Qualla: Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries: Introduction

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson, Public domain. On the morning of August 28, 1861, the crew of Fort Clark watched seven Union warships swing around Cape Hatteras and drop anchor in full view. What followed over two days at this narrow inlet on the Outer Banks would become the Union's first significant victory of the Civil War, a tactical innovation that rewrote the rules of naval warfare, and a turning point that sealed Confederate access to the North Carolina sounds. No trace of the battle survives on this wind-scoured barrier island today, yet the decisions made here sent ripples through the rest of the war.

Image: Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson | Public domain

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries: A Politician, a Flag Officer, and a Plan

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson, Public domain. The expedition was born from an unlikely partnership. Flag Officer Silas Stringham, commander of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, had argued from the start that sinking old ships to block Hatteras Inlet was pointless. Tidal currents would sweep away any obstruction, and new chan...

Image: Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson | Public domain

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries: The Moving Broadside

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel (Book authors)., Public domain. Early on August 28, the USS Wabash, USS Cumberland, and USS Minnesota opened fire on Fort Clark. Stringham ordered his ships to keep moving in a continuous loop, delivering broadsides as they passed the fort, then pulling out of range to reload before circling back. This simple i...

Image: Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel (Book authors). | Public domain

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries: A Supperless Night and a Bitter Dawn

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson, Public domain. The capture of Fort Clark was only half the job. Rising winds churned the surf into swamping waves that capsized the landing boats, stranding Colonel Weber with just 318 men ashore. They had a few field pieces dragged through the surf, enough to fend off a counterattack but far t...

Image: Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson | Public domain

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries: The White Flag at Eleven

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alfred Waud, Public domain. For three hours, the men inside Fort Hatteras could do nothing but endure the relentless shelling. Casualties were surprisingly light, with reported dead numbering between four and seven and wounded between 20 and 45, but the situation was hopeless. Barron called a council of off...

Image: Alfred Waud | Public domain

Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries: Echoes Across the War

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson, Public domain. Stringham's moving broadside did not end at Hatteras. Flag Officer Samuel Francis Du Pont adopted the same tactic two months later at the Battle of Port Royal in South Carolina, where it proved equally effective. The practice forced a reassessment of shore defenses versus naval g...

Image: Clarence Clough Buel / Robert Underwood Johnson | Public domain