Roanoke Island
Fort Huger
Civil War North Carolina

American Civil War
February 7-8, 1862

On February 7, Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside landed 7,500 men on the southwestern side of Roanoke Island in an amphibious operation launched from Fort Monroe.

The next morning, supported by gunboats, the Federals assaulted the Confederate forts on the narrow waist of the island, driving back and out-maneuvering Brigadier General Henry Wise's outnumbered command.

After losing less than 100 men, the Confederate commander on the field, Colonel H.M. Shaw, surrendered about 2,500 soldiers and 32 guns.

Burnside had secured an important outpost on the Atlantic Coast, tightening the blockade.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Dare County

Campaign: Burnside's North Carolina Expedition (January-July 1862) next battle in campaign

Date(s): February 7-8, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside [US]; Brigadier General Henry Wise [CS]

Forces Engaged: 10,500 total (US 7,500; CS 3,000)

Estimated Casualties: 2,907 total (US 37K/214W/13M; CS 23K/58W/62M/2,500 captured)

Civil War History Book Club Selected Reading Titles

This book contains an examination of the army that General William Tecumseh Sherman led through Georgia and the Carolinas, in late 1864 and early 1865. Instead of being just another narrative of the March to the Sea and Carolina campaigns, however, Glatthaar's book is a look at the individuals that composed the army. In it, he examines the social and ideological backgrounds of the men in Sherman's army, and evaluates how they felt about various factors of the war--slavery, the union, and, most significantly, the campaign in which they were participating. The result is a fascinating look at Sherman's campaigns through the eyes of the everyday soldier. Glatthaar makes the army come alive, and shows the men not as heartless animals who delighted in wanton destruction, not as mechanized marching machines who could perform the most difficult marches without even flinching, but instead as real human beings, complete with sore feet, empty stomachs, and minds engaged in contemplation over the ethical ramifications of what they were doing to the people of the South.
Hess studies the use of fortifications by tracing the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia from April 1861 to April 1864. He considers the role of field fortifications in the defense of cities, river crossings, and railroads and in numerous battles. Blending technical aspects of construction with operational history, Hess demonstrates the crucial role these earthworks played in the success or failure of field armies. He also argues that the development of trench warfare in 1864 resulted from the shock of battle and the continued presence of the enemy within striking distance, not simply from the use of the rifle-musket, as historians have previously asserted.
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Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.