Fort Macon
Civil War North Carolina

American Civil War
March 23-April 26, 1862

In late March, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's army advanced on Fort Macon, a third system casemated masonry fort that commanded the channel to Beaufort, 35 miles southeast of New Berne.

The Union force invested the fort with siege works and, on April 26, opened an accurate fire on the fort, which soon breached the masonry walls.

Within a few hours the fort's scarp began to collapse, and the Confederates hoisted a white flag.

This action demonstrated the inadequacy of masonry forts against large-bore, rifled artillery.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Carteret County

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

Date(s): March 23-April 26, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General John G. Parke [US]; Lieutenant Colonel Moses J. White [CS]

Forces Engaged: Parke's Division of Department of North Carolina, 3rd Division [US]; Fort Macon Garrison [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 490 total (US 10; CS 480)


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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.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.