Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - "Alpha" sabis mafi ban sha'awa ya faru a ƙarshen Janairu 1865, lokacin da yawancin manyan jiragen ruwa na Union suka janye daga James don shiga cikin harin kan Fort Fisher
, Arewacin Carolina, wanda ya kare Wilmington, Arewacin Carolina, tashar jiragen ruwa ta karshe ta Kudu. Rundunar Sojan Ruwa ta Tarayya a kan wannan kogin ta kasance tsakanin Richmond, Virginia, da kuma layin shinge a fadin James, suna jiran damar da za su yi hulɗa da takwarorinsu na Union a kan yanayi mai kyau.