Civil War Battle of Plymouth, N.C.

Living History Weekend Homepage For more information please call the Port O' Plymouth Museum -252-793-1377 Washington County Chamber of Commerce - 252-793-4804 Email: harry@plymouthmuseum.com
April 25-27, 2008
	During the War Between the States, Plymouth became a focal point for both the Union and the Confederacy because the Federal naval blockade tightened it's hold on the Confederacy with each passing year of the war. Being a strategic port, Plymouth gained added significance. It was believed to provide the easiest access to the vital Wilmington & Weldon Railroad. This crucial rail link which ran from Wilmington, NC to Richmond, VA was the "lifeline of the Confederacy", supplying Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. By 1864 the Federal fleet had closed all of the significant Southern ports except Wilmington, NC, which was guarded by the "Confederate Goliath", Fort Fischer. Therefore, this vital railroad became the focus of the Union and the Confederacy. Plymouth, being occupied by the Federal Army and Navy since 1862, was a jumping off point for attempts to cut Lee's supply line, the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad.
Confederate Fort Branch located at Rainbow Bluffs above Williamston on the Roanoke River effectively blocked the river route. Numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach the railroad bridge at Weldon were made by the Plymouth based Federals. Finally, in early 1864 Robert E. Lee agreed to spare his trustworthy Brigadier General, Robert F. Hoke, from service in Virginia to rid the coast of North Carolina of Union occupation. Hoke was on a tight timetable because Lee needed him back in Virginia before the summer campaign. With 13,000 troops and the promised support of the ironclad ram, the CSS Albemarle, Hoke began his attack on Plymouth late in the afternoon of April 17, 1864. Plymouth was defended by approximately 3,000 Federal troops under the command of Brigadier General Henry Wessells. The army was supported by the Federal Navy under the command of Charles Flusser. After a full day of hard fighting on April 18th, some of the Confederate troops were becoming demoralized due to the heavy beating they were getting by the Federal Navy's gunboats and the stiff resistance from the well entrenched Federal Army defending Plymouth. Then in the early hours of April 19th the CSS Albemarle came to the rescue, steaming down the Roanoke driving the Federal Navy from the river. Commander Flusser was killed and the USS Southfield was rammed and sunk. The Federal army was surrounded now on land and river, but held out until 10:00 a.m. on April 20th, when General Wessells surrendered. Jefferson Davis had been busy preparing to evacuate the Confederate capital in Richmond. When his nephew, John Taylor Wood, onboard the CSS Albemarle, sent word of victory in Plymouth, Davis decided not to abandon Richmond. The Confederate Lifeline was safe, ...for now
	Brigadier General Henry Wessells, a 55 year old West Point graduate and veteran of the Seven Days Battle was commander of Union troops garrisoned in Plymouth, NC. He surrendered to Hoke at 10:00 a.m. on April 20, 1864 after three days of hard fighting.
	Brigadier General Robert F. Hoke CSA, a native of Lincolnton, NC who distinguished himself serving under General Robert E. Lee. Hoke was the hero of the Battle of Plymouth. He entered the service as a lieutenant and was promoted to a major within 5 months, a Lt. Colonel within 9 months, a Colonel within 16 months, a Brigadier General within two years, and a Major General within 3 years of his enlistment-making him at the age of 26 the youngest Confederate officer of that rank in the Civil War.
	Gilbert Elliot, nineteen year-old builder of the CSS Albemarle from Elizabeth City, N.C. He was the contractor who built the ram in a cornfield at Edward's Ferry on the banks of the Roanoke River west of Plymouth. He played a vital role during the Albemarle's baptism by fire in the Battle of Plymouth. When the Federal Navy had blockaded the river and it was believed not passable by the Albemarle, Gilbert volunteered in the middle of the night to take soundings and found a way through the obstructions! After the Albemarle defeated the Federal Navy, he again volunteered to row the captain's gig down river and up Conaby Creek to make contact with Confederate General Robert F. Hoke and get orders for the Albemarle in their coordinated attack on Plymouth which fell the next day.
	Captain James Cooke, CSN, a native of Beaufort, North Carolina, James Wallace Cooke won fame as North Carolina's highest ranking officer in the Confederate States Navy. The son of a merchant, he lost both his mother and father at an early age and was raised by his uncle, Henry Cooke, the collector at the port in Beaufort. At age fifteen, he received a midshipman's appointment with the United States Navy and rose to the rank of lieutenant before resigning his commission to join the Confederate States Navy. As an officer in the new nation's navy, he served with distinction at several posts which included the Mosquito Fleet along North Carolina's coast and the battery complex at Drewry's Bluff along Virginia's James River. The high point in his career, however, was his involvement with the Ram Ironclad, CSS Albemarle. Cooke was instrumental in the Albemarle's construction, and in response to his attempts to procure iron for the ship's armor earned the nickname "Ironmonger Captain". Cooke was the ironclad's first captain under whose command played a successful role in both the Battles of Plymouth and Albemarle Sound. Due to health complications, he was relieved of duty at Plymouth, spending several months with his family recuperating. He was eventually summoned to the Halifax naval yard to take command of the inland naval defense of North Carolina where he remained until the taking of the naval yard by Federal forces toward the end of the war.
	Lt. Commander Charles Flusser, USN a former instructor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, W.B. Cushing was one of his students. At he outbreak of the war Flusser, who was a native of Maryland and citizen of Kentucky, had divided allegiances. He credited Will Cushing with helping him choose to fight for the Federal Navy. He was killed by his own exploding shell on the deck of his flag ship the USS Miami when the shell bounced off the casemate of the CSS Albemarle during the Battle of Plymouth on April 19, 1864.
	Lt. William Barker Cushing, USN the fearless 21 year old from Fedonia, NY who avenged his friend Capt. Charles Flusser's death by sinking the CSS Albemarle six months later on October 27th, 1864. After which it was said: "....a more gallant thing was not done during the war." Capt. A.F. Warley, CSS Albemarle "...the great chief of the American Navy, Farragut, who was endowed with like heroism, and for whom alone, the office of admiral was created and its honors intended, said to me that while no navy had braver or better officers than ours, young Cushing was the hero of the War." Gideon Welles, Sec. of the Navy "the gallant exploits of Lieutenant Cushing previous to othis affair will form a bright page in the history of the war, but they have all been eclipsed by the destruction of the Albemarle." Admiral David Porter "I most cordially recommend that Lieutenant William B. Cushing, USN receive a vote of thanks from Congress for his important , gallant, and perilous achievement in destroying the rebel ironclad steamer Albemarle on the night of October17,1864, at Plymouth, NC. The destruction of so formidable a vessel, which had resisted the continued attacks of a number of our vessels on former occasions, is an important event touching our future naval and military operations, and would reflect honor on any officer, and redounds to the credit of this young officer,...." Abraham Lincoln

The CSS Albemarle
The amazing and fascinating history of the CSS Albemarle has been the subject of numerous books. It is included in virtually every book related to a comprehensive look at the naval actions of the Civil War.

There are a number of reasons for all of the attention. They include:

The adverse circumstances under which it was built.
It’s success in twice defeating the US Navy.
The incredible commando raid that led to it’s destruction.

The CSS Albemarle was constructed by 19 year-old Gilbert Elliot from Elizabeth City, NC. It was built up the Roanoke River in a cornfield near Edward’s Ferry. It took over a year to construct and some of the iron collected to make in to the armor was collected at gunpoint form the surrounding area!

According to a naval survey performed on May 18, 1865 by three officers, the Albemarle was 158’ long, 35’3” wide (beam) and drew 9 feet of water. She had two reciprocating compound 200 hp. steam engines with two 6’ propellers that had a 9’ pitch. Her cruising speed was 5 knots! The casemate housed two 6.4 Brooke Rifled Cannon, one fore and one aft, that could each be pivoted to fire out of three different gun ports. The casemate was 60’ long and was covered in two layers of 2” iron plating. The slope of the casemate was at a 35 degree angle to reflect enemy shot and shell.

The Albemarle was baptized by fire in a short but fierce fighting during the Battle of Plymouth, when on April 19, she swept the Federal Navy from the Roanoke River. Charles Flusser, the commander of the Federal fleet, was killed by his own shell when it ricocheted of the casemate of the Albemarle. The USS Southfield which she rammed still lies on the bottom of the river where it sank.

Later on May 5, 1864 the Albemarle defaced down another Federal fleet of seven gunboats, three of which where three times the size of the Albemarle. Together they mounted 60 guns against the Albemarle’s 2 and fired 557 shells at the Albemarle, but could not sink her!

She was destroyed on October 27^th in the most daring commando raid of the war by 21 year-old Lieutenant William Barker Cushing who was avenging the death of his friend, Charles Flusser!