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eted together. She carried two 11-inch guns, which, as the turret revolved, could be used to fire in any direction. The Merrimac carried ten guns.

The Monitor was built at New York for coast defense, but when news of the formidable character of the Merrimac was received, her construction was hastened to meet the Confederate ironclad. The voyage to the Chesapeake was a tempestuous one. Again and again she was almost sunk, but after an exciting trip, in which she heard the booming cannons at a distance, and saw the sky lit up by the burning Congress, she entered Hampton Roads in time to end the destructive career of the Merrimac.

CHAPTER IV.

COAST OPERATIONS.

HATTERAS INLET SURRENDERED, AUGUST 29, 1861.-Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and Commodore Stringham were sent from Fortress Monroe with sealed orders, on an expedition against Hatteras Inlet. Butler was in command of the land forces, and Stringham directed the naval expedition. This was the first of a series of movements against the Southern coast. Hatteras Inlet commanded the entrance to Pamlico Sound, whose waters became a favorite rendezvous for traders engaged in blockaderunning. The Inlet was defended by Forts Hatteras and Clark. The bombardment of these was commenced August 28, 1861, and renewed the next day, when the Confederates hoisted the white flag. The secrecy of the expedition had been so well kept, that for several days the blockade-runners, seeking Confederate shelter, fell an easy prey to the Union troops who had taken possession of the forts. The 615 prisoners who fell into Union hands were taken to New York harbor. The commands of Hawkins and Weber were left to garrison the forts, and Gen. Butler returned to the North and commenced the organization of an expedition directed against New Orleans.

CONFEDERATE ATTACK UPON FORT PICKENS, OCTOBER, 1861. At the breaking-out of the war, Pensacola was seized by the Confederates without a struggle. Lieutenant Slemmer was

ordered to surrender Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island, commanding the main entrance to Pensacola harbor. By the fidelity of this officer, the fort was saved to the Union. Soon after the fall of Fort Sumter, reinforcements were sent to the defenses of Pensacola. Gen. Braxton Bragg assembled a formidable force there during the early part of the war, and threatened an attack upon Fort Pickens. Finally after months of delay a Confederate force left Pensacola on the night of Oct. 9, 1861, and, crossing the bay, made an attack upon Fort Pickens. The movement was unsuccessful, and the invaders were driven from the island.

EXPEDITION AGAINST PORT ROYAL AND THE SEA ISLANDS, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, 1861.-On October 29th a naval and military expedition numbering 10,000 men left Hampton Roads for the Southern coast. Thomas W. Sherman (not William T. Sherman) commanded the land forces and Commodore S. F. Dupont was in command of the fleet. After a stormy passage, in which four transports were lost and two disabled, they arrived at Port Royal, South Carolina. Fort Walker, on Hilton Head, was captured by the fleet, and Beaufort, South Carolina, was abandoned by the enemy. By the combined efforts of the fleet and army, the whole chain of islands which form the coast of South Carolina and Georgia fell into Federal possession.

THE FALL OF ROANOKE ISLAND, 1862.-Another land and naval force, against Roanoke Island, North Carolina, was fitted out early in the year 1862. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and

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Com. L. M. Goldsborough were in command of the 12,000 men sent on this expedition. Gen. H. A. Wise commanded the Confederate forces. Much delay was occasioned by the fact that many of the transports were of too great draft to permit a passage through the shallow waters of the Sound. This delay afforded the enemy an opportunity to strengthen the fortress. At length, after the loss of several vessels, which were grounded and wrecked by a storm, an entrance to Pamlico Sound was effected. The Confederate fleet was pursued to Elizabeth City, and destroyed. The forts of Roanoke Island were taken, Feb. 7th and 8th, after some desperate fighting. The Union men waded waist-deep through a pond of water that protected one of the batteries. The Confederates abandoned their work and attempted to retreat, but were overtaken, and 2,500 were compelled to surrender. The Federal loss was 50 killed and 250 wounded.

Edenton, Wintom, and many of the settlements on the Sound yielded to Union authority. Newbern, one of the most important seaports of North Carolina, was taken March 14th, after a vigorous defense. Beaufort yielded without resistance. Fort Macon, after a bombardment, surrendered April 25th. Nearly the whole of the coast of North Carolina thus lay at the mercy of the victors. The chief result was the closing of the Confederate ports and the suppression of their commerce.

Gen. Burnside's forces were eventually taken, for the most part, to Alexandria, to aid Gen. Pope in his campaign against Lee. Gen. John G. Foster was left in command of the depart

ment of North Carolina, with barely sufficient forces to hold the points which had been taken.

Soon after the recovery of Port Royal and the adjacent islands, Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore was directed to move against Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island. After a bombardment of a day and a half, the fort surrendered, April 11, 1862. Gen. Hunter, who succeeded to the command of Sherman, on May 9th proclaimed South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to be under martial law, and the slaves of these States free. This declaration was overruled by President Lincoln, as was Frémont's proclamation in Missouri.

GEN. WRIGHT IN FLORIDA, MARCH, 1862.-While Gillmore was before Fort Pulaski, Commodore Dupont and Gen. II. G. Wright were making conquests in Florida. St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and other places were abandoned by the enemy on the approach of the Union forces. Pensacola was evacuated, and everything of a combustible character was burned before the departure of Gen. Jones, its commander.

A strong Union sentiment was manifest in the State after the departure of the 10,000 men who joined the Confederate army. A convention was called to assemble at Jacksonville, April 10, 1862, to organize a Union State Government. To the dismay of those who were engaged in it, Gen. Wright prepared to withdraw his forces two days before the day on which the convention was called. In consequence, the Union feeling made little manifestation, and the Confederate supremacy was maintained to the close of the war.

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