Roanoke Island North Carolina :: The Battle of Roanoke Island

The Civil War was fought in many places across the southern landscape, but perhaps no region held as much importance to the Union goals as eastern North Carolina. Control of the sounds and rivers of North Carolina was vital to cutting off Lee's southern supply routes to Virginia.

No large-scale battles were fought in the Albemarle, But dozens of small strategic battles were waged for control of the region. The first strategic move on the region came with General Ambrose Burnside's Union expedition to capture Hatteras Inlet in late 1861. After a brief sea and land battle, the two Confederate forts that controlled access to inlet fell into Union hands. From there, Burnside quickly moved up Pamlico Sound and captured Roanoke Island. From there, he had a base of operations from which to conduct a systematic conquest of the northeastern and central part of the coast.

Roanoke Island had been fortified by the Confederacy to counter just such a Union thrust into the North Carolina interior. Henry T. Clark, governor of North Carolina, had correctly declared that the Union army was headed for Pamlico Sound despite utmost secrecy on the Union part.

Burnside's opponent on Roanoke Island was the ex-governor of Virginia, Gen. Henry Wise (who happened to be married to the sister of Union Gen. George G. Meade). Wise had only a modest force of about 1,900 effective men, including his son, Capt. O. Jennings Wise. The senior Wise had been to Richmond to plead for reinforcements and material, but he returned to his post empty-handed.

Burnside and his troops landed on Hatteras Island on January 13. After some reconnoitering, Burnside decided to attack Roanoke Island at Ashby's Landing near Fort Bartow on the western side of Roanoke Island. Initially events went smoothly for the Yankees, but one Union officer predicted that "this expedition will fall into entire insignificance." One Confederate officer optimistically stated, "Our people ought to be able to drive them (Yankees) away."

The defenses of Roanoke Island were not very impressive. General Wise commanded a force of 3,000 men. He had four gun batteries, containing a total of 32 guns, three facing the main channel west of the island and the fourth on the east side. These gun batteries were not well placed - the channel was narrowest at the southern end of the island, but they had been placed on the northern half of the island, meaning that they would be unable to interfere with any attempt to land on the island. Wise also had command of a tiny fleet of seven gunboats, each with only a single gun.

On Friday, February 7, at 11:23 A.M., Burnside's naval boats let loose a horrendous barrage from their heavy guns. Soon, the big Confederate guns at Fort Bartow answered the fire, and the cannonade continued for the remainder of the day. At about 5:00 P.M. Burnside ordered his first troops ashore. Among the first Yankees to land were the men of the 51st Pennsylvania, led by Col. John F. Hartranft. By 9:00 approximately 10,000 Yankees had made their way to shore despite the hard-driving rain. Thoroughly drenched, the men in blue struggled through a damp dinner and rested in preparation for the fight certain to come in the morning.

The next morning, supported by gunboats, the Federals assaulted the Confederate forts on the narrow waist of the island, driving back and out-maneuvering Brig. Gen. Henry Wise's outnumbered command. After losing less than 100 men, the Confederate commander on the field, Col. H.M. Shaw, had retreated to the north end of the island where he surrendered about 2,500 soldiers and 32 guns. Burnside had secured an important outpost on the Atlantic Coast, tightening the blockade and establishing control of the North Carolina sounds and rivers that would last the duration of the war.

Although Roanoke Island was the site of one of the largest battles in the state, today there is no physical evidence of the fight. The fall of Roanoke Island, however, is remembered on the island for another notable reason: it became a haven for escaped and freed slaves who sought the protection of the occupying Union army. By 1863, nearly 3,000 freedmen had settled on the island and established the first Freedman's Colony of the war.

THE FREEDMAN'S COLONY OF ROANOKE ISLAND »