Battle of South Mills

The Battle of South Mills, also known as the Battle of Camden, took place on April 19, 1862 in Camden County, North Carolina as part of Union Army Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's North Carolina expedition during the American Civil War.

Battle of South Mills
Part of the American Civil War
A map of the battle
Date April 19, 1862 (1862-04-19) Location Camden County, North Carolina Result Inconclusive[1][2]
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Jesse L. Reno	Ambrose R. Wright
Units involved
Department of North Carolina	3rd Georgia Infantry Ferebee's North Carolina Militia McComa's Battery Gillett's Southampton Cavalry Co.
Strength
3,000[3]	~1,000[3]
Casualties and losses
13 killed 101 wounded 13 missing	6 killed 19 wounded 3 captured

Learning that the Confederates were building ironclads at Norfolk, Burnside planned an expedition to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal locks to prevent transfer of the ships to Albemarle Sound. He entrusted the operation to Brig. Gen. Jesse L. Reno's command, which embarked on transports from Roanoke Island on April 18. By midnight, the convoy reached Elizabeth City and began disembarking troops.

On the morning of April 19, Reno marched north on the road to South Mills. At the crossroads a few miles below South Mills, elements of Col. Ambrose R. Wright's command delayed the Federals until dark. Reno abandoned the expedition and withdrew during the night to the transports at Elizabeth City. The transports carried Reno's troops to New Bern where they arrived on April 22. Union forces later pushed Confederate units out of the coastal areas, which they occupied for the duration of the war.

Notes

1. "Battle Detail - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
2. "Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields, Technical Volume II: Battle Summaries" (PDF). National Park Service. 1998. p. 92. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
3. Earl J. Hess (2005). Field Armies & Fortifications In The Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns, 1861-1864. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-8078-2931-8. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

References

• CWSAC Battle Summaries, National Park Service
• CWSAC Report Update

36.4304°N 76.3033°W / 36.4304; -76.3033