Battle of Albemarle Sound: Difference between revisions

Battle of Albemarle Sound
	Part of the American Civil War
	; USS Sassacus ramming CSS Albemarle
Date	May 5, 1864
Location	Dare County, North Carolina
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Melancton Smith	James W. Cooke
Strength
9 ships	3 ships
Casualties and losses
31	57

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 04:12, 23 November 2009

Template:FixBunching

The Battle of Albemarle Sound was an inconclusive naval battle along the coast of North Carolina during the American Civil War.

Background

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

James W. Cooke, commander of Albemarle sailed out of Plymouth in early May 1864. Steaming south toward New Bern, Cooke ran into a Union fleet at the mouth of Albemarle Sound, commanded by Captain Melancton Smith. Smith with an advantage in numbers could do little damage to the single Confederate ship. Shots glanced off Albemarle's sides. The USS Sassacus rammed Albemarle at top speed and caused some significant damage. Albemarle began taking on water but Sassacus had also sustained damage from the impact and a shot burst one of the boilers scalding the crew. The rest of the Union fleet managed to recapture a converted steamer called the Bombshell. Sassacus by now too damaged to function drifted down river while Albemarle was also damaged enough not to continue the fight and made its way back to Plymouth.

Aftermath

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 prevented 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. The events in October had a greater impact on the situation when William B. Cushing led a naval raid and detonated a torpedo beneath the hull. The removal of Hoke's force and the destruction of Albemarle allowed both Plymouth and Washington, North Carolina, to fall back into Union hands.

Order of battle

Union Navy

Captain Melancton Smith

Confederate Mosquito Fleet

Commander John W. Cooke

References

Chaitin, Peter M., editor, The Coastal War: Chesapeake to the Rio Grande (1984)
National Park Service battle description
Albemarle Sound Order of Battle

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==Background==
-In April 1864, a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] Army, with the aid of the [[CSS Albemarle|CSS ''Albemarle'']], forced the surrender of the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] garrison at [[Plymouth, North Carolina|Plymouth]]. [[Robert Hoke]], commander of a Confederate Army in North Carolina, encouraged by his success at Plymouth attempted to retake [[New Bern, North Carolina|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 the CSS ''Albemarle'', which had been a decisive factor in the [[Battle of Plymouth (1864)|Battle of Plymouth]].
+In April 1864, a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] Army, with the aid of the [[CSS Albemarle|CSS ''Albemarle'']], forced the surrender of the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] garrison at [[Plymouth, North Carolina|Plymouth]]. [[Robert Hoke]], commander of a Confederate Army in North Carolina, encouraged by his success at Plymouth attempted to retake [[New Bern, North Carolina|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 (1864)|Battle of Plymouth]].
 ==The battle==
-[[James W. Cooke]], commander of the CSS ''Albemarle'' sailed out of Plymouth in early May 1864. Steaming south toward New Bern, Cooke ran into a Union fleet at the mouth of [[Albemarle Sound]], commanded by Captain [[Melancton Smith (1810-1893)|Melancton Smith]]. Smith with an advantage in numbers could do little damage to the single Confederate ship. Shots glanced off the ''Albemarle's'' sides. The [[USS Sassacus (1862)|USS ''Sassacus'']] rammed the ''Albemarle'' at top speed and caused some significant damage. The ''Albemarle'' began taking on water but the ''Sassacus'' had also sustained damage from the impact and a shot burst one of the boilers scalding the crew. The rest of the Union fleet managed to recapture a converted steamer called the ''Bombshell''. The ''Sassacus'' by now too damaged to function drifted down river while the ''Albemarle'' was also damaged enough not to continue the fight and made its way back to Plymouth.
+[[James W. Cooke]], commander of ''Albemarle'' sailed out of Plymouth in early May 1864. Steaming south toward New Bern, Cooke ran into a Union fleet at the mouth of [[Albemarle Sound]], commanded by Captain [[Melancton Smith (1810-1893)|Melancton Smith]]. Smith with an advantage in numbers could do little damage to the single Confederate ship. Shots glanced off ''Albemarle''{{'}}s sides. The {{USS|Sassacus|1862|6}} rammed ''Albemarle'' at top speed and caused some significant damage. ''Albemarle'' began taking on water but ''Sassacus'' had also sustained damage from the impact and a shot burst one of the boilers scalding the crew. The rest of the Union fleet managed to recapture a converted steamer called the ''Bombshell''. ''Sassacus'' by now too damaged to function drifted down river while ''Albemarle'' was also damaged enough not to continue the fight and made its way back to Plymouth.
 ==Aftermath==
-The battle itself was a standoff, but the events that followed had more decisive results. The ''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 prevented it from being used in General Hoke's planned assault on New Bern. Hoke went ahead with his campaign even without the ''Albemarle''. He achieved nothing before being recalled to Virginia to help defend [[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]] and [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. The events in October had a greater impact on the situation when [[William B. Cushing]] led a naval raid and detonated a torpedo beneath the hull. The removal of Hoke's force and the destruction of the ''Albemarle'' allowed both [[Plymouth, North Carolina|Plymouth]] and [[Washington, North Carolina]], to fall back into Union hands.
+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 prevented 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, Virginia|Petersburg]] and [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. The events in October had a greater impact on the situation when [[William B. Cushing]] led a naval raid and detonated a torpedo beneath the hull. The removal of Hoke's force and the destruction of ''Albemarle'' allowed both [[Plymouth, North Carolina|Plymouth]] and [[Washington, North Carolina]], to fall back into Union hands.
 ==Order of battle==
 ===Union Navy===
 Captain Melancton Smith
-*[[USS Syracuse]]
+*{{USS|Syracuse}}
-*[[USS Commodore Hull|USS ''Commodore Hull'']]
+*{{USS|Commodore Hull}}
-*[[USS Ceres (1856)|USS ''Ceres'']]
+*{{USS|Ceres|1856|6}}
-*[[USS Miami (1861)|USS ''Miami'']]
+*{{USS|Miami|1861|6}}
-*[[USS Sassacus (1862)|USS ''Wyalusing'']]
+*{{USS|Wyalusing|1863|6}}
-*[[USS Sassacus (1862)|USS ''Sassacus'']]
+*{{USS|Sassacus|1862|6}}
-*[[USS Mattabesett (1864)|USS ''Mattabesett'']] - flagship
+*{{USS|Mattabesett|1864|6}} - flagship
-*[[USS Whitehead (1861)|USS ''Whitehead'']]
+*{{USS|Whitehead|1861|6}}
 ===Confederate Mosquito Fleet===
 Commander John W. Cooke