After careful preparation during several
months, a joint expedition under the command of General Ambrose E.
Burnside and Flag-Officer Goldsborough, consisting of more than twelve
thousand men and twenty ships of war, accompanied by numerous
transports, sailed from Fort Monroe on January 11, with the object of
occupying the interior waters of the North Carolina coast. Before the
larger vessels could effect their entrance through Hatteras Inlet,
captured in the previous August, a furious storm set in, which delayed
the expedition nearly a month. By February 7, however, that and other
serious difficulties were overcome, and on the following day the
expedition captured Roanoke Island, and thus completely opened the whole
interior water-system of Albemarle and Pamlico sounds to the easy
approach of the Union fleet and forces.
From Roanoke Island as a base, minor expeditions within a short period
effected the destruction of the not very formidable fleet which the
enemy had been able to organize, and the reduction of Fort Macon and the
rebel defenses of Elizabeth City, New Berne, and other smaller places.
An eventual advance upon Goldsboro' formed part of the original plan;
but, before it could be executed, circumstances intervened effectually
to thwart that object.
While the gradual occupation of the North Carolina coast was going on,
two other expeditions of a similar nature were making steady progress.
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