ROANOKE ISLAND, Battle of. After the ca tore by Union troops of fort Hatteras and Clark, at Hatteras Inlet (q.v.), 29 Aug. 1861, the Confederates began to erect works on Roanoke Island, to command the narrow chan nel connecting Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, considered as the key to one-third of North Carolina, the possession of which by the Union forces would enable them to reach the .railroad connecting Richmond with New Orleans. The Union authorities decided to seize the position, and 7 Jan. 1862 General Burnside, who, had a division of 12,000 men, was ordered to seize and hold Roanoke Island, capture Newbern and Fort Macon, open the harbor of Beaufort and, if practicable, to advance from Newbern and seize the railroad to Goldsboro. Qn 7 January vessels carrying the troops set sail from Annapolis, and by night of the 10th more than 80 vessels of all kinds had rendezvoused at Fort Monroe, 20 being war vessels, carrying over, 60 guns, under command of Flag-Officer L M. Goldsborough. The fleet was divided into two columns under commanders S. F. Hazard and S. C. Rowan. The expedition sailed from Fort Monroe on the night of the. 11th, and after many mishaps, in which some vessels were lost, by 4 February had passed into Pamlico Sound, and orders were given for the advance on Roanoke Island. On the morning of the 5th the start was made, with 65 vessels, in all, naval vessels and transports. On the 7th the armed vessels engaged the Confederate batteries on the west side of Roanoke Island, and also small' gunboats, which were soon driven off, The forts were silenced and on the morning of the 8th, Burnside had over 8,000 troops and a battery ashore at Ashbv's Harbor.
Confronted by Confederate works, manned by nearly 6,000 men, he had formed his division into three brigades, commanded by Gens. J. G. Foster, Jesse L. Reno, and John G. Parke. The advance was ordered early in the morning, Poster leading, in the centre, Parke on the right and Reno on the left. While Foster pressed the front and engaged with his artillery, Reno marching at times waist-deep in the mud of the swamps, gained the right of the Con federate position, Parke in the same manner gaining the left, and, after a more than three hours' fight, a simultaneous charge was made and the entire • position carried. This cleared the road. Burnside marched to the head of the island, where the forts on the shore and their entire garrisons. were captured. The Union loss was 37 killed 214 wounded and 13 missing. The Confederate loss was 23 killed, 58 wounded, 62 missing and about 2,650 cap tured, including 159 officers. The Confederate gunboats went up Albemarle Sound to Eliza beth City, pursued next morning by Com mander Rowan, with 14 vessels. Rowan promptly attacked, and after a short but severe engagement, Lynch, the Confederate com mander, ordered the abandonment of his boats, ran them aground and set them on fire. Rowan had two killed and six wounded. Having gained entire possession of Roanoke Island and the control of the inland waters of North Carolina, Burnside's next step was the capture of New bern (q.v.). Consult Records,> Vol. IX; the Century Company's (Battles and Leaders of the Civil. War,) Vol. I. See NEW BERN, OPERATIONS AT, IN THE CIVIL WAR.