Home > Context > History > 1861 - 1880 > Civil War

Elizabeth City During the Civil War (1.4.1)

The prosperity of the antebellum period came to a halt with the economic, social, and political upheaval of the Civil War. While the Union blockade of the North Carolina and Virginia coasts did much to hinder oceanic shipping, during the early stages of the war transportation between the sounds and Virginia suffered little because of the effectiveness of both the Dismal Swamp and Albemarle-Chesapeake canals. Great quantities of supplies for the Confederacy passed through these waterways in both directions, and Elizabeth City prospered for a short time (Brown 1967, 78).

This advantage, however, did not last. Two days after the fall of Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862, a Union fleet sailed to Elizabeth City and quickly overwhelmed an outnumbered Confederate "mosquito fleet" in a brief battle a few miles down river from Elizabeth City. This skirmish left Elizabeth City unprotected, and the panicked residents then set fire to several of the principal buildings, including the courthouse and the largest hotel (Brown 1967, 79; Moore 1861-63, vol. 4, p. 125). Since Union control of Elizabeth City effectively choked access to the Dismal Swamp Canal, no attempt was made to seize the canal for two months. In mid-April, a force of about three thousand Union soldiers marched from near Elizabeth City to the locks and bridge near South Mills and took control of the canal after the brief Battle of South Mills. With the surrender of Norfolk on May 10, 1862, the canal was rendered useless to the Confederate cause (Brown 1967, 80, 82-83). For the duration of the war, the town and canal remained in Union control even though a majority of citizens continued to support the Confederate cause.