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Battle of Plymouth: A Civil War History
| Civil War Battle of Plymouth |
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| (Plymouth, North Carolina) |
(Right) One of many Civil War historical markers celebrating the Confederate
victory at Plymouth, North Carolina.
Confederates under Gen. Robert F. Hoke, aided by the ram "Albemarle,"
took the town, April 17-20, 1864.
At 4 P.M. on April 17, 1864, an advanced Union patrol on the Washington
Road was captured by Confederate cavalry. A company of the 12th N. Y. Cavalry attacked the Confederates, but was repulsed.
Soon a large force of Confederate infantry appeared on the Washington Road, and at the same time Fort Gray, two miles above
Plymouth on the river bank, was attacked by advanced Confederate infantry.
During the evening, skirmishing continued from the Washington Road
to the Acre Road. Union General Henry W. Wessells’ garrison of about 3,000, which had held Plymouth since December,
1862, was under attack by General Robert F. Hoke’s Division of over 5,000 men. (See: Battle of Plymouth and Operations against Plymouth.)
| Civil War Battle of Plymouth |
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| North Carolina Coast and the Civil War |
(Battle of Plymouth historical marker describing the outcome and significance
of the Confederate victory on the North Carolina coast. Click to enlarge.)
Union forces under the command
of Union General Henry W. Wessells’ garrison of about 3,000 troops held Plymouth after its federal occupation in December
1862. The 85th Redoubt, also known as Fort Wessells and Fort Williams, was an earthen fort built by the 85th New York Regiment to maintain Union control of the region as part of a larger set of earthworks
that ringed the town.
| Civil War Redoubt |
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| (Historical Marker) |
| Fort Williams |
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| (Historical Marker) |
Armed with one 32 pound
and one 6 pound cannon, the fort was strategically placed and stood southwest of the main works. Although the earthworks protected
the town from both land and sea attacks, Confederates sought to retake the town in April 1864 and attacked the earthworks
from all quarters during the Battle of Plymouth.
At 5:30 A.M. on April 18, a heavy Confederate artillery fire was directed against Fort Gray. Both Fort Gray
and Battery Worth in Plymouth returned the fire. Soon a Union gunboat, the Bombshell, was disabled by the Confederate barrage.
| Map of Plymouth Defenses, April 17-20, 1864 |
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| Clark's Regiments, Volume IV |
(Civil War Era Map of Plymouth, North Carolina, Defenses, April 17-20, 1864.
Courtesy, Walter Clark: Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina, in the Great War 1861-'65,
Volume 5)
| Confederate General Hoke |
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| (The Final Assault) |
| Battle of Plymouth |
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| (Click to Enlarge) |
At 6:30 P.M. on the 18th the Confederates advanced their line and began
an infantry assault upon the Union position; but this attack was abandoned at 8 P.M. The 85th Redoubt was then attacked and
captured at 11 P.M.
(Left) Historical marker describing one of the largest Civil War battles in North Carolina.
At 3 A.M. on April 19, the Confederates again attacked Fort Gray. Soon the Confederate iron-clad ram Albemarle,
aiding the army, passed undetected down the river.
Early on the morning of the 19th, the formidable CSS Albemarle advanced into the battle. The ironclad had left its final construction
docks in Hamilton, maneuvered through channel obstructions, and easily withstood glancing blows of Union cannon from
Fort Gray outside of Plymouth before engaging ships in the Roanoke near the town.
| Battle of Plymouth |
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| (Historical Marker) |
North Carolina Civil War Historical Marker
(Untouched photograph of the "Confederate Victory
at the Battle of Plymouth.")
| Confederate Ironclad Albemarle |
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| (Historical Marker) |
| North Carolina Civil War Map |
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| (Click to Enlarge) |
The Albemarle successfully engaged and sank one Union gunboat
and another left in retreat after suffering damage and the loss of naval commander Charles W. Flusser. The Albemarle then
bombarded the Union earthworks throughout the night.
The Albemarle engaged the Southfield and the
Miami at 3:30 A.M., sinking the former and driving the latter away. The Albemarle then began to shell the Union defenses.
On April 19 the Confederates opened fire on the Union line from the
85th Redoubt. Fort Williams and Battery Worth returned the fire. Heavy skirmishing continued all day. At 6:30 P.M. the Confederates
crossed Coneby Creek in an unexpected advance. Their infantry were now in an important position east of Plymouth.
| Civil War Battle of Plymouth Map |
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| (Historical Marker) |
| Confederate General Ransom |
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| (Historical Marker) |
At 5 A.M. on April 20, the Confederates under General Matt W. Ransom assaulted
the Union line east of Plymouth, while General Hoke, with two brigades, demonstrated against the Union right. After capturing
the Union defenses east of Plymouth, the Confederates halted their advance and re-formed. Union infantry counter-attacked,
but were repulsed by a renewed Confederate advance. In spite of determined resistance by the garrison of Fort Williams, the
town was surrendered by General Wessells at 10 A.M.
The capture of Plymouth by the Confederates was significant because it returned
two rich eastern North Carolina counties to the Confederacy; it supplied “immense ordnance stores” to the Southern
war effort; and the Roanoke River was reopened to Confederate commerce and military operations.
(Below) Headquarters Flag of General Robert F. Hoke at the Battle of Plymouth.
| Confederate Civil War Flag |
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| (Civil War Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina) |
General Hoke and the Flag: A native of Lincolnton, North Carolina, General
Robert F. Hoke rose to the rank of major general during the Civil War. This is a second national pattern Confederate flag
adopted on May 1, 1863 and used until replaced on March 4, 1865. Because of its large white field this pattern flag was nicknamed
the "stainless banner." This flag most certainly marked Hoke's headquarters during his brilliant victory at Plymouth, N.C.,
on April 20, 1864. This flag was donated to the state sometime after Hoke's death in 1912.
(References listed at bottom of page.)
Recommended
Reading: Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina
(April 17-20, 1864): The Last Confederate Victory, by Juanita Patience Moss. Description: Are you familiar with the Battle of Plymouth? Not Plymouth, Massachusetts,
but how about Plymouth,
North Carolina? If you have never
heard of it, you are in the company of many others, even those who consider themselves avid Civil War buffs. The Battle of
Plymouth took place April 17-20, 1864, during the “Operations against Plymouth,”
and even though the engagement was one year before Lee surrendered to Grant, the sounds of America’s costliest and bloodiest conflict would yield havoc on
North Carolina’s
coastal communities. Continued below…
In
this fascinating book, you will read about the second largest battle in North Carolina
and it was fought at a small North Carolina coastal town
named Plymouth,
where the Confederates tasted their last victory. Intense action transpired during those four days, and the atmosphere was
filled with surprise, fate, intrigue, bravery, ingenuity, hope, daring, dedication, gallantry, victory, disappointment, and
defeat. The battle witnessed the likes of Cooke, Cushing, Flusser, Hoke, and Wessells, and the formidable CSS Albemarle, an
ironclad warship that was not built in the traditional shipyard, but rather in a Southern cornfield. The battle epitomized
the brothers’ war, with North Carolina Federal regiments fighting their North Carolina Confederate brethren; it also
witnessed African American regiments (USCT) in the thick of the fight. The combined Union
and Confederate casualties were just shy of 3,000, and the author offers an informative, enlightening, and interesting view
of the “Last Confederate Victory."
Although a bit repetitive, it is a worthy addition because it
is the only full-length text dedicated to the battle. It is a welcome addition to North Carolina
and school libraries, and to the buff that enjoys reading about the lesser-known Civil War battles and it troops (Union and Confederate) that fought valiantly. Three stars.
Recommended
Reading: The
Civil War in Coastal North Carolina (175 pages) (North Carolina Division of Archives and History). Description: From the drama of blockade-running to graphic descriptions of battles on the state's islands and
sounds, this book portrays the explosive events that took place in North Carolina's coastal region during the Civil War.
Topics discussed include the strategic importance of coastal North Carolina,
Federal occupation of coastal areas, blockade-running, and the impact of war on civilians along the Tar Heel coast.
Union setbacks in Virginia, however, led to the withdrawal of many federal soldiers from North Carolina,
leaving only enough Union troops to hold a few coastal strongholds—the vital ports and railroad junctions. The South
during the Civil War, moreover, hotly contested the North’s ability to maintain its grip on these key coastal strongholds.
Recommended
Reading: Ironclads and Columbiads:
The Coast (The Civil War in North Carolina)
(456 pages). Description: Ironclads
and Columbiads covers some of the most important battles and campaigns in the state. In January 1862, Union forces
began in earnest to occupy crucial points on the North Carolina
coast. Within six months, Union army and naval forces effectively controlled coastal North Carolina
from the Virginia line south to present-day Morehead
City. Continued below...
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War in North Carolina. Description:
Numerous battles and skirmishes were fought in North Carolina
during the Civil War, and the campaigns and battles themselves were crucial in the grand strategy of the conflict and involved
some of the most famous generals of the war. John Barrett presents the complete story of military engagements across the state,
including the classical pitched battle of Bentonville--involving Generals Joe Johnston and William Sherman--the siege of Fort Fisher, the amphibious
campaigns on the coast, and cavalry sweeps such as General George Stoneman's Raid.
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War in the Carolinas (Hardcover). Description: Dan Morrill relates the
experience of two quite different states bound together in the defense of the Confederacy, using letters, diaries, memoirs,
and reports. He shows how the innovative operations of the Union army and navy
along the coast and in the bays and rivers of the Carolinas affected the general course of
the war as well as the daily lives of all Carolinians. He demonstrates the "total war" for North Carolina's vital coastal railroads and ports. In the latter
part of the war, he describes how Sherman's operation cut
out the heart of the last stronghold of the South. Continued below...
The author
offers fascinating sketches of major and minor personalities, including the new president and state governors, Generals Lee,
Beauregard, Pickett, Sherman, D.H. Hill, and Joseph E. Johnston. Rebels and abolitionists, pacifists and unionists, slaves
and freed men and women, all influential, all placed in their context with clear-eyed precision. If he were wielding a needle
instead of a pen, his tapestry would offer us a complete picture of a people at war. Midwest Book Review: The Civil War in the Carolinas by civil war expert and historian
Dan Morrill (History Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical
Society) is a dramatically presented and extensively researched survey and analysis of the impact the American Civil War had
upon the states of North Carolina and South Carolina, and the people who called these states their home. A meticulous, scholarly,
and thoroughly engaging examination of the details of history and the sweeping change that the war wrought for everyone, The
Civil War In The Carolinas is a welcome and informative addition to American Civil War Studies reference collections.
Recommended
Reading: Storm over Carolina: The Confederate Navy's Struggle for Eastern
North Carolina. Description: The struggle for control of the eastern waters of North Carolina
during the War Between the States was a bitter, painful, and sometimes humiliating one for the Confederate navy. No better
example exists of the classic adage, "Too little, too late." Burdened by the lack of adequate warships, construction
facilities, and even ammunition, the South's naval arm fought bravely and even recklessly to stem the tide of the Federal
invasion of North Carolina from the raging Atlantic. Storm Over Carolina is the account of the Southern navy's struggle in North Carolina waters and it is a saga of crushing defeats interspersed with moments of
brilliant and even spectacular victories. It is also the story of dogged Southern determination and incredible perseverance
in the face of overwhelming odds. Continued below...
For most of
the Civil War, the navigable portions of the Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, Chowan, and Pasquotank rivers were
occupied by Federal forces. The Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, as well as most of the coastal towns and counties, were also
under Union control. With the building of the river ironclads, the Confederate navy at last could strike a telling blow against
the invaders, but they were slowly overtaken by events elsewhere. With the war grinding to a close, the last Confederate vessel
in North Carolina waters was destroyed. William T. Sherman
was approaching from the south, Wilmington was lost, and the
Confederacy reeled as if from a mortal blow. For the Confederate navy, and even more so for the besieged citizens of eastern
North Carolina, these were stormy days indeed. Storm Over Carolina describes their story, their struggle, their history.
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