In early Jan. 1864, from his headquarters outside Orange, Va., Robert E. Lee wrote Jefferson Davis recommending an offensive in North Carolina to capture New Bern, the key Union base there. He proposed this operation for two reasons.
First, Lee was in the middle of a supply crisis. His troops were lacking nearly everything and his correspondence at the time repeatedly broadcast his anxiety over this. The capture of Union positions in NC would open up large, agriculturally rich areas to feed his army. Second, military victories in NC would aid the Confederate political situation there. Beginning in 1863, a growing peace movement, informally led by editor William Holden, was calling for NC to leave the Confederacy. Lee knew successful operations would help counter this.
Curiously, Davis offered to command Lee's proposed military operation, a clear example of his tendency to micromanage. The President then recommended the role to Lee, who begged off. Eventually, the pair tapped the NC Dept. commander, the hapless George Pickett.
By April, the ironclad Albemarle was complete and the Confederate high command determined to resume the offensive. The town of Plymouth was the target, a fortified Union position on the Roanoke. Casting Pickett aside, Confederate leaders handed the task to Tar Heel Robert Hoke.