January 21st– On the morning of the 21st the USS Daylight, commanded by Acting Master J.D. Warren, spotted a blockade runner off New Topsail Inlet. After a 2-hour chase the vessel ran aground just west of Stump Inlet. The crew deserted toward shore. The seas were rough and boarding the ship was not possible. Warren anchored the Daylight nearby and opened fire on her with their guns firing about 95 rounds leaving the ship riddled and sinking. Although they could not identify the vessel it was a large fore-and-aft schooner.

The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Volume 8, page 468

February 2nd– The USS Mount Vernon, commanded by James Trathen, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, was cruising 5 miles north of New Topsail Inlet about five miles offshore on February 2, 1863, when they spotted a schooner close to the beach. They discovered that the ship was within 100 yards of shore, and that the crew had abandoned her and escaped on a small boat. Acting Masters White and Buck and Acting Ensign Paine boarded the vessel. The ship’s name was the Industry. It was a schooner of about 200 tons, and loaded with salt. The weather was threatening, and given that the crew had taken everything of value with them and damage to the hull and sails made her unseaworthy, they set her on fire and returned to their ship. The Industry did not burn quickly and another boat under Acting Ensign Paine, was sent to complete the job. She sunk in about 3 fathoms of water.

The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Volume 8, page 499

August 22nd– A boat crew from USS Shokokon, commanded by Lieutenant Cushing, destroyed the schooner Alexander Cooper in New Topsail Inlet. Cushing had sighted the blockade-runner ten days earlier while he was on a reconnaissance of the inlet. The schooner was docked at a wharf on Sloop Point about six miles up the sound from the inlet, which was guarded by four pieces of rebel artillery. Cushing returned on the evening of the 22nd with a daring plan to capture the Alexander Cooper. He anchored the Shokokon north of the inlet and south of Sloop Point.
Two boat crews were sent ashore under the command of Acting Ensign Joseph S Cony (total of about 25 sailors). The men landed on the barrier island as darkness fell. The crew of one of the boats set up a rear guard on the beach while the other (Ensign Cony and six men) shouldered their dinghy across island to the sound, a distance of about half a mile through a dense thicket. The assault come as a surprise because the Confederates were expecting an attack from the south through the inlet. Cony and his six men had orders to destroy or capture anything that could be of use to the enemy. The Shokokon was spotted offshore by the schooner’s crew from the masthead as they looked southward. Thus distracted, Ensign Cony and his men were able to cross the sound in their dinghy and land about 50 yards from the wharf without being discovered. Robert Clifford, master at arms, scouted the rebel camp, and then led a charge. Despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, the Confederates panicked in the dark and were routed. Ten Rebels were taken prisoner. Ensign Cony threw out two pickets, ordered two men to guard the prisoners, and with his remaining 2 sailors fired the vessel and the extensive salt works there. The rear guard held off a a group of Confederate pickets and the men returned to the Shockokon with 3  prisoners, all that their boats could hold. The men who took part in the daring raid in addition to Ensign Cony were: Robert T. Clifford, master at arms; James Wallingford, captain forecastle; Henry Mansfield, coxswain; Herman P. Loss, Edward Brett, and Henry Vonversen, ordinary seamen. Master at arms Clifford was awarded the Medal of Honor for his role in the action.

The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Volume 9, pages 177-178

September 23rd– At daylight on the 23rd Commander John J. Almy of the USS Connecticut discovered a blockade runner when about 55 miles E. by N. of New Inlet having probably come out of Wilmington just after the moon had set. The ship was about 6-8 miles away. Commander Almy gave chase at top speed. The blockade runner, after being discovered, altered their course to the west. After a four hour chase the blockade runner ran onto shore near Rich Inlet where they lowered their boats and all hands fled to shore after setting fire to the ship. The USS Connecticut anchored close by and sent a boat in the charge of Lieutenant Kempff to see what could be done to extinguish the fire and get the steamer oil. He boarded her and discovered her name to be the Phantom, an iron propeller of about 500 tons, from Wilmington bound to Bermuda. Lieutenant Kempff and the men could not put out the fire and given the high surf and position of the Phantom, could not get her off. The Phantom never at any time hoisted a flag and none was found on board, which led them to think that she belonged to the Confederates. In a second trip to the wreck by Lieutenant Kempff and a party of men a group of rebels from behind the sand hills fired at them and killed Thomas I. Donahoe (landsman). No one else was injured. A future post will cover the story of the Phantom in more detail (link).

The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Volume 9, pages 216-217,

The Daily Journal, September 24, 1863, page 2

An excellent description of the defenses of Wilmington– identifies the Topsail Battery as being about a mile south of the New Topsail Inlet. This may have been the battery that fired on the USS Connecticut.

The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Volume 9, pages 300-301