Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Arewacin Carolina muhimmin yanki ne ga Confederation saboda mahimmin tashar jiragen ruwa na Wilmington kuma saboda Outer Banks sun kasance tushe masu mahimmanci ga jiragen ruwa da ke ƙoƙarin kauce wa toshewar Union. Benjamin Butler ya tashi daga Fort Monroe kuma ya kama batura a Hatteras
Inlet a watan Agusta 1861. A watan Fabrairun 1862, Brig. Janar Ambrose Burnside ya shirya wani kamfen na amphibious, kuma daga Fort Monroe, wanda ya kama tsibirin Roanoke, wanda ba a san shi ba amma babban nasara ne na Union. Goldsboro Expedition a ƙarshen 1862 ya yi tafiya a takaice daga bakin teku don halakar da hanyoyi da gadoji.