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Captain W. H. Parker,in his ‘‘Recollections of aNaval Officer” (Charles Scribner’s Sons ), thus de-scribes the later Confederate defenses of CroatanSound:
“Three forts had been constructed on the [RoanokeJisland to protect the channel. The upper one was onWeir’s Point, and was named Fort Huger. It mounted12 guns, principally 32-pounders of 33 cwt., and was com-manded by Major John Taylor, formerly of the navy.About one and three-quarter miles below, on Pork Point,was Fort Bartow; it mounted 7 [9 ?] guns, 5 of whichwere 32-pounders of 33 cwt., and 2 were rifled 32-pound-ers. This fort, which was the only one subsequently en-gagedin the defense, was in charge of Lieut . B. P. Loyall,of the navy. Between these two points was a small bat-tery. On the mainland opposite the island, at RedstonePoint, was a battery called Fort Forrest. The guns,which were 32-pounders, were mounted on the deckof a canal-boat which had beeu hauled up in the mudand placed so that the guns would command the chan-nel. The channel itself was obstructed a little above
Fort Huger by piling. It was hoped that these batter-ies, with the assistance of Commodore Lynch’s squad-ron, would be able to prevent the enemy’s ships frompassing the island. The great mistake on our part wasin not choosing the proper point at which to dispute theentrance to the sound. The fortifications and vesselsshould have been at the ‘marshes,’ a few miles below,where the channel is very narrow.”
The attack by the Union fleet is thus describedby Captain Parker:
“At daylight the next morning, February 7th, theAppomattox was dispatched to Edenton, and as she didnot return till sunset, and the Warrior did not take anypart in the action, this reduced our [Confederate] forceto seven vessels and eight guns. [See list, p. 670.] At9 a. m. we observed the enemy to be under way andcoming up, and we formed ‘line abreast,’ in the rear ofthe obstructions. At 11:30 the fight commenced at longrange. The enemy’s fire was aimed at Fort Bartow andour vessels, and we soon became warmly engaged. Thecommodore at first directed his vessels to fall back, in
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