| Summary: | By late January 1862, the Union North Atlantic Blockading Squadron had found its blockade of Norfolk Virginia was not effective. Confederate water-born cargoes could reach the city by sending in ships through openings in the barrier islands of the Outer Banks off the northern North Carolina and southern Virginia coasts. From there ships could travel up Pamlico Sound to Croatan Sound, on into Albemarle Sound, up the Pasquotank River to Elizabeth City, and through the Dismal Swamp Canal to Norfolk. Outgoing cargoes could escape Norfolk in the reverse order. The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron could not guard all passages through the Outer Banks. However, possession of Roanoke Island, located inside the barrier reefs and adjacent to Croatan Sound, would control this route to Norfolk. This account describes naval participation in the battle in which the Union captured Roanoke Island.
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