The Loss of USS Monitor/Rhode Island's Rescue, December 31, 1862

On the evening of January 3, 1863, Acting Rear Admiral Sydney Phillips Lee, commanding officer of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, di...

The Confederate War Department Buys a Giraffe, November 1862

Blockade Runner Giraffe/Robert E. Lee In the Fall 1862, Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon and Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance Josiah...

Cushing's Raid on Jacksonville, North Carolina

As  written in previous posts , the U.S. Navy waged an intriguing form of strategic warfare with targeted raids against salt works in Florid...

Occupation and Reconstruction of Gosport

Although US Navy and Army cooperation during the Peninsula Campaign was a failure,  Union forces took the opportunity to capture Norfolk and...

The Occupation of Beaufort, North Carolina

This weekend marks the 150th anniversary of the Union occupation of the port town of Beaufort, NC. As part of the Burnside Expedition, the ...

Cape Hatteras Expedition

The bombardment of Fort Clark by Cumberland, Minnesota, and Wabash . On August 26, 1861, the U.S Navy and Army's expedition to Cape Hatt...

The Hatteras Expedition Assembles

Cape Hatteras and the North Carolina Sounds had become a perfect safe haven for Confederate commerce raiders.  As Northern merchant ships us...