The landing action, now known as the Battle of South Mills, involved about 3,000 United States soldiers commanded by General Jesse L. Reno and 900 Confederates commanded by General Ambrose R. Wright. The battle was part of the Burnside Expedition, which had the wider goal of reclaiming northeastern North Carolina for the United States.
After the federal troops landed and moved toward locks on the canal, one group of men took a wrong road on the advice of their guide. That misstep led to an unplanned 10-mile march, and by the time the stray group reunited with the larger force, they found their fellow soldiers hotly engaged by entrenched Confederates.
The confusion prevented United States troops from reaching the locks, so the federal forces broke off the engagement allowing the Confederate troops to retreat from the scene. Both sides claimed victory—United States forces for retaining the field of battle and the Confederates for preventing the locks’ destruction.
Visit: Dismal Swamp State Park preserves land near where the battle was fought.
Other related resources:
- Resources related to the Civil War from across DNCR
- Images of the Civil War from the State Archives
- The Civil War on NCpedia