The Capture of Plymouth was a battle of 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...

, fought in October 1864. Following the sinking of 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...

 during a commando raid led by Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 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,...

, 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...

 naval forces attacked 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...

, 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...

, which was defended by Confederate artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

. After three days of fighting the Confederates retreated from the area, allowing the Union navy to land men and occupy the town.

Order of Battle

United States Navy:

• USS Wyalusing
  USS Wyalusing (1863)
  USS Wyalusing was a double-ended, side-wheel gunboat that served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the borough of Wyalusing in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.Wyalusing was built at Philadelphia by C. H. & W. H...
  
  , 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:...
  
  , 1,173 tons
  Long ton
  Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
  
  , 14 guns
  Naval artillery
  Naval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...
  
  
• USS Shamrock
  USS Shamrock (1863)
  USS Shamrock was a large seaworthy steamer with powerful guns, acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways....
  
  , gunboat, 974 tons, 11 guns, flagship
  Flagship
  A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
  
  
• USS Otsego
  USS Otsego (1863)
  USS Otsego was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
  
  , gunboat, 974 tons, 10 guns
• USS Tacony
  USS Tacony (1863)
  USS Tacony was a double-ended, side-wheel steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the third year of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a heavy gunboat with powerful guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.- Built in Philadelphia,...
  
  , gunboat, 974 tons, 9 guns
• USS Chicopee
  USS Chicopee
  USS Chicopee is the name of two US Navy ships:, a large steamer used from 1864 until 1866 an oil tanker in service from 1942 until 1946...
  
  , gunboat, 974 tons, 10 guns
• USS Commodore Hull, gunboat, 376 tons, 6 guns
• USS Valley City
  USS Valley City (1859)
  USS Valley City was a 190-ton steamer acquired by the Union Navy for service in the American Civil War.Valley City was outfitted as a gunship and served blockade duty as well as performing surveillance duty....
  
  , gunboat, 190 tons, 4 guns
• USS Whitehead, gunboat, 136 tons, 1 gun
• USS Bazely
  USS Bazely (1863)
  USS Bazely was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy in a tugboat/patrol boat role in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.- Conversion of tugboat role to patrol craft role :J. E...
  
  , gunboat, 50 tons
• USS Belle
  USS Belle (1864)
  USS Belle was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy for various tasks, including those of a torpedo boat.- Built in Philadelphia in 1864 :...
  
  , torpedo boat
  Torpedo boat
  A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
  
  , 52 tons, 2 guns, 1 spar torpedo
  Spar torpedo
  A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...