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

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

during the

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

. Three Confederate warships, including an

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

, engaged eight Union

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-ste ...

s. The action ended indecisively due to the sunset.

Background

In April 1864, a Confederate Army, with the aid of the CSS ''Albemarle'', forced the surrender of the Union garrison at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, 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 ...

. Robert Hoke, commander of a Confederate Army in North Carolina, encouraged by his success at Plymouth attempted to retake New Bern 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, 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 bar ...

, 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 inven ...

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

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 19 ...

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, 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 typ ...

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 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, Californi ...

. 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 ...

, 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