Ironclads and Columbiads: The CoastIronclads and Columbiads recounts the exciting battles and events that shook the coast of North Carolina during America's bloodiest war. Throughout the Civil War, North Carolina's coast was of great strategic importance to the Confederacy. Its well-protected coastline offered a perfect refuge for privateers who sallied forth and captured so many Union merchant vessels in the early days of the war that maritime insurance companies in the North went into a panic, forcing the government to mount an expedition against Cape Hatteras. North Carolina's coastal counties and the state's coastal railroad system were vital to the feeding and resupply of Robert E. Lee's army. And even after the tightening blockade and powerful Federal assaults closed off the ports of Charleston, New Orleans, and Mobile, Wilmington continued to provide a haven for blockade runners. That city eventually became the most strategically important location in the entire Confederacy. To subdue Fort Fisher, which stoutly defended Wilmington, the Union was forced to assemble what was then the largest naval and amphibious landing force in American history. William R. (Bill) Trotter is an essayist, book reviewer, and author of The Civil War in North Carolina and A Frozen Hell, among other books, as well as several short stories and novellas, and has twice been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. He wrote a monthly column called "The Desktop General" for PC Gamer magazine until 2004. He was the first recipient of the North Carolina English Teachers' Association "Lifetime Achievement Award." He lives in Greensboro, NC. |
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... Yankees on a two - mile steeplechase and made it back to rebel lines , winded but unhurt . Ransom was aghast to see that most of his soldiers had taken off their clothes and were placidly bathing in the warm waters of the millpond ...
... Yankee raiders escaped detection . Cushing now figured he didn't have time to unload two dozen people . Instead , he ... Yankees were spotted , however , and repulsed by small - arms fire . There was no question that the Albemarle had to ...
... Yankees found themselves facing a long line of additional emplacements . Each was 20 or more feet high , and each ... Yankee troops . A Union officer yelled a demand for Whiting and his handful of bloody , exhausted defenders to ...
Contents
Acknowledgements | 1 |
Seizing The Forts | 7 |
Burnsides Expedition The Coast Conquered | 51 |
Copyright | |
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