Oct 1 & 2, 1861 - Confederate planning in Fairfax; The Capture of the Fanny in NC

Oct 1 & 2, 1861

Confederate planning in Fairfax

Fairfax Court House, VA 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6259

"This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. George and Martha Washington’s wills were recorded here and still remain in this complex. Confederate President Jefferson Davis reviewed strategy in the tavern across the street with his generals on October 1 and 2, 1861."

* * *

October 1st, 1861

The Fanny

Salvo, North Carolina, in Dare County; Cape Hatteras National Seashore

* First Capture of a Federal Vessel During the Civil War

* I drove to coastal NC looking for 1861 sites [Summer 2025] and was excited to score this "first" - but the marker was gone when I got there! A new one was posted with Civil War-adjacent information. Information from both below.

* The Mosquito Fleet makes an appearance at the Battle of Roanoke Island 

Photographed by Kevin W., June 23, 2009 - it is gone

The Fanny

First Capture of a Federal Vessel During the Civil War

Late in the afternoon of October 1st, 1861, the Confederate steamers Raleigh, Junaluska and Curlew engaged and seized the Union tug Fanny three miles west of here. Her ammunition and supplies, intended for 600 Union soldiers camped at Chicamacomico near Loggerhead Inlet, were instead delivered to the Confederate troops at Roanoke Island.

Pressed into Confederate service, the Fanny returned to the Union camp three days later as part of the “Mosquito Fleet.” The offensive resulted in a Union retreat toward Cape Hatteras, beginning the battle known as the “Chicamacomico Races.”

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=281737

A Deep-Rooted Community

—Cape Hatteras National Seashore—

A town of Clarksville was named for Clark's Island, a now non-existent island in Pamlico Sound due west of here. To the early settlers, such as the Midgett family, fishing and ranching were the way of life. By the 1880s, the most coveted jobs were in the newly formed United States Lifesaving Service. During the Civil War, a passing Union boat fired a "salvo" towards Clarksville, and noted the location on their map with the word "Salvo," forever changing the name of this small island community. For decades, life in Salvo was isolated. Trips to the mainland required taking single track sand roads, ferries, and boats. The completion of the bridge over Oregon Inlet in 1863 brought well-needed connections, but also development and tourism to the community. [sidebar] Salvo Community Cemetery In front of you lies the Salvo Community Cemetery, first established in 1872. The cemetery is the final resting place of over 40 individuals, many of which were members of the Midgett family. 

Salvo, and no Fanny marker