More thoughts on the
Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina to mark the anniversary of
the battle. This is all detailed in
The Fight For the Old North State: The Civil War in North Carolina, January-May 1864. Here is Thread 2:
THREAD TWO
Battle of Plymouth Anniversary
Why Did the Federals Establish a Base at Plymouth, North Carolina?
The Federal garrison at Plymouth was set up in 1862 after Union forces under Ambrose Burnside took control of eastern NC. It provided a springboard for operations into the surrounding area & served as an important refuge & recruiting station for emancipated persons.
Not everyone thought a base at Plymouth was such a good idea. Union naval officers, particularly Admiral S. Phillips Lee, objected early on to maintaining small, isolated positions at places like Plymouth & Washington (on the Pamlico). He urged greater concentration at New Bern.
Much later, after Plymouth’s loss, both U.S. Grant and Benjamin Butler claimed to have expressed similar reservations about maintaining these positions. However, no evidence of such objections has surfaced.
Whatever the case, by early 1864, a force of several thousand men led by Henry Wessells manned the works covering the town. Several wooden gunboats bobbing in the Roanoke River backed up the garrison.
