Battle of Fort Macon

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Fort Macon
partof=the American Civil War


caption=Fort Macon, NC
date=March 23 - April 26, 1862
place=Bogue Bank, near Beaufort, North Carolina
result=Union victory
combatant1= flagicon|USA|1861 United States (Union)
combatant2= flagicon|CSA|1861 CSA (Confederacy)
commander1=Major General Ambrose E. Burnside
Brigadier General John G. Parke
commander2=Colonel Moses J. White
strength1=3rd Brigade, Coast Division (aggregate, 3259; present for duty, 2649) [ORA I, v. 9, p. 381)]
strength2=approx. 450; ready for duty, 263.
casualties1=2k, 5w, 8c [OAR I, v. 9, pp. 272, 281, 295.]
casualties2=8k, 16w, approx. 400c [OARI, v. 9, p. 294.] |

The Battle of Fort Macon or, better, the Siege of Fort Macon took place from 23 March to 26 April 1862, on the Outer Banks of Carteret County, North Carolina. It was part of Union Army General Ambrose E. Burnside's North Carolina expedition during the American Civil War.

In late March, Major General Burnside’s army advanced on Fort Macon, a casemated masonry fort that commanded the channel to Beaufort, 35 miles southeast of New Bern. The Union force invested the fort with siege works and, on April 26, opened an accurate fire on the fort, soon breaching the masonry walls. Within a few hours the fort's scarp began to collapse, and in late afternoon the Confederate commander, Colonel Moses J. White, ordered the raising of a white flag. Burnside's terms of surrender were accepted, and the Federal troops took possession of the fort the next morning.

Fort Macon

Fort Macon was one of a system of coastal forts that were built around the borders of the still-young United States following the War of 1812. It was built on the eastern end of Bogue Bank, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and was intended to defend the entrance to the ports of Beaufort and Morehead City. Begun in 1826, it was completed and received its first garrison in 1834. As it was intended for defense against attacking enemy naval forces, it was built of masonry. Gunfire from a rolling ship's deck was not accurate enough at that time to be able to break down brick and stone walls. Although the advent of rifled artillery would soon make its walls vulnerable, no alterations were made in the fort. It was a generation out of date when the Civil War came. [Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," pp. 133–134.]

After the first spate of enthusiasm, the fort was allowed to deteriorate. The woodwork rotted, the ironwork rusted, and gun carriages were allowed to decay. The garrison was steadily reduced in size, until by the time of the beginning of the Civil War the care of the fort was entrusted to a single sergeant. [Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," p. 134. Browning, "From Cape Charles to Cape Fear," p. 35.] When the fort was taken over by North Carolina troops under Captain Joseph Pender on 14 April (before the state had seceded from the Union), only four guns were mounted. The local military authorities immediately set about improving the armament. A total of 56 pieces (5 8-inch and 2 10-inch columbiads, 19 24-pounders, 32 32-pounders, and 6 field guns) were mounted, but they had ammunition for only three days of action. [Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," pp. 10, 135–136. Browning, "From Cape Charles to Cape Fear," p. 35, says that only 43 guns were mounted. Burnside says in his report that 54 were taken. ORA I, vol. 9, p. 275.]

At the time of the siege, the garrison of the fort numbered about 430 officers and men, commanded by Colonel Moses J. White. Sickness reduced this number by about a third. Despite the poor diet and other living conditions that they suffered, only one man died. Morale among the men was generally not good, as they were cut off from their families, and White was unpopular, both with his men and with the people of Beaufort. A few men deserted during the siege. [ORA I, vol. 9, p. 293. Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," p. 138.]

When battle came, the fort was outdated, inadequately armed, poorly supplied, and intended for a different form of combat than that it faced. These deficiencies are adequate to explain why the fort succumbed so readily at the first blow.

Burnside's Expedition

Shortly after the Union forces had taken possession of Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside developed a plan to expand Federal control of eastern North Carolina by a combined Army-Navy expedition. His plan was approved by General-in-Chief George B. McClellan and the War Department. He was given authority to recruit and organize a division, to be known as the Coast Division, which would work with the Navy's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron to take control of the North Carolina Sounds and their adjacent cities. The expedition that came to be known by his name got under way in January 1862, and in early February had made its first conquest, Roanoke Island. Following that, the combined forces went on to other victories at Elizabeth City and New Bern (often spelled New Berne at the time). Most of the Confederate Army were forced away from the coast as far inland as Kinston by these battles. The major exception was the garrison of Fort Macon. [Burnside, "Battles and leaders," vol. 1, pp. 660–669.]

So long as Fort Macon remained in Confederate possession, Burnside (recently promoted to rank of major general) could not use the ports at Beaufort and Morehead City, so immediately following the capture of New Bern on 14 March, he ordered Brigadier General John G. Parke, commander of his Third Brigade, to reduce the fort. Parke began by seizing the towns along the inner shore: Carolina City on 21 March, Morehead City on 22 March, Newport on 23 March, and finally Beaufort on 25 March. Communications between the garrison and other Confederate forces were thereby severed. [Hawkins, "Battles and leaders," vol. 1, pp. 652–653.] Parke also had to repair a railroad bridge at Newport, burned by the retreating Confederates following the loss of New Bern; the railroad was needed for the transport of his siege artillery. [OAR I, vol. 9, p. 277.]

iege

On 23 March, General Parke sent a message from his headquarters at Carolina City to Colonel White, demanding the surrender of the fort. He offered to release the men on parole if the fort was turned over intact. White replied tersely, "I have the honor to decline evacuating Fort Macon." [ORA I, v. 9, pp. 277, 278. Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," p. 137.] The siege can be regarded as starting with this exchange.

The investment of the fort was not yet complete, but that was accomplished on 29 March, when a company from Parke's brigade crossed the sound and landed unopposed on Bogue Bank. The Confederate infantry that would have defended against the landing, the 26th North Carolina, had been included in the retreat following the Battle of New Bern. [Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," p. 135.] Siege artillery followed, and Parke set up four batteries that would bear on the fort: four 8-inch (20.3 cm) mortars at a range of 1200 yards (1100 meters); four 10-inch (25.4 cm) mortars at a range of 1600 yards (1460 meters); three 30-pounder (13.6 kg) rifled Parrotts at a range of 1300 yards (1190 meters); and a 12-pounder (5.4 kg) boat howitzer at a range of 1200 yards (1100 meters). [ORA I, vol. 9, p. 273,] The batteries were moved up at night and remained hidden behind sand dunes until they were ready to open fire. The defenders were aware of these activities, but could not waste ammunition by firing at unseen targets. Patrols sent out from the fort to harass the Union soldiers were driven back, usually without loss. On 17 April, General Burnside could state in his report to the War Department, "I hope to reduce the fort within ten days." [ORA I, vol. 9, p. 270.] His prediction proved to be remarkably accurate.

Preparations were completed by 23 April, and on that day General Burnside communicated directly with Colonel White and repeated his demand for surrender, again offering to release the prisoners on parole. [ORA I, vol. 9, p. 275.] Colonel White once more refused, so Burnside on 24 March ordered General Parke to begin the bombardment as soon as possible. One of his batteries was not ready to open fire, and as it was late in the day, Parke decided to delay the start until the next morning.

The bombardment began at dawn on 25 April. At first, the gunners in the fort manned their pieces and replied vigorously, but they were unable to inflict damage on the Federal guns hiding behind sand dunes.

The defenders were also distracted by the appearance of four vessels from the Blockading Squadron: the steamers USS "Daylight", "State of Georgia", and "Chippewa", and the bark "Gemsbok". Until this time, the Navy had not been involved with the siege, but Commander Samuel Lockwood responded to the sound of gunfire and brought his section of the fleet into action. The weather was not good for a naval bombardment, however; a strong wind created waves that caused the vessels to rock badly enough to disrupt their aim, and after about an hour, the fleet withdrew. The Navy also supplied a pair of floating batteries to the attack, but again the waves interfered, and only one of them got into action. It is not certain whether the fort sustained any hits from the ships. Their return fire was accurate enough to hit two vessels, doing little damage and slightly wounding only one man. [ORN I, vol. 7, p. 279.]

The initial fire from the mortars on shore was inaccurate, but a Signal Corps officer in Beaufort, Lieutenant William J. Andrews, acting on his own responsibility, was able to deliver messages to the battery commanders telling them how to adjust their range. After noon, virtually all shots were on target. [ORA I, vol. 9, pp. 291–292.] Nineteen guns were dismounted. [OAR I, v. 9, pp. 288, 290. White in his report says that 15 were disabled, p. 294.] The walls of the fort began to crumble under the continued pounding, and in mid-afternoon Colonel White began to fear that the magazine would be breached. At 1630, he decided that the fort could no longer hold out, so he ordered that a white flag be raised. Firing on both sides then ceased. [Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads", pp. 144–145.]

urrender

Colonel White met with General Parke to discuss terms, and Parke at first demanded unconditional surrender. White asked him for more favorable conditions, and referred to the terms that General Burnside had offered on 23 March. Parke did not concede, but agreed not to renew the bombardment until he could consult with Burnside. Burnside reasoned that White could hold out at least one more day, and further action would only cause more casualties and greater damage to the fort. He therefore agreed to adhere to his first terms. The men in the fort were allowed to give their paroles, meaning that they would not take up arms against the United States until properly exchanged. They then were permitted to return to their homes, taking with them their personal property. Shortly after dawn on 26 April, the Confederate flag was lowered, the defenders marched out, and Union soldiers of the 5th Rhode Island marched in. [ORA I, vol. 9, p. 275. Hawkins, "Battles and leaders", vol. 1, p. 654.]

The battle had been relatively bloodless, at least by standards that soon would be common in the Civil War. On the Union side, only one man was killed, and two soldiers and one seaman were wounded. On the Confederate side, seven were killed outright, two died of wounds, and sixteen were wounded. [Trotter, "Ironclads and columbiads," p. 145.]

Aftermath

Although the Burnside Expedition had gained notable success at little cost in North Carolina, little was done to exploit it. Wilmington, for example, would seem to have been vulnerable, but it was not attacked until the final days of the war. Burnside was recalled shortly after the victory at Fort Macon, to assist General George B. McClellan in the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia. No further major offensive actions took place, and North Carolina became a backwater for most of the rest of the war.

The battle site is now Fort Macon State Park.

ee also

* Fortification

References

*Browning, Robert M. Jr., "From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War." Univ. of Alabama, 1993. ISBN 0817350195
*Campbell, R. Thomas, "Storm over Carolina: the Confederate Navy's struggle for eastern North Carolina." Cumberland House, 2005. ISBN 1581824866
*Johnson, Robert Underwood, and Clarence Clough Buel, "Battles and leaders of the Civil War." Century, 1887, 1888; reprint ed., Castle, n.d.:Burnside, Ambrose E., "The Burnside Expedition," pp. 660–669.:Hawkins, Rush C., "Early coast operations in North Carolina," pp. 652–654.
*Trotter, William R., "Ironclads and columbiads: the coast." Joseph F. Blair, 1989. ISBN 0895870886
* "Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion." Series I: 27 volumes. Series II: 3 volumes. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1894-1922.:Ser. I, vol. 7, pp.277–283.
* "A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies." Series I: 53 volumes. Series II: 8 volumes. Series III: 5 volumes. Series IV: 4 volumes. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886-1901. [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm "The War of the Rebellion"] :Ser. I, vol. 9, pp. 270–294.

Notes

Abbreviations used in these notes::ORA (Official records, armies): "War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies.":ORN (Official records, navies): "Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion."

External links

* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd390/g3904/g3904b/cw0308000.jp2&style=cwmap&itemLink=D?gmd:1:./temp/~ammem_3Dge::&title=Beaufort%20harbor,%20North%20Carolina.%20Re-survey%20in%20June%20and%20July%201862.%20Corrected%20up%20to%20April%2020th%201864%20Chas.%20G.%20Krebs,%20lith.| Beaufort Harbor, 1862]
* [http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/foma/home.html Fort Macon State Park Home Page]
* [http://civil-war-journeys.org/fort_macon_nc.htm Battle of Fort Macon - Civil-War-Journeys.org]