint proclamation in reference ton, on Pamlico River, and Newbern, to the objects of their mission. It was on the Neuse River, were the chief deaddressed "To the People of North pots in this quarter for lumber, tar, Carolina," and in earnest terms entreat- turpentine and naval stores of the couned their attention: "The mission of our try. Newbern, in its size and position, joint expedition is not to invade any was one of the chief cities in the state, of your rights, but to assert the author- and its population exceeded that of the ity of the United States, and to close capital, Raleigh, by several hundreds, with you the desolating war brought and was second only to the seaport upon your state by comparatively a Wilmington. It was, moreover, by few bad men in your midst. Influen- the Atlantic and North Carolina Railced infinitely more by the worst pas sions of human nature than by any show of elevated reason, they are still urging

road, immediately connected with Beau fort on the ocean forty miles below, and with Goldsboro' sixty miles in the

interior, the chief station on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. Situated at the junction of two rivers, the Trent and the Neuse, once gained, it might, without difficulty, be held by gun boats. On every account, it was felt that its possession was of the first importance to our cause.

1862.

Early in March, the troops intended for the expedition against Newbern were embarked from Roanoke Island, and were ordered, with the naval force, to rendezvous at Hatteras Inlet. Captain Captain Rowan was in command, Goldsborough having been recalled to the Chesapeake.* The military force was, in all, about 8,000, divided into three columns; the naval force consisted of six gun boats, with the transport vessels for the troops. On the evening of the 12th of March, the vessels anchored off the mouth of Slocum's Creek, about eighteen miles below Newbern. The next morning the landing was effected under cover of the gun boats; the roads, full of mud and mire, were in a fearful plight; and only twelve miles were gone over by night, when the column halted, a mile and a half from the rebel stronghold. The gun boats shelled the woods and protected the troops on their march; the enemy's works on the river were generally abandoned without fighting.

At seven o'clock, on the morning of the 14th of March, our troops were in motion, Gen. Foster being charged with the duty of attacking the enemy on the left, Gen. Reno on the right, and Gen.

Parke in front; the latter also was to
act as a support to the other brigades
For details reference must be had to
the reports of the commanders; it is
sufficient here to state that the engage-
ment was severely contested; for four
hours our troops fought bravely and
steadily; and the rebels, who stoutly
endeavored to repulse their onslaughts,
were at last compelled to yield. The
enemy's line of breast works was very
extensive and formidable, and was man-
ned by about 6,000 men.
Of course
the capture of these works decided the
fate of Newbern.

Gen. Burnside, the next day, issued a congratulatory and well deserved order, concluding with these words: "The General commanding directs, with peculiar pride, that as a well-deserved tribute to valor in this second victory of the expedition, each regiment engaged shall inscribe on its banner the memorable name, NEWBERN."

The enemy, sion, burned and destroyed the bridges and the draw of the railroad bridge over the Trent, which prevented pursuit by our troops. Two hundred prisoners were taken, beside, several vessels, and a large quantity of ammunition and stores. Gen. Foster was appointed military governor of Newbern and its neighborhood. A week later, a force was sent up Pamlico River, as far as Washington, where our men were well received, and Union sentiments were freely expressed.

'who had fled in con.u

Other operations of a naval and military character on the southern

* For a more full account of the operations against c. ast, early in 1862, may here, proper

Newbern, see Woodbury's "Burnside and the Ninth
Army Corps," pp. 51-68.

ly be noted. On a previous page we

CH. X]

SUCCESSES OF RODGERS, DUPONT AND WRIGHT.

called attention to Captain Rodgers' success on the Chowan River. The next movement of interest took place in the month of January, and deserves honorable mention. The city of Savannah is about fifteen miles from the mouth of the river, and situate on the southern or right bank. The approach by water is defended by Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island, at the mouth of the river, and Fort Jackson, four miles below the city. Along the left bank of the Savannah is a succession of islands, and large and numerous ones interrupt the channel. Turtle and Jones Islands are two of these, the latter being bounded on two sides by the Mud and Wright Rivers, and on the other by the Savannah River. A daring reconnaissance was made by night, under the guidance of negro crew and pilots, through the intricate passages between the island and mainland. The depth and bearings of the channel were ascertained, and it was discovered that gun boats could pass by the Wright into the Savannah River. By unremitting night labor all the obstructions were removed, and a passage way secured.

On the 26th of January Capt. Rodgers made a reconnaissance in force up the Wright River. The rebel commodore, Tatnall, appeared with gun boats and scows; but was easily driven back. Capt. Rodgers not deeming it prudent to pass into the Savannah, near Fort Pulaski, our boats returned by the way which they went. A battery at Venus Point, on Jones Island, was erected, quietly but securely, notwithstanding the severity and tediousness of the work; another battery was planted in

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a similar manner on Bird Island, opposite Venus Point; so that, to the astonishment of the rebels, Fort Pulaski was cut off from communication with the city of Savannah early in February, and the stronghold in which they so confi dently trusted was exposed to siege and assault by the Union forces.

1962.

On the 27th of January, Capt. Davis, with eight vessels, and transports carrying some 2,400 troops, under General Wright, made a reconnaissance of Little Tybee River and the adjacent waters, for the purpose of carrying out the object proposed above, viz: the isolation of Fort Pulaski. Tatnall, with five vessels, made an attack upon the expedition, when, after half an hour's fight, two of the enemy's boats were driven back, and the others ran under the guns of the fort.

At the end of February, an expedition sailed from Port Royal, under Capt. Dupont and Gen. Wright, with the intention of reoccupying the principal points on the east coast of Florida. Fort Clinch, St. Mary's, and Fernandina were captured March 2d and 3d; Fort Clinch on Amelia Island was taken possession of and garrisoned. Fernandina, which was almost deserted, was occupied by the Union forces; so also was St. Mary's; at both places the preparations for defence were extensive, but the rebel troops were not there. Brunswick, in Georgia, was found in a similar condition, March 7th; and at Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida, no opposition was offered to the advance of our troops.

Commodore Dupont next visited Mos quito Inlet, fifty miles further south

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