Battle of Roanoke Island The opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition , the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War , fought on February 7 – 8 , 1862 , in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the Virginia border . The attacking force consisted of a flotilla of gunboats of the Union Navy drawn from the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron , commanded by Flag Officer Louis M . Goldsborough , a separate group of gunboats under Union Army control , and an army division led by Brig . Gen . Ambrose Burnside . The defenders were a group of gunboats from the Confederate States Navy , termed the Mosquito Fleet , under Capt . William F . Lynch , and about 2 , 000 Confederate soldiers commanded locally by Brig . Gen . Henry A . Wise . The defense was augmented by four forts facing on the water approaches to Roanoke Island , and two outlying batteries . At the time of the battle , Wise was hospitalized , so leadership fell to his second in command , Col . Henry M . Shaw . During the first day of the battle , the Federal gunboats and the forts on shore engaged in a gun battle , with occasional contributions from the Mosquito Fleet . Late in the day , Burnside ' s soldiers went ashore unopposed ; they were accompanied by six howitzer s manned by sailors . As it was too late to fight , the invaders went into camp for the night . On the second day , February 8 , the Union soldiers advanced but were stopped by an artillery battery and accompanying infantry in the center of the island . Although the Confederates thought that their line was safely anchored in impenetrable swamps , they were flanked on both sides and their soldiers were driven back to refuge in the forts . The forts were taken in reverse . With no way for his men to escape , Col . Shaw surrendered to avoid pointless bloodshed . Background . Northeastern North Carolina is dominated by its sounds ; large but shallow bodies of brackish - to - salt water that lie between the mainland and the Outer Banks . Although they are all one body , intimately connected and having a common water level , they are conceptually divided into several distinct regions . The largest of these is Pamlico Sound , immediately behind Hatteras Island ; to its north is the second largest , Albemarle Sound , which extends almost to the southern border of Virginia . The linkage between these two , somewhat narrow , is further constricted by Roanoke Island . The portion of the waterway between Roanoke Island and the mainland is known as Croatan Sound . Both the island and the sound are about ten miles ( 16 km ) long . The sound at its widest point is a little more than across , the island about half that . On the eastern side of the island is Roanoke Sound , much narrower , shallower , and less important . Several North Carolina cities were sited on the sounds , among them New Bern ( usually written New Berne in the mid - nineteenth century ) , Beaufort , Edenton , and Elizabeth City . Others , not lying directly on the sounds , were accessible to the rivers that emptied into them . As much as a third of the state is in their watershed . Through most of the first year of the Civil War , the Confederate forces retained control of the sounds , so that coastwise water - borne commerce of the eastern part of the state was unimpeded . The sounds were linked to Norfolk , Virginia by the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and the Dismal Swamp Canal . The blockade of Norfolk could not be complete so long as cargoes could reach the city through its back door . Communications were not affected appreciably when Federal forces captured the forts on the Outer Banks at Hatteras Inlet in August 1861 , as the Union Navy could not bring its deep - water vessels into the sounds through the shallow inlets . Roanoke Island was the key to control of the Sounds . If controlled by the Union forces , they would have a base that could be attacked only by an amphibious operation , which the Rebels could not mount . If the Union established naval superiority there , all points on the mainland shores would be equally vulnerable to assault . The Confederate defenders would be forced into an impossible situation : they would either have to give up some positions without a fight , or they would have to spread their assets too thin to be of any use . Prelude . Confederate defense . The defense of Roanoke Island started in an accidental manner . When the Federal fleet appeared off Hatteras Inlet on August 27 , 1861 , the 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment was hastily sent from Norfolk to help hold the forts there , but the forts fell before they arrived , so they were diverted to Roanoke Island . They remained there for the next three months , making somewhat desultory efforts to expel the Yankees from Hatteras Island . Little was done to secure the position until early October , when Brig . Gen . Hill was assigned to command the coastal defenses of North Carolina in the vicinity of the sounds . Hill set his soldiers to putting up earthworks across the center of the island , but he was called away to service in Virginia before they were completed . Shortly after his departure , his district was split in two ; the southern part was assigned to Brig . Gen . Lawrence O ' B . Branch , while the northern part was put in control of Henry A . Wise , whose command included Albemarle Sound and Roanoke Island , but not Pamlico Sound and its cities . It is also significant that Branch reported to Brig . Gen . Richard C . Gatlin , who commanded the Department of North Carolina , while Wise was under Maj . Gen . Benjamin Huger , who was in charge of the defenses of Norfolk . Wise had been commander of the so - called Wise Legion , but his troops did not accompany him . The Legion was broken up , although he was able to retain two of his old regiments , the 46th and 59th Virginia . He also had three regiments of North Carolina troops , the 2nd , 8th , and 31st North Carolina , plus three companies of the 17th North Carolina . The men from North Carolina were ill - equipped and poorly clothed , often armed with nothing more than their own shotguns . All told , the number came to about 1 , 400 infantrymen , but the number available for duty was smaller than that because the living conditions put as many as one - fourth of the command on the sick list . Wise begged Richmond to send him some guns , as had Hill before him , but the numbers that were actually sent were inadequate . They were distributed into several nominal forts : facing Croatan Sound were twelve guns in Fort Huger , at Weir ' s Point , the northwestern corner of the island ; four guns in Fort Blanchard , about a mile ( 1 . 6 km ) to the southeast ; and nine guns in Fort Bartow , at the romantically - named Pork Point , about a quarter of the way down the island . Across the sound , at Redstone Point opposite Fort Huger , two old canal barges had been pushed up onto the mud , protected by sandbags and cotton bales , armed with seven guns , and named Fort Forrest . These were all the guns that would bear on the sound ; the southern half of the island , nearest Pamlico Sound , in the direction from which the attack would come , was unprotected . Five other guns did not face Croatan Sound : a battery of two guns on the eastern side of the island protected against possible assault across Roanoke Sound , and three others occupied an earthwork near the geometric center of the island . Wise made one other contribution to the defense . He found some pile drivers , and was able to impede the sound between Forts Huger and Forrest by a double row of piles , augmented by sunken hulks . The barrier was still being worked on when the attack came . The Confederate Navy also made a contribution to the defense . Seven gunboats , mounting a total of only eight guns , formed the Mosquito Fleet , commanded by Flag Officer William F . Lynch . Wise , for one , believed that their net contribution was negative . Not only were their guns taken from the forts on the island , but so were their crews . He gave vent to his feelings after the battle : Despite Wise ' s disapproval , the Mosquito Fleet was part of the defense , and the Yankees would have to deal with it . Union offense . A short time after Hatteras Island was captured for the Union , Burnside began to promote the idea of a Coast Division , to be composed of fishermen , dockworkers , and other watermen from the northeastern states , and used to attack coastal areas . He reasoned that such men were already familiar with ships , and therefore would be easy to train for amphibious operations . Burnside was a close friend of General - in - Chief George B . McClellan , so he got a respectful hearing . Although Burnside had initially intended to operate in Chesapeake Bay , in the hands of McClellan and the War Department his ideas were soon transformed into a planned assault on the North Carolina interior coast , beginning with Roanoke Island . An unspoken reason for the change of target was the mistaken belief that pro - Union sentiment was being suppressed in North Carolina , and an invasion would allow them to express their true loyalties . When it was fleshed out , the invasion of North Carolina came to be known as the " Burnside Expedition . " As recruiting progressed , Burnside organized the Coast Division into three brigades , led by three friends from his Military Academy days . Brig . Gen . John G . Foster led the First Brigade , Brig . Gen . Jesse L . Reno the Second , and Brig . Gen . John G . Parke the Third . In early January , nearly 13 , 000 men were ready for duty . Although the Union Navy would provide most of the gunnery that would be needed to suppress the Rebel batteries , Burnside decided to have some gunboats under Army control . This immediately led to some interference between the two services . The Navy had no vessels sturdy enough to go to sea and at the same time draw little enough water to be able to pass through the shallow inlet , thought to be about . They therefore had to buy suitable merchant ships for conversion , at the very time that Burnside and his agents were also dickering for their ships . Because the sailors were more experienced , they were able to get most of the more suitable ships . The Army was left with a mixed bag of rickety ships that were barely seaworthy . By the time the expedition got under way , the Navy had 20 gunboats , and the Coast Division had nine . The armada was supplemented by several canal boats converted into floating batteries , mounting boat howitzers and protected by sandbags and bales of hay . All told , the expedition carried 108 pieces of ordnance . While Burnside ' s agents were purchasing the gunboats they were also buying or leasing other vessels to be used as transports . The soldiers and transports for the expedition assembled at Annapolis . Embarkation began on January 5 , 1862 , and on January 9 they began to get under way , with orders to rendezvous at Fort Monroe , near the entrance to Chesapeake Bay . There they met the naval contingent , and on January 11 they set sail . Until this time , only Burnside and his immediate staff knew their ultimate destination . Once at sea , the captain of each ship opened his sealed orders and learned that his ship should proceed to the vicinity of Cape Hatteras . Battle . From Chesapeake Bay to Pamlico Sound . For many of the Federal soldiers , the voyage to Hatteras Inlet was the worst part of the battle . Earning its reputation , the weather in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras turned foul , causing many of them to become seasick . In an act of bravado , Burnside left his comfortable quarters aboard the transport " George Peabody " and with his staff went aboard Army gunboat " Picket . " He chose this vessel because he considered her to be the least seaworthy ship in his command , and by showing his troops that he was willing to share their misery , he earned their devotion . When the storm struck , he began to doubt the wisdom of his move , but " Picket " survived and got him safely to his destination . Three vessels in the armada were not so lucky : " City of New York , " laden with ordnance and supplies ; " Pocahontas , " carrying horses ; and Army gunboat " Zouave " were all lost , although all persons aboard were rescued . The only personnel losses were two officers of the 9th New Jersey , who were drowned when their surfboat overturned following a visit to the flagship . The entry into Pamlico Sound through Hatteras Inlet was time consuming . The swash , thought to be eight feet ( 2 . 5 m ) deep , was found the hard way to be only six feet ( 1 . 9 m ) . Some of the Union Army ships drew too much to get across , and had to be kedged in after being lightened . Others were too deep even to be kedged in ; the men or materials they carried had to be brought ashore on Hatteras Island , and the ships sent back . Bark " John Trucks " never made it at all ; she could not get close enough to Hatteras Island even for the men aboard to be taken off . She returned to Annapolis with the majority of the regiment , the 53rd New York , a detachment of the command was active in the battle of Roanoke island Not until February 4 was the fleet as ready as it ever would be and assembled in Pamlico Sound . While the Northern fleet was struggling over the bar , the Confederates were strangely inert . No reinforcements were sent to the island , or , for that matter , any of the other possible targets in the region . The number of infantrymen on the island remained at about 1 , 400 , with 800 in reserve at Nag ' s Head . The major change was negative : on February 1 Wise came down with what he called " pleurisy , with high fever and spitting of blood , threatening pneumonia . " He was confined to bed at Nag ' s Head , and remained hospitalized until February 8 , after the battle was over . Although he continued to issue orders , effective command on Roanoke Island fell to Col . H . M . Shaw of the 8th North Carolina Infantry . First day : Bombardment . The fleet got under way early the morning after they had assembled in the sound ( February 5 ) , and by nightfall were near the southern end of Roanoke Island , where they anchored . Rain and strong winds prevented movements the next day . The major activity was Goldsborough ' s shift of his flag from USS " Philadelphia " to " Southfield " . On February 7 the weather moderated , and the Navy gunboats got into position . They first fired a few shells inland at Ashby Harbor , the intended landing place , and determined that the defenders had no batteries there . They then moved up Croatan Sound , where they were divided ; some were ordered to fire on the fort at Pork Point ( Fort Bartow ) , while others were to concentrate their fire on the seven vessels of the Mosquito Fleet . At about noon , the bombardment began . The weakness of the Confederate position was revealed at this time . Only four of the guns at Fort Bartow would bear on the Union gunboats . Forts Huger and Blanchard could not contribute at all . Fort Forrest , on the other side of the sound , was rendered completely useless when gunboat CSS " Curlew " , holed at the waterline , ran ashore directly in front in her effort to avoid sinking , and in so doing masked the guns of the fort . Losses were light on both sides despite the intensity of the fight . Several of the Union ships were hit , but none suffered severe damage . This was true for the Confederates also , aside from " Curlew , " but the remaining Mosquito Fleet had to retire simply because they ran out of ammunition . The Army transports , accompanied by its gunboats , had in the meantime arrived at Ashby Harbor , near the midpoint of the island . At 15 : 00 , Burnside ordered the landings to begin , and at 16 : 00 the troops were reaching shore . A 200 - man strong Confederate force commanded by Col . John V . Jordan ( 31st North Carolina ) , in position to oppose the landing , was discovered and fired on by the gunboats ; the defenders fled without any attempt to return fire . There was no further opposition . Almost all of the 10 , 000 men present were ashore by midnight . With the infantry went six launches with boat howitzers , commanded by a young midshipman , Benjamin H . Porter . The Union soldiers pushed inland a short distance and then went into camp for the night . Second day : Union advance and Confederate surrender . The Federal soldiers moved out promptly on the morning of February 8 , advancing north on the only road on the island . Leading was the First Brigade ' s 25th Massachusetts , with Midshipman Porter ' s howitzers immediately following . They were soon halted , when they struck the Confederate redoubt and some 400 infantry blocking their path . Another thousand Confederates were in reserve , about to the rear ; the front was so constricted that Col . Shaw could deploy only a quarter of his men . The defensive line ended in what were deemed impenetrable swamps on both sides , so Shaw did not protect his flanks . The leading elements of the First Brigade spread out to match their opponents ' configuration , and for two hours the combatants fired at each other through blinding clouds of smoke . The 10th Connecticut relieved the exhausted , but not badly bloodied , 25th Massachusetts , but they too could not advance . No progress was made until the Second Brigade arrived , and its commander , Brig . Gen . Jesse L . Reno , ordered them to try to penetrate the " impenetrable " swamp on the Union left . Brig . Gen . John G . Foster then ordered two of his reserve regiments to do the same on the right . About this time , Brig . Gen . John G . Parke came up with the Third Brigade , and it was immediately sent to assist . Although they were not coordinated , the two flanking movements emerged from the swamp at nearly the same time . Reno ordered his 21st Massachusetts , 51st New York , and 9th New Jersey to attack . As they were firing on the Confederates , the 23rd Massachusetts , from the First Brigade , appeared on the other end of the line . The defensive line began to crack ; noting this , Foster ordered his remaining forces to attack . Under assault from three sides , the Confederates broke and fled . As no fall - back defenses had been set up , and he was bereft of artillery , Col . Shaw surrendered to Foster . Included in the capitulation were not only the 1 , 400 infantry that he commanded directly , but also the guns in the forts . Two additional regiments ( 2nd North Carolina and 46th Virginia ) had been sent as reinforcements . They arrived too late to take part in the battle , but not too late to be take part in the surrender . Altogether , some 2 , 500 men became prisoners of war . Aside from the men who went into captivity , casualties were rather light by American Civil War standards . The Federal forces lost 37 killed , 214 wounded , and 13 missing . The Confederates lost 23 killed , 58 wounded , and 62 missing . Aftermath . Roanoke Island remained in Union control for the rest of the war . Immediately after the battle , the Federal gunboats passed the now - silent Confederate forts into Albemarle Sound , and destroyed what was left of the Mosquito Fleet at the Battle of Elizabeth City . Burnside used the island as staging ground for later assaults on New Bern and Fort Macon , resulting in their capture . Several minor expeditions took other towns on the sounds . The Burnside Expedition ended only in July , when its leader was called to Virginia to take part in the Richmond campaign . After Burnside left , North Carolina ceased to be an active center of the war . With only one or two exceptions , no notable military actions took place until the last days of the conflict , when the Second Battle of Fort Fisher closed Wilmington , the last open port in the Confederacy . The Army classified the slaves on Roanoke Island as contraband and by late 1862 , hundreds more escaped slaves had joined them . While Foster was commander of the Department of North Carolina , in 1863 he appointed Horace James , a Congregational chaplain , as " Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District " , encouraging him to support the former slaves in becoming educated , growing their own food , and working . Based in New Bern , James supervised the Trent River contraband camp there , but decided to make Roanoke Island a self - sustaining colony . The Freedmen ' s Colony of Roanoke Island was an important model that lasted four years ; it had a sawmill , established a fisheries , and by 1864 it had 2200 residents . It was overcrowded when residents reached 3900 at its peak , in part because poor soil on the island limited productivity of agriculture . Many of its people worked for the Army for wages , and more than 150 men enlisted in the United States Colored Troops . Missionary teachers recruited by the American Missionary Association taught reading and writing to classes of both children and adults . It was an important step toward citizenship for the freedmen . Notes . Abbreviations used in these notes :