That is, Fox put his arms around Lincoln about as high as his hips, and Lincoln reached down over him so that his arms were pretty near the floor apparently, and thus holding each other they flew around the room once or twice, and the night shirt was completely agitated.” The victory provided a much-needed boost to northern spirits and enabled the people to see that the Lincoln Administration’s plan to fight the war had substance and could bring victories. In a few hurried words, not waiting for any forms or ceremonies, Fox communicated the news, and then he and Lincoln fell into each other’s arms. Everybody knows how tall Lincoln was, and he seemed very much taller in that garment and Fox was about five feet nothing. “…The President was called and when our errand was hinted to him he immediately came in his night shirt. How happy was Lincoln to receive the news? General Butler, in his autobiography, described the meeting he and Gustavus Fox (Assistant Secretary of the Navy) had with Lincoln in the White House to tell him the news. In fact, not a man on the Union side was killed. In the end, no Union ground attack was needed because of the success of the naval forces under Stringham. But Union naval forces resumed their attack when the weather moderated the next morning, and by late morning the battered Southern troops had had enough, and Fort Hatteras surrendered. For a while, the advantage shifted to the southerners, as bad weather drove Stringham’s ships out of firing range of the forts. Soon Fort Clarke’s garrison had retreated to Fort Hatteras, where the Confederates were reinforced and put up their defense. With the bombardment complete, the Union army troops came ashore. Soon thereafter, the Union warships began bombarding both forts, pounding them with a steady stream of accurate fire. On the morning of August 27, 1861, Confederate lookouts at Hatteras lighthouse spotted Commodore Stringham’s ships on the horizon. These forts comprised a significant part of the Confederacy’s military forces on the Outer Banks. The immediate objective of the operation was the capture of two forts – Clarke and Hatteras – that guarded Hatteras Inlet. The transports and auxiliaries carried a landing force of two New York infantry regiments, for a total of slightly more than 900 men. Rounding out the task force were two chartered vessels acting as troop transports and a collection of surfboats and auxiliary tugs. It consisted of three steam frigates, three gunboats, and a converted sidewheel steamer, which all told mounted 149 guns, including modern, rifled naval guns. Navy had assembled up to that point in the war. The task force Stringham commanded was the largest that the U.S. Commodore Silas Stringham, commander of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, led the supporting naval forces. General Benjamin Butler, who previously had commanded the Union garrison at Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, became the landing force commander. Hatteras Inlet commanded the entrance to North Carolina’s sounds, leading Union commanders to decide to seize its surrounding shoreline first. shipping from rebel privateers – a significant problem that threatened to grow and was already causing disruptions to trade as marine insurance rates in the north sky-rocketed. Possession of these waters would also help eliminate the threat to U.S. These coastal strong-points then would serve as bases from which they could push inland to disrupt vital Confederate agricultural supply areas and the rail lines of communication running through the state to the Confederate capital of Richmond. forces would be in position to take key points on the Carolina mainland. This locale was chosen because the Union leadership saw the value of seizing control of the navigable channels into North Carolina sounds, as with these under control, U.S. To complement this effort, it determined to launch its first amphibious assault since the Mexican War: an assault on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In this heated atmosphere, in July and August, the U.S. Government became increasingly anxious to show that it had a viable plan and could field forces capable of winning. Instead, on July 21, 1861, the Battle of Bull Run resulted in disaster for Union arms. In the opening months of the war, there was little good news for the North, and the public clamor for a victory grew daily. Army, General Winfield Scott, developed what he called the “Anaconda Plan,” which aimed to squeeze the Confederacy by blockading its ports, launching amphibious attacks at key points along the Southern coast, and seizing control of vital inland waterways such as the Mississippi River. In early 1861, the commander-in-chief of the U.S.
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