Hatteras, forts at.
In the summer of 1861 the
Confederates built two forts on
Hatteras Island, off the coast of
North Carolina, to guard the entrance to Hatteras Inlet, through which blockade-runners had begun to carry supplies to the
Confederates.
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, then in command at
Fort Monroe, proposed sending a land and naval force against these forts.
It was done.
An expedition composed of eight transports and war-ships, under the command of
Commodore Stringham, and bearing about 900 land-troops, under the command of
General Butler, left
Hampton Roads for Hatteras Inlet on Aug. 20.
On the morning of the 28th the war-ships opened their guns on the forts (Hatteras and
Clark). and some of the troops were landed.
The warships of the expedition were the
Minnesota (flag-ship),
Pawnee,
Harriet Lane,
Monticello,
Wabash,
Cumberland, and
Susquehanna.
The condition of the surf made the landing difficult, and only about 300 men got on shore.
The forts were under the command of the
Confederate Maj. W. S. G. Andrews, and a small Confederate naval force, lying in
Pamlico Sound, was in charge of
Samuel Barron.
An assault by both arms of the service began on the 28th, and was kept up until the next day, when the forts were surrendered.
Not one of the Nationals was injured; the
Confederates lost twelve or fifteen killed and thirty-five wounded. The number of troops surrendered, including officers, was 715, and with these, 1,000 stands of arms, thirty-one pieces of cannon, vessels with cotton and stores, and considerable gunpowder.
The victorious expedition returned to
Hampton Roads, when
General Wool, who had succeeded
General Butler in command there, issued a stirring order, announcing the victory.
It was a severe blow to the
Confederates, and led to important results.
Colonel Hawkins, with
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Interior of Fort Hatteras. |
a portion of his 9th New York (Zouave) Regiment, was sent to garrison the forts at
Hatteras, and hold the island and inlet.
