The Battle of Albemarle Sound was an inconclusive naval battle fought in May 1864 along the coast of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Three

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

warships, including an

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

, engaged eight

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s. The action ended indecisively due to the sunset.

Background

In April 1864, a

Army, with the aid of the CSS ''Albemarle'', forced the surrender of the

garrison at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Robert Hoke Robert Frederick Hoke (May 27, 1837 – July 3, 1912) was a Confederate major general during the American Civil War. He was present at one of the earliest battles, the Battle of Big Bethel, where he was commended for coolness and judgment. Wo ...

, commander of a Confederate Army in North Carolina, encouraged by his success at Plymouth attempted to retake

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

which had been in Union control since early in 1862. For his proposed attack on New Bern Hoke again turned to the aid of ''Albemarle'', which had been a decisive factor in the

Battle of Plymouth The Battle of Plymouth was a naval battle in the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 16 August 1652 (26 August 1652 (Gregorian calendar)) and was a short battle, but had the unexpected outcome of a Dutch victory over England. General-at ...

Battle

James W. Cooke James Wallace Cooke (August 23, 1812 – June 21, 1869) was an American naval officer, serving in the United States Navy and during the American Civil War serving in the Confederate States Navy, Confederate Navy. Pre-war life James Wallace Cooke w ...

, commander of ''Albemarle'' sailed out of Plymouth in early May 1864, along with the captured steamer CSS ''Bombshell'' and the transport CSS ''Cotton Plant''. Steaming south toward New Bern, Cooke ran into a Union fleet at the mouth of

Albemarle Sound Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Currituck Banks, a ba ...

, commanded by Captain

Melancton Smith Melancton Smith (May 7, 1744 – July 29, 1798) was a merchant, lawyer and a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. Praised for his intelligence, liberality, and reasonableness, Smith had attained considerable respect in the State of ...

. This fleet consisted of the double-ender gunboats USS ''Mattabasett'', USS ''Sassacus'', USS ''Wyalusing'' and USS ''Miami'', the converted ferryboat USS ''Commodore Hull'', USS ''Ceres'', USS ''Whitehead'' and USS ''Isaac N. Seymour''. When the Confederate ships were spotted, ''Mattabasett'', ''Sassucus'', ''Whitehead'' and ''Wyalusing'' immediately formed a line of battle supported by ''Miami'', ''Commodore Hull'' and ''Ceres''. ''Albemarle'' opened fire first, wounding six men working one of ''Mattabesett''s two 100-pounder

Parrott rifle The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and invent ...

s. ''Mattabesset'', ''Whitehead'' and ''Wyalusing'' opened fire almost simultaneously. ''Albemarle'' then attempted to ram ''Mattabesett'', but the

sidewheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

managed to round the ironclad's armored bow. She was closely followed by ''Sassacus'', which then fired a broadside of solid and 100-pound shot, all of which bounced off ''Albemarle''s casemate armor. However, ''Bombshell'', being a softer target, was hulled by each heavy shot from ''Sassucus''s broadside and surrendered. ''Cotton Plant'' withdrew back up the Roanoke, and ''Albemarle'' continued the fight alone. Smith, despite an advantage in numbers, could do little damage to the single Confederate ship. Shots glanced off ''Albemarle''s sides.

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Francis Asbury Roe Francis Asbury Roe (October 4, 1823 – December 28, 1901) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Elmira, New York, Roe entered the United States Navy as a midshipman on October 1 ...

of ''Sassucus'', seeing ''Albemarle'' at a range of about , decided to ram. The Union ship struck the Confederate ironclad full and square, broadside-on, shattering the timbers of her own bow, twisting off her own bronze ram in the process, and jamming both ships together. With ''Sassucus''s hull almost touching the end of the ram's Brooke rifle, ''Albemarle''s gun crew quickly fired two point-blank rifled shells, one of them puncturing ''Sassucus''s boilers; though live steam was roaring through the ship, she was able to break away and drift out of range. ''Sassacus'' by now was too damaged to function and drifted down river. ''Miami'' first tried to use her

spar torpedo A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at ...

and then to tangle the Confederate rams screw propellers and rudder with a

seine net Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be dep ...

, but neither ploy succeeded. ''Mattabasett'' and ''Wyalusing'' continued to engage the ram for three hours, until the action was halted by darkness. More than 500 shells were fired at ''Albemarle'' during the battle; with visible battle damage to her

smokestack A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

and other areas on the ironclad, she steamed back up the Roanoke. The ''Commodore Hull'' and ''Ceres'' moved to the river's mouth to try and keep the ''Albemarle'' from re-entering the sound.

Aftermath

Albemarle_Sound_Battlefield_North_Carolina

The battle itself was a standoff, but the events that followed had more decisive results. ''Albemarle'' had held its own against greater numbers but the damages caused the during the battle had forced the ship into port for the next several months, preventing it from being used in General Hoke's planned assault on New Bern. Hoke went ahead with his campaign even without ''Albemarle''. He achieved nothing before being recalled to Virginia to help defend

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. The events in October had a greater impact on the situation when

William B. Cushing William Barker Cushing (4 November 184217 December 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy, best known for sinking the during a daring nighttime raid on 27 October 1864, for which he received the Thanks of Congress. Cushing was the youn ...

led a naval raid and detonated a torpedo beneath the ''Albermarle'''s hull. The removal of Hoke's force and the destruction of ''Albemarle'' allowed both

and

Washington, North Carolina Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is commonly known as "Original Wa ...

, to fall back into Union hands

Order of battle

Union Navy

Captain Melancton Smith * * * * * * - flagship * * *Ida May (transport)

Confederate Mosquito Fleet

Commander James W. Cooke * CSS ''Albemarle'' * CSS ''Bombshell'' * CSS ''Cotton Plant''

Notes

External links

North Carolina Marker - Edenton - Battle of Albemarle Sound