Burnside's Expedition Crossing Hatteras Bar/The Burnside Expedition at Hatteras Inlet

Burnside's Expedition Crossing Hatteras Bar/The Burnside Expedition at Hatteras Inlet. . Side A:Burnside's Expedition Crossing Hatteras Bar. On January 11, 1862, the Burnside Expedition left for Fort Monroe, Virginia destined for Hatteras Inlet 120 miles to the south. Two days later, the fleet of over eighty vessels was struck by a strong Northeaster while crossing Hatteras Bar. Reassembling the fleet in Pamlico Sound was delayed until the month's end due to frequently stormy weather. Among the ships lost were the Pocahontas, Grapeshot and City of New York. The following Regiments were transported by the fleet: the 8th, 10th and 11th Connecticut; the 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th and 27th Massachusetts; the 6th New Hampshire; the 9th New Jersey; the 1st, 9th, 51st, 89th and 99th New York; the 48th and 51st Pennsylvania; and the 1st, 4th and 5th Rhode Island. , Side B: The Burnside Expedition at Hatteras Island. General Burnside's forces captured Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862. In quick succession, thirteen counties and over thirty cities and towns were annexed including: New Bern, Plymouth, Beaufort, Edenton, Elizabeth City and Washington. By July of 1862 the Confederate coastal supply line from the Deep South to Virginia was deeply compromised. These events underscored the inability of the Confederacy to set priorities and the failure of the Federal leadership to recognize the full potential of their coastal conquests. The loss of the Outer Banks undermined Southern morale and boosted that of the North. It intensified the secession controversy and the conflict between the Confederate government and North Carolina.