uss .
★
Battle
о
During the summer of 1862, Union
forces firmly controlled eastern
North Carolina, with garrisons sta¬
tioned at Plymouth, Washington,
New Bern and elsewhere. Federal
detachments raided the countryside
at will, while Confederate authori¬
ties struck back with raids of their
own. One such action occurred here
at Washington on September 6,
when Confederate Maj. Stephen D.
Pool led 1,000 infantry, cavalry, and
artillery against the 1,200-man gar¬
rison. Concealed by early morning
fog, Pool and his men slipped past
Federal pickets and into town. Once
the shooting started, sleepy Union
soldiers stumbled into the streets
and began a confused, uncoordinat¬
ed defense. Eventually the haze lift¬
ed enough for two Federal gunboats,
Picket and Louisiana, to shell the
Beaufort County, Washington, N.C. "Washington, on the Tar River, North Carolina." Frank Leslie's Illustrated
Newspaper. May 16, 1863.
ICKET
t ★
Vashington
Washington. N.C., "showing the rebel batteries, and
the national defenses during the siege of April, 1863."
Solon M.
Л1
lis, 21st Mass. Inf.
Confederates. Suddenly, Picket’s
magazine exploded, killing Capt.
Sylvester Nicoll and 19 crewmen
and wounding six others.
The Confederates cheered,
“Washington is ours!” Soon, howev¬
er, Federal reinforcements arrived to
turn the tide. Col. Edward E. Potter,
1st Regiment North Carolina Union
Volunteers, was leading five cavalry
companies and an artillery battery
from Washington to Plymouth when
he heard the sound of gunfire. He
USS Picket , shown at right in this image,
rests on the bottom of the Thr River nearby.
The 175 -foot- long, 29-foot-wide gunboat was
armed with one 30-pounder Parrott and three
12-pounder rifled Wiard’s howitzers. In 1862,
Picket participated in the battles of Roanoke
Island (February 7-8), New Bern (March 13-14),
and Fort Macon (April 25-26), as well as Wash¬
ington. -Courtesy of the North Carolina Collection,
University of North Carolina Library
turned his detachment around and,
after more than two hours of hard
fighting, drove the Confederates
from Washington. Confederate casu¬
alties were 31 killed, 30 wounded,
and 24 taken prisoner, while the
Federals lost 26 killed, 55 wounded,
and 12 captured.
