In 1861, Hatteras Inlet was the primary point of entry for ships north of Beaufort
. Whoever controlled the inlet also controlled the extensive waterways of eastern North Carolina---and also the back door to the Army of Northern Virginia. So it was no surprise, in August, that the Confederate garrisons at Forts Clark and Hatteras woke one morning to find seven warships with 149 guns and 880 men anchored just offshore. The ensuing sea and land battle began with a massive bombardment of Fort Clark and lasted three days. By August 29th, the Confederates, outgunned and out of ammunition, surrendered.
The victory was greeted with great enthusiasm in the North, coming so soon on the heels of the disastrous defeat at Manassas earlier that year. It also paved the way for a more extensive Union invasion of coastal North Carolina in 1862, the capture of Roanoke Island, and ultimately, the fall of the Confederacy. It even lead to a short-lived movement by the residents of Hatteras--who had no allegiance to the Confederacy--to secede from the Confederacy and elect their own representative to the United States Congress.
Today, visitors to Hatteras Island today will not see evidence of the battle. Like many of man's structures on the Outer Banks, both forts have long since eroded into the sea.
