The Battle of Albemarle Sound was an inconclusive naval battle fought in May of 1864 along the coast of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Three Confederate warships, including an ironclad, engaged eight Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

s. The action ended indecisively due to the sunset.

Background

In April 1864, a Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 Army, with the aid of the CSS Albemarle

CSS Albemarle

CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia...

, forced the surrender of the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 garrison at Plymouth

Plymouth, North Carolina

Plymouth is the largest town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,107 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...

. Robert Hoke

Robert Hoke

Robert Frederick Hoke was an American businessman, railroad executive, and a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. Hoke and his division played a decisive role during the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864....

, commander of a Confederate Army in North Carolina, encouraged by his success at Plymouth attempted to retake New Bern

New Bern, North Carolina

New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...

 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

Battle of Plymouth (1864)

The Battle of Plymouth was an engagement during the American Civil War that was fought from April 17 through April 20, 1864, in Washington County, North Carolina.-Battle:...

.

Battle

James W. Cooke

James W. Cooke

James Wallace Cooke was an American naval officer, serving in the United States Navy and during the American Civil War serving in the Confederate Navy....

, 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

Albemarle Sound

Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...

, commanded by Captain Melancton Smith

Melancton Smith (1810-1893)

Melancton Smith was a United States Navy officer who served during the Seminole Wars and the American Civil War.-Early life:...

. Smith with an advantage in numbers could do little damage to the single Confederate ship. Shots glanced off Albemarles sides. The 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 CSS Bombshell

CSS Bombshell

CSS Bombshell — believed to have been an Erie Canal steamer — was a U.S. Army transport. Bombshell was sunk by the Confederate batteries in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina on April 18, 1864. She was raised by the Confederate forces and taken into the Confederate States Navy under the...

. Sassacus by now was too damaged to function and 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

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

 and Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. The events in October had a greater impact on the situation when William B. Cushing

William B. Cushing

William Barker Cushing was an officer in the United States Navy, best known for sinking the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle during a daring nighttime raid on October 27, 1864, a feat for which he received the Thanks of Congress.-Early life and career:Cushing was born in Delafield, Wisconsin,...

 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

Plymouth, North Carolina

Plymouth is the largest town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,107 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...

 and Washington, North Carolina

Washington, North Carolina

Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles to the west....

, to fall back into Union hands.

Confederate Mosquito Fleet

Commander John W. Cooke

• CSS Albemarle
  CSS Albemarle
  CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia...
  
  
• CSS Bombshell
  CSS Bombshell
  CSS Bombshell — believed to have been an Erie Canal steamer — was a U.S. Army transport. Bombshell was sunk by the Confederate batteries in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina on April 18, 1864. She was raised by the Confederate forces and taken into the Confederate States Navy under the...
  
  
• CSS Cotton Plant
  CSS Cotton Plant
  CSS Cotton Plant, sometimes referred to as Cotton Planter, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860 and reportedly carried troops in the Pamlico River as early as September 1861...