Jan. 7, 1862

Jan. 7, 1862: 　An Army-Navy expedition under Gen. Ambrose Burnside and Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough, having put to sea, is given orders to sail into North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound and attack the fortified Confederate base at Roanoke Island, where CSA Gen. Henry Wise (former Virginia state governor) has recently been placed in command.　 Gen. McClellan, General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army, writes order to Burnside, instructing him that, after securing Roanoke and fortifying it, that he is to land at New Berne and attempt to push west into mainland North Carolina and threaten Raleigh, the state capital.

--Stonewall Jackson’s division, marching in a howling blizzard, moves toward Romney.　His poorly-shod troops, plagued by icy roads, worn-out shoes, broken bones and frostbite, have no food to eat, and Jackson’s break-neck pace leaves many stragglers.　 The roads turn to ice, so that the soldiers cannot find any footing, and the wagons and cannon slide off the road, often crushing the horses and mules who are supposed to pull them.